I’m on Oklahoma State Fan. Always have been…always will be.

I love the school and I love the teams but I especially love the football team.  Throughout most of my life, Oklahoma State football has always been an average team with some years better and some years worse.

The last few years have given OSU fans something to be hopeful for. It started with Les Mile’s being hired in 2001 as head football coach…the team started a nice climb above mediocrity and since Mike Gundy took over in 2005 the team has done quite well relative to Oklahoma State football history.

This year…the Oklahoma State Cowboys football team won a Big 12 Championship for the first time.  That’s quite an accomplishment considering the other teams in the conference (e.g., University of Oklahoma, University of Texas, etc).

This Conference Championship is something that every OSU fan should be extremely proud of…and to win the championship in such convincing fashion as they did by beating the OU 44-10 in the Bedlam game made it even more special.

I am disappointed that this team doesn’t get shot at playing for the National Championship. I’m disappointed that the voters chose to put Alabama at #2 rather than OSU…but…that’s what happened.  Is Alabama better than OSU? Who knows. Is LSU better than OSU?  Who knows.  I do know that I would have loved to have let the teams see for themselves via a playoff system…but that won’t happen anytime soon.

When the final rankings came out this past weekend and OSU was ranked #3 in all polls, many OSU fans were outraged that LSU would be playing Alabama for the National Championship.  Many OSU fans were (and are) angry that the SEC has 2 teams in the championship game, especially given the fact that LSU and Alabama have already played this year with Alabama losing in a low scoring game.

There’s been a lot of name calling and finger pointing…and it bothers me.  On many message boards and facebook pages over the last few days, OSU fans have been bashing the SEC, Alabama, the BCS system and anyone else they can point a finger at for ‘causing’ OSU to miss the National Championship game.

The reality of the situation is that the OSU football team lost to Iowa State.  Iowa State was an unranked team.  Many voters could not let that go when they cast their final ballot.   Its pretty simple. I dislike the fact that 2 SEC teams are playing for the National Championship…but it is what it is.

Even though the team isn’t playing for the title, its been a great year for OSU football. I’m excited that my team is 11-1 this year rather than 9-3 or 4-7 that I’m used too.  I hope Coach Gundy and the rest of the coaching staff can keep the team improving.

The future looks good for OSU football…but fellow OSU fans…please take a step back and control your emotions.  Stop trying to place blame where it doesn’t really belong and let’s get ready to cheer on the Cowboys in the Fiesta Bowl against the Stanford Cardinals.  Should be a good game.

Now…back to regularly scheduled blogging…

Turns out, I have sleep apnea based on the outcome of the sleep study.   So…I get to go back to do another sleep study with a CPAP machine.  Joy!

What I didn’t share in my earlier post was that, in addition to the sleep study, I’ve been having some other health issues.

A few weeks ago, I’d been noticing that my legs were feeling numb, tingling and just felt ‘weird’.  I attributed this  to the fact that I’d been doing a lot of ‘sitting’ lately with little exercise.

Here I am…a 37 year old male in OK health but I get little exercise due to a hectic work/school schedule.  I don’t get out into the ‘wild’ as much as for photography as I would like, which is about all the exercise i usually get.

So when my leg issues wouldn’t go away, I started researching what the troubles might be.  I started seeing things like ‘poor circulation’ and Multiple Sclerosis and Diabetes.  I started to get worried. Very worried.

I also noticed i was feeling a little fatigued. And I just generally felt ‘weird’.

I made an appointment to see my doctor and was told it would be a few days before they could get me in. I didn’t feel like it was an emergency so I didn’t bother pressing for a visit sooner.

I focused on these problems for days on end. I got myself pretty worked up about the health issues and I think I even got myself into a panic attack one day thinking I had some really wrong with me.

I searched Google. I searched WebMD.  I looked at all the info out there. I saw things about diabetes causing poor circulation. I saw all the heart troubles. I saw the many many health problems that all had symptoms like mine.

I don’t have to tell you that I was pretty worried. Downright scared even.

One day last week, I started feeling really weak. I started sweating and my chest felt tight. I was dizzy and just generally felt like poo.  I came very very close to droving myself to the emergency room that day but the feeling went away after I had some orange juice. Note: I’ve always had a low-blood sugar problem – if i don’t eat enough protein for breakfast, I have problems all day.

Once I settled myself down and started feeling better, I realized that it might be that I was worrying myself into poor health. Of course, my lovely wife told me the same thing…that it was all in my head….but did I listen to her?  No. (I do listen sometimes…just not this time.)

So i took a step back and thought about what got me to where I was.

I had a strange feeling in my legs. So….how did i get from that strange feeling in my legs to feeling like I was about to have a heart attack?

Simple…I was taking things into my own hands. I was googling. I was searching. I was picking and choosing symptoms. Heck…at one point, my symptoms pointed to menopause. MENOPAUSE dangit. I’m too young for that! (<~~~ that’s funny right there…because I’m a man.)

All the Google searches in the world won’t help. All the generalist knowledge I have or can obtain about medical issues means very little when it comes time to diagnose and treat those issues.

My doctor’s appointment came and went. He took blood and ran tests. He used his (and the medical lab’s) expertise to find out more specific information about what my problems might be.

Turns out – I don’t have poor circulation. I don’t have diabetes nor do I have any heart problems. What I do have is a bad back that is pinching my Sciatic nerve causing discomfort in my legs. In addition, I have a vitamin D deficiency and a very minor case of Polycythemia (too many red blood cells), which has some of the exact symptoms that I was experiencing. This Polycethemia is something that I’ve got to keep my eye on but isn’t anything to worry about right now as its very minor. The doctor told me to get some exercise and take baby aspirin. I love me some baby aspirin, so I’m good with that approach.

Now…I’m feeling fine. I know there is something wrong with me and I know what lies ahead, which is taking baby aspirin and exercising…horrible i know

There’s a lesson here though for those of us in business – that lesson is this: While generalists are good and can provide real value, sometimes you need specialists. Sometimes you need experts.

There are times that you have a problem that can’t be solved with your regular consultants or employees. Maybe the problem seems simple but turns out its difficult….but you keep throwing generalists at the issue.  There comes a time when you just have to stop searching and reach out to an expert to solve your problem. The key is knowing when to reach out for help…and who to reach out to.

I’m glad I decided to reach out when I did. At least I know now that I don’t have menopause.

Image credit: Trust us, we’re expert By phauly on flickr

dollar sign $ By Leo Reynolds on flickr

I’ve recently moved back into the world of trading stocks and options.  Most of what I’m doing is small stuff but I’m enjoying it and making some money.

Some quick history – me and trading/investing

In the past, I’d been into investing quite heavily with the ‘buy and hold’ approach.  Find a company with good fundamentals and buy it at a good price.  Then hold it and wait for it to go up.

Not a bad long-term approach. I still have some core holdings that are long-term but I never just buy to hold any longer…I buy with a plan in mind. I know when I’ll sell. I know how much I’m willing to loose and how much I’m willing to earn from the trade.

Today, most of my investments are short trades that i hold for less than a week. Many are held overnight for quick in-and-out trades (call swing trades in the trading world). I do some daytrading (buy/sell in same day) but not a lot since I don’t have enough capital in one account to get past the daytrading rules.

Project Management & Trading/Investing?

So…how has project management helped me to be a better trader?

Simple…as a project manager, you focus on three things: Budget, Timeline and Scope

To be successful managing projects, you’ve got to plan well, spend well and execute well. You’ve got to know what you want to do, how much money you have to do it and then execute properly to accomplish the goal(s).

The same is true for trading.

To be a successful trader, you’ve got to plan well, spend well and execute well.  Just like managing projects, you’ve got to know what you want to do, how much money you have to do it and then execute properly to accomplish the goal(s).

In addition, just like being a good PM, you’ve got to know how to manage risk.  Same is true for traders….risk management is key to a long trading career.

There’s one major difference between trading and project management though…..and its a big one:

Trading uses your money….project management uses your bosses money.

It’s usually easier to spend someone else’s money:)

If you mess up on a project, someone can always allocate more money to the project to cover you…you mess up a trade, there’s nobody there to help….that’s where your budget and risk management come into play.  Put too much into a bad trade and you blow up your account.

Trading is all about having a plan and then working that plan.  Find the stock setups that work and then look for the right entry/exit.  Think about what you want to do and be patient and let the plan work.  Sounds similar to what a project manager does, no?

If anyone out there’s interested in learning more about trading, feel free to drop me a line.  For much more knowledge folks on the subject, check out stocktwits.com or some of these good traders, investors and thinkers in the space:

• Art of Trading - @traderstewie on Twitter
• Gtotoy Blog and Day Trader Boot Camp – @gtotoy on Twitter (i recently joined DTBC and love it!)
• Michael Bigger – @biggercapital on Twitter
• Investing with Options – @steveplace on Twitter
• Joe Fahmy – @jfahmy on Twitter
• Barry Ritholtz – @ritholtz on Twitter
• Joshua Brown – @thereformedbroker on Twitter

But…what is a good process?

Is it one that works?   One that gets the job done?  Or…is ‘good’ measured in some other form?

Of course, if a process works it can be considered good…but it is the best process?  Good question right?

My measurement of ‘good’ is this:  Is the process the best one for you and your organization?

If yes…good for you.  If no…fix it.

But..before you can fix it, you’ve got to understand whether its the right process don’t you?

A million processes…which is right?

I’ve been moving back into trading the stock market recently.  Nothing major…very small amounts of money and its something I enjoy doing in my spare time (which isn’t much these days).  There are a million different ‘systems’ out there for selecting stocks/options with most of them proclaiming themselves to the ‘best’ stock picking system.

At the core of stock selection systems are two main methods of analysis: fundamental analysis and technical analysis.  Of course, there are some systems that combine the two forms of analysis but for the sake of simplicity, let’s stick with these two systems as the core of our stock selection processes.

Some investors argue that fundamental analysis is the only way to go.  They argue that the only way to select, and own, a stock is to find those companies that have sound fundamentals (according to their definition of sound fundamentals).  You then purchase that stock and hold it.  Some argue holding it forever…others argue that you should hold it for a certain period.  Many many different processes & systems for selecting and holding stocks using fundamental analysis.  If you want to learn more about fundamental analysis, check out the wide selection of books on fundamental analysis on Amazon.com (affiliate link).

On the flip side, many argue that technical analysis should be the main focus of your stock selection system.  Some traders argue that you only look at technicals but most of the good traders out there that use technical analysis keep one eye on the fundamentals and the other on the technicals.  Using technical analysis to select stocks, your main focus us reviewing the technical indicators using charts, stochastics and other mechanisms. Technical analysis is something that many technical people (engineers, developers, etc) can really get into because all the numbers, charts, indicators and graphs.  If you want to learn more about technical analysis, check out the wide selection of books on technical analysis on Amazon.com (affiliate link).

Within both camps are many many (many) different selection processes & systems.  Some are simple, like the CAN SLIM fundamental analysis system, while some are extremely complex and require large computer systems to analyze and determine the best entry point.  Some systems are manual and some are automated and some are a mixture of automation and manual review.  Some systems focus on stocks only while some focus on stock options.

Needless to say…there are a ton of different processes for selecting stocks/options and other investment vehicles.

But which one is right?

It depends.

You knew I’d say that, right?

It depends on your attitude towards investing.  It depends on your level of risk you are willing to take (or can take).  It also depends on your investing horizon….how long can you wait for a return? Are you retired and need income?  Or…are you 25 and can wait 30 years to take your gains?  Lots of different things to think about while trying to find the ‘right’ stock selection & investing system/process.

So what is a person to do?  Try them all out?  Can’t do that…too many of them.

But…what you can do is think about what fits your approach to investing and life.  What works best for your situation.  Do you want to keep an eye on your investments or are you OK with investing your money and letting it ride through the up & down cycles?  Your answers to these types of questions will help determine which approach is right.  Your answers will help you select the right process for you.

Choose the wrong process for selecting your approach to investing and you could be bankrupt. Select the right process…and you might go bankrupt too…but you would’ve at least had the best opportunity to succeed.

Selecting the right process

Selecting the right process for investing is much like selecting the right process for your organization.  Just because a process works for your buddy at his company doesn’t mean it will work for you at your company.  Just because it worked for you last year, doesn’t mean it will work for you this year.

Processes are a dime a dozen.  Walk into a room full of IT people and ask them what the best process is for “X” and you’ll get about as many answers as there are people.

That said…good processes are a dime a dozen too.  What’s good for one company/person may not be good for you.

Don’t blindly adopt a process because it’s the “standard” or because it worked for you before.  Take some time to think about that process, the steps involved and the people involved. Think about your corporate culture and what types of things work well for your organization.

If you work for a slow moving organization with a ton of bureaucracy, selecting a fast-moving process that requires very little approval from ‘on high’ might not be the best thing.   On the other hand…if you are in a fast moving start-up, you may not want to select a process for selecting and acquiring new technology that you used to use in your Fortune 50 organization.

The right process is different for everyone & every company.  The right process is what works for you, your team and your company.

By eqqman on flickr

This post is a bit off topic from the norm but I wanted to take this opportunity to say Thank You to anyone who’s ever served in the armed forces.

For those of you outside the US, November 11 is Veterans Day and is also celebrated as Armistice Day / Remembrance Day in other parts of the world.

Its a day that we Celebrate and Remember our Veterans.

Its a day that’s celebrated as a federal holiday but few people truly take the time to remember the reason for this day.

This day should make you stop and think about those people who served, whether in peace or in war…our veterans have done more for us than most people give them credit for.

Those bastards of the Westboro Baptist Church can protest at military funerals because of our veterans. Sorry for the strong language…but its the mildest word I will use to describe those people.

People who spend their day bashing our government can only do that because our veterans have defended their right to bash.

People who call our President anything other than “Mr. President” have the right to do so because of our veterans.

While some people may disagree with reasons for war, nobody can disagree with someone putting their life on hold to protect this country and our freedoms.

My father, Dwain Brown, was a part of the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, the Redcatchers, in Vietnam.  He didn’t want to be there.  My grandparents didn’t want him to be there. My mother didn’t want him to be there.  But he was there…and he served.

Thankfully, he returned unharmed and has been able to lead a great life and has been a wonderful father to me and my sister.  There’s no words to tell him how thankful I am that he served his country when asked.

Very few Vietnam Veterans were ever told Thank You when they returned home, which I think is a travesty…hopefully those people that spat on our Vietnam Veterans saw Karma come back and bite them.

My great-uncle, Woody Kinnear, was a member of the 101st Airborne in World War II and saw action during D-Day and the subsequent movement through Europe.  He saw action in every major engagement in the European Theater including the Battle of Bulge.

I never got to say Thank You to uncle Woody before he died and I’m truly sorry for that. I hope someone, somewhere told him Thank You for serving.

Whether you’re in the USA or elsewhere, take a moment to remember your Veterans.  Say Thank You to them for serving.

Some Veterans show an outward injury…perhaps they’ve been physically injured in some way. But…many other Veterans are injured on the inside as well…they’ve seen things that they shouldn’t have to see.

The simplest act of saying “Thank You”, said with sincerity, can do amazing things to help that Veteran out.

Say thank you to a Veteran today….and every day.

Today is the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City  Bombing.

I was a senior in college when the bombing happened and can still remember the first image I saw on TV of the building smoking.

I knew a few folks that worked in the building and am still quite saddened when I think about this tragedy and loss of life.

I visited the bombing site before demolotion and was absolutely overwhelmed with the sites I saw….I can’t imagine the horror that occurred in that building during and after the bombing.  The things the rescuers saw cannot even be imagined (and I don’t think I want to try to imagine them).

Even though I spent 4 years in Oklahoma after the bombing (finishing grad school, etc), I never revisited the site.  In fact, it took me fifteen years to visit the memorial and was only able to do so because my wife was with me…not sure I would have visited alone.

Here’s a few photos from the visit:

Next time you’re in Oklahoma City, please stop by the Oklahoma City National Memorial and spend a few minutes in this powerful place.

You also may be aware (or maybe not!) that I had been working for the Boy Scouts of America’s National headquarters within the marketing group.

Looking back

I started at the BSA as a consultant in September 2007 and provided project management & technology strategy services on their Sitecore Content Management System project.  The initial tasking on the project was to implement Sitecore, migrate the main BSA website (scouting.org) and introduce the concept of Content  Management throughout the enterprise.

Shortly after starting on this project I met a good friend (and someone that you should get to know too) Gene De Libero.  Gene was the Project Manager for the vendor that the BSA had hired to implement and provide custom development services.  I do have to say that meeting and eventually working with him on a few things, most notably our side project CIO Essentials.

During my time at the BSA, I saw the organization move away from flat-file HTML websites and migrate into Sitecore CMS as the platform of choice.  There were some hiccups during the implementation and subsequent usage of Sitecore CMS but none were too terribly bad and are par for the course for most CMS implementations.

I learned a great deal about myself, people and bureaucracy while working at the BSA.   I’ll leave it at that.

Moving Forward

So what will my new role be?

I’ll be the Director – Central Region for an Intellectual Property Litigation Support & Consulting company - Silicon Valley Expert Witness Group (SVEWG).  I had previously worked for SVEWG in 2005 to 2007 and kept in touch with my ex-boss Rick over the years.    One day a few months ago, Rick asked if I’d be interested in coming back to work…and I was.

In this new role, I’ll be responsible for driving new business for the Central Region of the US (Houston to Minneapolis) and managing current region business.  In addition, I’ll be bringing my marketing and social media experience to the organization to help improve marketing for the organization.

My IT experience will come into play at SVEWG but since the company is a Small Business and has few IT assets, the IT aspect of the job will be minimal – which isn’t a bad thing.

So…I’m moving on.  The BSA is behind me. Sitecore CMS is behind me.   I think the new role is an excellent fit for where I am in my life right now and one that I’m grateful to Rick to have the opportunity to take on.

So…if you or anyone you know work in the Intellectual Property space, drop me a line and let’s see if there’s a way we can work together.

The New CIO is a weekly article about the challenges facing today’s CIO as well as what can be done to prepare for future challenges.

Do you know the full capabilities of your team?

Sure…you know what their resume’s said.  You think you know their backgrounds and their experience…but do you really know your team?

Do you have a developer who, in their free time, is extremely active in the blogosphere and the social media world?  Do you have a project manager who really wants to make a lateral move into service management?

Do you really know your team?  If you don’t, you may be leaving a lot of talent, skills and passion on the table.

Dangers of Hidden Talent

Leaving talent untapped is unforgivable to me and should be unacceptable to you. We live in a world where we’re expected to do more with less and rely more heavily on people’s knowledge & skills to make our businesses work.

Knowing this is the case, why do we hire a person, train them (do you train your people?) and then forget about them?  Why do we ignore the idea of talent management and human capital? Read more of my thoughts on those topics here and here and if you’re looking for a great book on Talent & Competitive Advantage, check out Talent : Making People Your Competitive Advantage (amazon affiliate link) and/or Talent on Demand: Managing Talent in an Age of Uncertainty (amazon affiliate link).  Both of those books are excellent.

Do you have regular meetings with your team?  Do you talk about their careers?  Do you know that your star programmer is a widely read blogger?  Can you use the talent and passion of that programmer to more than just develop the next application?

Hidden talent doesn’t just sit within your front-line teams.  Did you know that your Director of Technical Support is working on her Masters of Fine Art in Creative Writing?  Are there things she can do to provide more value to the organization than just leading the service desk?

Hidden talent is hidden profit, hidden revenue and hidden advantage.  Hidden talent can also be the death of your team if it isn’t uncovered.

Uncovering Hidden Talent

Do you know what drives each of your team members? What really gets them excited in the morning?  I’d bet there are a few people on your team that aren’t that happy in their current role and who are looking for something else to do.  Rather than lose them to another company, why not help them find something more interesting within your team and/or organization?

What can you do to help them become happier and more engaged? Could you get your programmer / blogger to work on more projects where he can use his writing skills?  What could your Tech Support Director provide to the organization now that you know she’s extremely interested in creative writing?

Of course you can’t make everyone 100% happy all the time.  People still have jobs to do…but if you take some time to talk with your team about the career ambitions and do what you can to help them reach their goals, you’ll be amazed at the response you’ll receive from them.

What can you do to uncover hidden talent?  Simple…talk to your team.  I mean really talk.  Try to understand their aspirations and what drives them.  Look for their hidden passions & skills.  Work with your team to uncover the hidden talents and you’ll see new vigor from your team.

Finding the Talent – A New CIO skill

So…time to add one more skillset to The New CIO’s job requirements…that of Talent Miner.  Of course, this role can be fulfilled by any member of the IT staff (and anyone else in the organization), but as the top dog in IT you’ve got to lead people in this area.

The New CIO needs to get things done with the resources given to them…but those resources might be able to provide  more value than originally thought…if you look for the hidden talent. “Doing more with less” is the mantra these days…find those folks on your team who are passionate about something and find ways to let them bring that passion to their job.

Uncover the hidden talent within your team/organization and watch the growth that occurs.  Fail to uncover that talent and you’ll fail to reach the potential of your people and your team.

Join me next week for another article in The New CIO series.

Today’s CIO is having a tough time. They’re being asked to do more with less.  Budgets are being slashed.  Projects are being canceled.  Tough times indeed.

What can the CIO do to make it through?  Well…many are working their staffs harder and longer.  Because, you know its time to do more with less, right?

Wrong.  Well…actually it is right…but Doing More with Less doesn’t mean you’ve got to cut your staff to the core, work them to death and ignore their personal development.

So what can The New CIO do to keep the IT staff happy, engaged and working hard?

First, understand the type of people that seek out careers in IT. Then understand what drives them.  Once you understand what drives them, give them the opportunity to work on those things that excite them.  Maybe your IT Operations guru really wants to be developer…find a way to make that happen. If your technical support lead wants to move into project management, find a way to let her work her way into a new role.

Keep focusing on personal development, listen to your team and lead your team. Do these things and you’ll have a happy & engaged IT staff who will work hard for you in good times and harder for you in the bad times.

Let’s take a look at what drives IT professionals (and perhaps many other non-IT folk).

Dreams

Many IT professionals are inquisitive and love the idea of their job.  They got into IT because they love technology and they love finding creative ways to solve problems.

Then…they get a job in ‘the real world’ where they are asked to ‘do more with less’ and worked harder then ever.  For the most part, these IT pro’s are happy working hard. They like their jobs.  They like a challenge so they do whatever it takes.  Until they realize that they aren’t appreciated.

The IT employee (and group) takes a beating from the organization when things go wrong.   The email server crashes?  You hear things like ‘those IT guys can’t do anything right’. People within the organization can’t understand why it takes so long to get anything done in IT.  They don’t realize that the IT staff is way understaffed and overworked…those things don’t cross their mind.

The IT Pro wants to do the best they can but for various reasons (overworked, stressed out, disengaged, etc) they can’t.

Disappointment

IT folk are a fickle lot.   When they feel under-appreciated (or not at all), they can get defensive and morose.  It doesn’t take long for a happy IT professional to be disappointed.

The dreams of the ‘fun’ they thought they’d have while doing what they love soon turns into a nightmare of disappointment.  They don’t feel as though they get to have any ‘fun’ because they’re so busy doing more with less.

The IT Pro is disappointed.  They are struggling to keep up with current technology.  They have to sneak some time to try to pick up new technology.  They buy books at the bookstore and try to learn new programming languages.  They try to keep up…but without a strong focus on personal development from IT leadership, the IT Pro is left alone to toil on their own.

Disengagement

Disappointment inevitably leads to Disengagement.

The IT professional has worked themselves till they are bone tired.  They don’t feel appreciated by the organization.  They feel overworked and underpaid (even though they make decent money). The IT professional has put their heart and soul into their job and, in their eyes, they’ve received nothing for their effort other than a big ol’ shiny turd landing on their desk.

Now…you’ve got a highly trained & extremely technical IT professional who’s heart isn’t in their work. They don’t feel loved.     They feel overlooked, overworked and tired.  They are on the verge of disengaging from their job…and that isn’t good.

What can The New CIO do to make a difference?

First, understand your staff.  Understand what drives them and what excites them.  Then, let them spend some time doing just that.  Push personal development & training as a top priority. Follow Google’s example of letting their folks work on personal projects for a percentage of the time.  Let your team pick up new technologies and see what they can do.  Don’t be afraid to sniff around the open source world for your next big platform or project.   If you’ve got to cut costs and projects, look at the open source world as a way to cut platform costs and let your team loose on the challenge of integrating open source into the enterprise.

Second, communicate, communicate, communicate. Oh…and don’t stop communicating. Communicate to the top of the pyramid and communicate even more to the individual contributors.    Talk about what’s being worked now and what’s being planned.  Talk about the successes and failures. Discuss your plans for the short- and long-term.  In other words…talk to your team and the organization constantly. Tell them what you are thinking…be open and honest and you’ll get some great feedback…if you listen.

On that note, the Third thing The New CIO has to do is Listen.   I capitalized that on purpose BTW.  Listening is a skill that must live within The New CIO.  You’ve got to listen to your team’s needs and to the organization’s needs.   Work on your listening skills and not just the skill to hear what people are saying…you’ve got to listen intently to what your team members & the organization are not saying.  You’ve got to understand the real issues at hand…not just what comes out of someone’s mouth.

Fourth, The New CIO must understand the business.  Truly understand the business.  What does this have to do with keeping your team engaged?  Lots.  It’s hard to provide technology for an organization if you don’t understand what the organization does.  Understanding the business, and communicating that understanding to your team, will help you craft your vision and strategy for technology services.   By understanding the business and building the information technology strategy for the organization, you and your team will have a full understanding of why things are being done and where you are headed.

Lastly, The New CIO has to lead. Leadership is a key factor for keeping your team engaged. There’s nothing worse than a CIO (or any manager) who can’t make a decision and/or back their team up.  Leadership is more than ‘being in charge’…it means standing up for your staff when things are tough.  It also means that The New CIO is the person in the organization leading the charge to find better, cheaper and faster ways to get things done.

Conclusion

The New CIO has a lot on their plate.  In addition to the old standards of running technology teams, setting strategy and keeping the lights on, The New CIO has to focus on the softer skills.  Selecting the right people and keeping those people engaged in their work is a difficult job but must be at the top of the list of priorities for The New CIO.

The mantra today is ‘do more with less’…..don’t let that creep into your mind when it comes to your people.  Keep developing them, keep them happy and you’ll be amazed at how much an engaged IT team can do even in the tough times.  Keeping them engaged during the times of ‘less’ will provide an amazing advantage when the ‘good’ times come back around…you keep your team happy today and watch the exponential increase in output when the budgets come back.

Join me next Thursday for a new edition of The New CIO where I’ll be talking about the chasm between Strategy & Tactics and what we can do to close the gap.

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• Few Companies Will Get Maximum Value from IT Investments During Recession: Diamond Digital IQ Report (seomashup.blogspot.com)
• Guest Post: The Cost of Employee Disengagement (ericbrown.com)

Check out some of these Blogs for great content:

• Amber Naslund – Always writes quality stuff that makes me think.
• Chris Brogan – Nuff said.  The man can make you think using fewer words than many (check his latest post for an example – 12 words and only five were in the post)
• Valeria Maltoni – Great. Stuff. Always.
• Bas de Baar – Great blog. Focused on Project Management but has relevance to all areas.
• Beth Kanter – Great Blogger writing about Social Media and Nonprofits.
• Alexander Muse – The Texas Startup Blog is a must read for any Texas Entrepreneur.  Although I don’t always agree with Alexander, I respect what he has to say.
• Tim Walker – Although new to Tim’s writing and thoughts, I’ve found he has a great voice.  Check out his work on Hoover’s Business Intelligence Blog as well as his personal blog.
• Micah Baldwin – if you want to be entertained and forced to think, check out Learn to Duck.

OK…now that I’ve placed these folks on notice, they have to keep the great work going