Links for April 15 2012
- “The honeymoon is over” by Lisa Breytspraak Jasper
Quote: So now the magic question… how does a CIO continue the honeymoon indefinitely? I suggest the following: Before the honeymoon is over, definitely within that 6-12 month mark, that CIO better be coming to his or her business partners with real ideas on how they can use technology to change their business. That’s something they can bond over. If they aren’t in that position of helping their business stakeholders use technology strategically, they will at a minimum, be totally marginalized, and more likely, be perceived as a failure.
- How To Talk About Your Weaknesses by Simon Sinek on Re:Focus
Quote: Everything in the world is balanced. For every weakness we have, we have a strength that explains or provides context for that weakness. Both these examples offer honest answers to the question but do so within the context of why that weakness exists. The result? We’re more likely to be seen as trustworthy because we’re willing to offer an honest answer to vulnerable question and, more importantly, the person listening to us is more likely to put is in a job that highlights our strengths and mitigates our weaknesses…which is good for us and good for them.
- Wisdom of the loud by Oliver Marks on ZDNet
Quote: Surprisingly it was ’60’s rock star Jimi Hendrix who said “Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens”. We instinctively know good management is far more about listening and understanding than it is about demonstrating your depth of knowledge. Most people would consider a good manager to be someone who openly and honestly sets you reasonable tasks, is supportive and informative in helping you achieve them, makes participants feel valued and secure, responds to any issues quickly in real time and acknowledges and celebrates your efforts and completion.
- What CEOs Want from CIOs Now from Kim Nash on CIO Blogs
Quote: It sounds to me like what CEOs mean when they say they want new business models is a combination of technology innovation and old-fashioned business process redesign. Home Box Office broadening business to mobile content. Walgreens morphing from a drug store to a “daily living” service retailer.
- Communication and the Art of Not Communicating by Dean Shaw
Quote: Technology allows us to do magical things that we couldn’t have dreamt about even 10 years ago. And that is a good thing. But it has also made us slaves to those things. Paraphrasing Seinfeld, we don’t want to know what’s going on around us; we want to know what’s else is going on.
- 5 Ways to Fix Your High Value Jerks by Susan Cramm on Valuedance
Quote: It seems to me that jerkiness is on the rise in many organizations. This is unfortunate but understandable given the stresses of the current economic and competitive climate. But talented jerks can create a climate of fear that causes others to go passive-aggressive, defensive, and timid. Talented jerks expand their impact that the cost of those around them, dividing rather than multiplying, making the organizational whole less than the sum of its parts. Rather than accepting jerkiness as the “new normal,” it’s more important than ever for leaders to have the courage to fire what they cannot fix.
- Entrepreneur Series: Past, Present and Future by Mark Harai
Quote: Learn from the past. Take action – keep moving forward everyday. Never stop dreaming, envisioning and communication a better future for all.
- What Does Big Data Mean To You? by Aaron Doades on Search Engine Land
Quote: Long story short, this idea of big data is too large to be defined.. Whether you are an e-commerce company, an ad agency working with direct response or branding campaigns, luxury advertiser or so forth, many aspects to data might apply. Before you settle in on your data sources, think about the idea of “big data” and what it means to you.
- How IT can think like the business by Bob Lewis on Application development – InfoWorld
Quote: Good news first: Because so much of what IT does is more practice than process, we have firsthand experience with the sorts of tools that are useful for supporting practices — tools like Visio, various IDEs, and project management software. The bad news: What we in internal IT know how to do is to build or integrate transactional systems — the kind of systems that support business processes… But building the sort of open-ended tools useful for supporting business practices? That’s a practice, too. It just isn’t one most IT shops have mastered. Has yours?
- Why CIOs Must Be More Social by David F. Carr on The BrainYard – InformationWeek
Quote: “If CIOs are charged with building a social business, shouldn’t they have a social presence?” Fidelman asked, suggesting that “CIOs who don’t get social might not be CIOs next year.” Yet even in conservative industries like finance, there are CIOs like Royal Bank of Scotland’s Ian Alderton (#4 on the list) who are social standouts, Fidelman said.
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