Links for March 6 2011

Technology Consultant - Eric D. Brown | Image for link posts

Lessons From a Corporate Insider: Dream Big, but Think Small by Mark Ivey on MarketingProfs Daily Fix Blog
Quote: Rather than delude yourself into thinking you’re going to change an entire company, be smart. Start with focused, achievable goals and programs. Think small.
People do not want to create content for your brand by Matt Rhodes on FreshNetworks blog
People do not always want to create content for your brand. They do, however, have many other needs that will lead to the same outcome for you. Proper time spent planning and investigating who you are looking to engage and what their motivation is is time well spent. It will help you to understand what both parties will get out of any engagement, and help to ensure that your campaign is not one of the many examples of social media where people really don’t want to engage with you.
How to get good at making money – (37signals)
Quote: The lesson: People are happy to pay for things that work well. Never be afraid to put a price on something. If you pour your heart into something and make it great, sell it. For real money. Even if there are free options, even if the market is flooded with free. People will pay for things they love.
Not Another Suit on Jonathan Salem Baskin’s Dim Bulb
Quote: I’ve got a better idea. Don’t add a job description at all. Just do better at all the management consultant blatherese that you’ve already paid for. If you walk the talk even only slightly more each new day from the last, you’ll be well along the path to happier customers. You don’t need to add a suit in order to do it.
The Four Personas of the Next-Generation CIO – R “Ray” Wang – The Conversation – Harvard Business Review
Quote: Just as previous technology and business shifts have changed the role of the CIO, the new, more consumer-oriented business models of the social revolution will favor a new breed of business and technology leader. These leaders will have to navigate myriad converging and disruptive technologies, align new initiatives to both business value and technology feasibility, and identify strategies to leverage existing investments to fund innovation.
All departments are not the same – by Neil Ward Dutton on Opinion – CIO UK Magazine
Quote: Here’s the core of the issue: although IT outcomes are increasingly pervasive within business, IT provision has to be seen from a different perspective. Not only is IT provision not universally spread out across business teams and functions where the outcomes have impact, but it shouldn’t be distributed in that way, either.
This is a dynamic that’s not found anywhere else on an organisational chart.

Links for Feb 27 2001

It is all about The Customer by Neil Pearce
Quote: Too often we in the IT department are seen as being out of touch by other people within the business and make strange decisions where we do IT for the sake of IT are often at the heart of it. This doesn’t mean that you don’t experiment to learn if something has value, but does everybody really need the latest iPad to figure out if it has a business benefit? Technology is great but it is an enabler to make lives better for Customers and profits for the business. We need to and must want to use our technology, process and people skills to make better products and generate wealth for our investors.
The end of the IT department – (37signals)
Quote: You no longer need a tech person at the office to man “the server room.” Responsibility for keeping the servers running has shifted away from the centralized IT department. Today you can get just about all the services that previously required local expertise from a web site somewhere.
Leadership and Knowledge Management by Mike Myatt on N2Growth Blog
Quote: It’s one thing to possess knowledge, but it’s quite another thing to leverage it. Leaders who don’t understand the value of distributable and actionable knowledge not only limit opportunities, but they’re also building huge contingent operating liabilities. One of great challenges for any leader is to break down cultural tendencies that foster silo-centric thought patterns. Savvy leaders understand that controlling knowledge diminishes value, while releasing knowledge creates value
Companies Aren’t Communities by By Michael Idinopulos on Enterprise Social Software Blog | Socialtext
Quote: In the enterprise, we need to take a more pragmatic approach. As the old saying goes, “The business of business is business.” Social software fails when it tries to turn businesses into consumer-style communities. It succeeds when it turns businesses into better businesses.
Conversations and Success by Wally Bock on Three Star Leadership Blog
Quote: Here’s the sequence. Show up a lot. Have conversations. Relationships will develop and the odds for success will improve
Calling the Shots: How to Be the CEO of Your Own Life by Flexo on Get Rich Slowly
Quote: There was a time in my life when I wasn’t making any difference for myself, for my future. My finances suffered, my attitude suffered, and I was headed for imminent disaster. Now, I call the shots — all of them. I still have a lot of work to do and more to learn, but now I’m motivated by the idea that whether I succeed or fail, it’s only the choices that I make that lead me to that point.

Links for Feb 13 2011

Which is better, thought or action? by Laura Rose on UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley
Quote: Everything begins with a thought. Without thought there is no action. The idea of the action normally occurs to you before you execute it. Then your action begets a result. And the result normally stimulates a new desire or thought. Without action, there is no “new thought”. We’ll acquire similar thoughts…because thinking does beget more thinking. But we would continue to think “the same”. It’s the action that brings exploration, growth, development to our circle.
What’s the use case? by Seth Godin
Quote: The most effective way to sell the execution of an idea is to describe the use case first. And before you can do that, you need to have both the trust of your client and enough information to figure out what would delight them.
The hazards of binary thinking and poor scope definition by Jeffrey Phillips on Innovate on Purpose
Quote: Far too frequently we find that our clients struggle to generate new ideas because their problem scope or problem definition is too narrow or too rigid. The scope then keeps the team cycling through the same issues and same ideas, and doesn’t allow any new thinking or ideas.
2011: The Year Enterprise IT Finally Gets A Social Life by Tony Zingale on Business Insider
Quote: Why do I think Social Business will flip the switch and go mainstream in 2011? Early adopters of Social Business are reporting real ROI on their investments. That’s no surprise considering social media and social technologies have saturated the consumer space.
A Super Bowl Servant Leader by Scott Eblin on the Next Level Blog
Quote: “I don’t think about the things I have to do, I think about the things I can do to make my men successful.” There’s a lot of other things that one could say about servant leadership, but if you’re looking for a brief definition of how it works, I don’t think you can do much better than what Tomlin said. Does servant leadership guarantee you win every game? No, of course not. Does it make a positive difference? I think it does.

Links for Feb 6 2011

How to Use Communication to Establish Trust in Remote Teams by Celine Roque on GigaOm
Quote: With remote teams, we must know how to communicate effectively if we want to build long-term trust in our working relationships. We can do this by increasing our efforts in expressing our enthusiasm at the start of the project, keeping messages in a positive tone, staying focused on the task, and establishing a regular pattern of communication.
If Julia Child Was A Management Consultant by Terry Starbucker on TerryStarbucker.com
Quote: She so loved what she was doing, and it showed. What’s more, while she was never afraid to poke fun at herself, she was always respectful to her craft, and to the process of coming up with fantastic and full flavored meals. And she could sum up her “recipe” for cooking quite succinctly:
Unreasonable by Seth Godin on Seth’s Blog
Quote: Fortunately, the world is filled with unreasonable people. Unfortunately, you need to compete with them.
Authentic Leadership Can Be Bad Leadership by Deborah Gruenfeld and Lauren Zander on Harvard Business Review
Quote: Your authentic self should be the basis of your leadership style. But, it is better to take a good hard look at who you really are before showcasing and defending everything that comes naturally. It is one thing to admire Jack Welch. But don’t kid yourself into thinking that your authentic self, unleashed in all its glory, is your key to effective leadership.
The ROI of ROI: Does ROI Always Make Sense? By Jacob Morgan on CloudAve
Quote: I will challenge readers here to something similar, “I will admit the importance of measuring ROI if you will admit that sometimes it doesn’t make sense to invest the time and money into figuring out what the ROI is, the question is, when is that sometimes?”
Instant IT Gratification by John Bauer on Midwest IT Survival
Quote: By “Instant IT Gratification” I mean the corporate culture where IT is expected to delivery what the business is asking for, how they are asking for it and when they want it done all without collaborative dialog. Contracts are signed without IT. Due dates are determined in advance and IT is expected to meet these deadlines without being consulted.
If a document falls in Sharepoint, and nobody hears it… by By Michael Idinopulos on Socialtext’s Enterprise Social Software Blog
Quote: Social software adoption requires collaboration. Collaboration requires transparency. You can do all the change management and attend all the conference break-out sessions you want, but you won’t get adoption until you deliver transparency and agency.

Links for Jan 9 2011

Two Things to Remember as You Change the World by Mary Jo Asmus on Aspire-CS
Quote: Patience and perseverance. You must have both. Together, and at the same time. In this world I’ve learned that there are very few quick fixes, despite what you might hear from marketers. That cream that will get rid of wrinkles in two weeks or the diet that will help us lose 20 pounds in two weeks are fairy tales. So it is with most good outcomes – they often take more time than we’d like, requiring you to have a calm demeanor and firm determination.
Tell Your Customers Why They Don’t Need You by Charles H. Green on Trusted Advisor
Quote: You probably want your customers to trust you. And you probably tell them the truth about why they should buy from you. You might think that’s enough for them to trust you, but of course it’s not. Oddly, what’s missing is telling them something about why they might not need you. Here’s why.
Enterprise microblogging should be pay-per-use by Martin Jinssen on Business or Pleasure? – why not both
Quote: 2011 will be the year of rapidly increasing social monetisation – at least attempts are being, and will be made
One Day the Cloud Really Will Be Big: The Economist by Jeremy Geelan
Quote: The article’s guesstimate is that “revenues generated by computing infrastructure as a service in 2010 may exceed $1 billion.”
Three Tips for IT Success During M&As by Loraine Lawson on ITBusinessEdge.com
Quote: The article includes a slew of other valuable tips and information – including why Day 100 is so critical and how CIOs can become a key player in identifying potential acquisition targets as their M&A skills improve. For instance, the article notes that in companies with a flexible, streamline approached to IT, it’s easier to ascertain which deals are a good beat and which are not.

Links for December 12 2010

Why customer experience innovation matters now by Jeffrey Phillips on Innovate on Purpose
Quote: …firms that improve the customer experience, not just in purchasing but in all aspects of the customer’s engagement with your product, service or company will benefit. Increasingly, people are seeking more than a purchase. They are seeking a relationship with a brand or a company and expect to be engaged and rewarded by the relationship.
Steve Martin & Internet Bullies by William Briggs on Samuel Bacharach’s Blog
Quote: Companies and leaders who conduct business online should take note. People on the Internet can be mean and often forget basic manners. Social media isn’t always a fun and entertaining way to generate consumer interest. Sometimes it’s just a sounding board for loud-mouths who are simply seeking entertainment.
The Null Hypothesis by Jeff Cornwall on The Entrepreneurial Mind
Quote: Most aspiring entrepreneurs spend their waking hours trying to prove that their idea for a new business can work. They quickly gather some cursory industry data and talk with people already working in the industry with one thought in mind: “What can I uncover that will validate my desire to open this business?” They selectively only pay attention to information that reaffirms their desire to get the business open as soon as possible. As a result, they fail to uncover information that may not paint such a rosy picture about the viability of the business idea.
Death Of The CIO, Birth Of The CBTO by George Colony on Forrester Blogs
Quote: I propose that you drop the term “CIO” and adopt a new moniker for the head of technology: “Chief Business Technology Officer” (CBTO). I was in front a large group of Forrester’s CIO clients in October and I asked them to describe the CBTO using a semi-comedic device: “You know you’re a CBTO if…” Here are some of the better entries:
Overcoming 3 Crucial Challenges with Content Strategy by Valeria Maltoni on Conversation Agent
Quote: To be successful and own your social conversation, in addition to thinking socially, you need to also figure out how you’re going to get your organization to be in it for the long haul. You want to do that, because that’s where you need to be for your investment to be worthwhile.
The road to sales success happens one step at a time by Pamela Slim on Escape from Cubicle Nation
Quote: …if your business is worth fighting for, if your big idea pulls at you deeply and will serve a market that needs what you have to offer, maybe you just need to keep taking one small step at a time.
“What I want to talk about” – six words that say I don’t care about what you think by Mark McDonald on the Gartner Blog Network
Quote: You have heard these words sitting in the audience or perhaps you have spoken them when you have the floor. Either way the message behind these six words is clear. I am here. This is what I want to say. I do not really care about what you hear.
3 reasons job satisfaction requires discomfort by Scot Herrick on CubeRUles
Quote: Forget all the “performance review” stuff for your work out there for now. Take a hard look at your job performance. With flinty eyes, condescending looks, and with the air of superiority required to make sure you are really critical of the work you do and how you could improve.