Remove excuses and eliminate obstacles for others to be successful. This is a very simple view of what leaders must do and in particular what IT teams must do. Technology needs to empower people and provide solutions, not be in the way of people achieving their goals and being successful.
Who should you include in e-mails
E-mails are a staple of the business world and whether we like them or not, they are here to stay a while longer. When writing e-mails you should focus on being both efficient (no War and Peace novels, please) and effective (get your point across and go for the desired outcome). Focus on actionable items or knowledge sharing and exclude …
Business logic goes before technology
Business logic, processes and policies need to be in place before a technological solution can be selected. Additionally, start from the desired outcome then reverse engineer the process and steps needed to get there. During this process you must establish ownership and accountability of each of the steps and a clear timeline and what happens when and by whom. Only …
Client experience is the starting point
Client experience is the starting point of all service offerings. When designing services to support your organization it is essential to start with the experience of your users (both internal and external) in mind. Once you are aware how your services impact the lives or responsibilities of others that’s when you reverse engineer the process to make sure proper people …
Organizational mission sets all calendars
Business side of your organization sets the calendars of all others. This can happen directly or indirectly, but all functional areas need to be aware of the core mission of their business and act in support of it. In my particular case, in higher education, academic calendar sets our IT calendar and has a significant impact as to how and …
You get what you pay for
When making enterprise decisions look beyond the initial cost and consider total cost of ownership (TCO), usability and user experience. While current cost is an important line item it shouldn’t be the main (or only) factor to consider when deciding which systems or services to implement or who to hire and promote. Look at the overall value that particular enterprise …
Be honest with your service providers
Please be honest with your service providers. No matter what happened to a particular piece of equipment or a product we need to have as many facts as possible up front in order to provide adequate services and support. There’s no reason to be ashamed or embarrassed as chances are that your story is not the worst we have heard …
Firefox in the enterprise – is it ready and does it care?
Firefox 6 “eating” the web (or only cupcakes)? Firefox 6 is here, now what. Mozilla’s rapid release development cycle for Firefox is getting a bit out of hand as it seems that every 6-8 weeks they release a new full version of their browser which causes difficulties in enterprises. Even their Rapid Release Calendar looks insane. Don’t get me wrong, …
How I tracked and recovered a stolen iPhone
This past weekend my wife’s iPhone was stolen from a store in Secaucus, NJ. While in store, she placed it down to try on a pair of shoes and then moved an isle down to take a look at another item which was long enough for the phone to “disappear”. Once she realized that she was missing her phone it …
Geotagging your life online? Be careful.
Geotagging and location based services are all the rage these days. While they are very useful at times, these features should not be taken for granted nor should they be enabled on all of your devices and applications. Certain parts of your life are meant to be private and they should remain that way. Geotagging every move online for all …