You are only as good as your last performance. We have all heard this statement or a variation of it and unfortunately, in most organizations, it is partially true. I say partially true as your overall performance and contributions are more important than any single project, service improvement or business development opportunity. Your reputation as a whole is what matters. …
The most important calendar item for 2016 and beyond
Time management is an important skill, needed to succeed in making many of your goals a reality. As we look at our plans and goals for 2016 it is important to allocate time (actually block it off on your calendar) to think, reflect and plan. This should be you time, time where there are no other attendees, you are not …
Don’t steal ideas of others, give them credit
Ideas matter, but the execution of those ideas matters even more. Furthermore, wherever an idea might come from, make sure it retains its rightful ownership and attribution. As a leader, it is your duty to properly recognize the contributor and give credit where credit is due. Under no circumstances should you ever claim someone else’s idea as your own. Stealing …
Why annual performance reviews don’t work
Traditional, annual performance reviews don’t work and here’s why. Employees need consistent and constant input and suggestions when it comes to their responsibilities and performance. Having someone under perform for a year is a disservice to that employee, the firm as a whole and even yourself as a leader who is accountable for the overall performance and contributions of your …
Marissa Mayer: is Yahoo! in need of new leadership, again?
Once again, Yahoo could soon be looking for a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). That is, if an investor (Eric Jackson) has his way. According to him, Marissa Mayer has been lavishly spending money, Yahoo’s money on events which provided no return on investment. Furthermore, her executive team have made questionable acquisitions in recent past. You can read more about …
Business and IT alignment
Dear fellow IT leaders, please stop aligning IT to business and be the business! Allow me to explain. Generally, in life, one aligns two separate things, two separate items while IT and business need to be one and the same. There are no IT organizations, there is only one organization, one business that you as IT are integral to. Information …
Why leaders are not experts
As a leader one must motivate, inspire, set standards, coordinate, improve, communicate, collaborate and so on, but they should never mistakenly believe and act as if they know everything. There is a multitude of reasons why teams are built with people of diverse backgrounds, experiences, knowledge and education in order for them to complement each other and cover all responsibilities. …
Be passionate, yet remain cool, calm and collected
Passion is one of the most important attributes that influences what we do and act on each day. Loss of your passion and your drive will unavoidably result in a decrease in commitment, attention and quality of output. Once you stop caring about a project, process, job, organization…you check out mentally and it is noticeable to those who are observant …
CIO: one of the most rewarding positions
In my humble and somewhat biased opinion, one of the most rewarding positions is that of a CIO (Chief Information Officer). I say this based on their potential to influence positive transformation, change and growth within organizations. CIOs are uniquely positioned and have exposure and partnership opportunities with all business areas (finance, legal, marketing, operations…you name it, technology is involved …
CIOs are joining Boards of Directors
Technology is a the core of nearly everything we do in modern business and as such it needs to be considered as one of the greatest opportunity and difference makers around. With this in mind, it is natural to see more and more technology executives, most frequently Chief Information Officers (CIOs) joining both boards and top management teams. These teams …