12 critical insights on the state of IT in 2012

Here is a nice article I came across today by Jason Hiner Techrepublic

As you can see, IT is in a flux….. and at some point you will be able to see a clear point where you can say “IT Before” and “IT After”. The goal is to adopt the change ASAP.
This article and the next to come are all pointing to the same thing, where is IT going.


Takeaway: Today’s IT departments are in flux and under pressure. Here’s an explanation of why, and advice on how IT can change the equation.

I regularly moderate The Great Debate over on ZDNet and it’s always a fun opportunity to get a couple smart commentators together and let them cross swords over a controversial topic. However, this week the debate was especially great, as TechRepublic’s Justin James and ZDNet’s Dana Gardner clashed on the topic of IT Department: Cost Center or Profit Center? It ended up being about the current trajectory of the IT department and how to change it.

If you missed it, then you missed a crash course in why many IT departments are struggling today and advice on how IT can transform itself into an indispensable force. Fortunately, you can still read the entire debate online, but I’ve also selected and curated 12 of the most important insights from Gardner and James into the following list.

1. The problem with IT
Justin James: “Most IT departments consistently fail to deliver value! When all you’ve done is replace the intraoffice mail system with email and IM, and replaced the filing cabinets and accounts ledgers with databases and applications, all for a price so expensive that you wonder if it wasn’t cheaper to just pay people to do it instead, then of course IT doesn’t look like a profit center. And it isn’t. And when folks offer suggestions on how to improve it, the IT department likes to say ‘no.’ Sure, they usually have a good reason for it, but it still feels like stonewalling to the business folks.”

2. Losing the stranglehold
Justin James: “The IT department is losing its stranglehold on the corporate IT resources, now that individuals can BYOD and departments can source IT from the cloud. This forces IT to work harder and smarter within the organization, when in the past they could adopt an attitude of, this is what were giving you, and you had better like it!”

3. A new class of IT
Dana Gardner: “Rather than remove IT in favor of cloud or SaaS — businesses must embrace a larger role of IT as services broker… Already a new class of strategic IT organization is emerging, one that uses cloud, mobile, mixed-sourcing, strategic souring, ecommerce as core components. By delivering business services better than competitors -– even partners — the modern value chain flows to them. Via innovation, they take more share, more margin, more opportunity.”

4. The Amazon revenue model
Dana Gardner: “Before Amazon Web Services, a.k.a. Amazon’s public cloud, IT there was a cost center, enabling their online retail and business functions. Now, IT is a profit center, adding entirely new revenues to Amazon in the form of paid cloud services. I’m seeing companies now following that model, taking their IT capabilities and making them the product, of combining their digital services and market insights to forge whole new services, and bringing in whole new revenues. So the discussion has changed. It’s not how will IT support the old business, it’s how is IT able to create new lines of business.”

5. The Apple innovation model
Justin James: “Most companies view the accounting department as a cost center, a necessary evil. Then you get a company like Apple, who puts a lot of really smart accountants and lawyers to work, and they come up with revolutionary new ways of exploiting loopholes in tax laws, and all of a sudden, the accounting department is adding BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to the bottom line. They transformed the ‘cost center’ accounting department into a ‘profit center.’ How many IT departments are doing the same kind of thing? Not many.”

6. The SMB model of IT
Justin James: ”A lot of IT departments are struggling to define their mission, struggling to be relevant to the business, and struggling to deliver real, provable value and ROI… and I think that in the next few years, we’re going to see the small business model of IT - cloud services bolstered by a small cadre of on-site techs and a handful of part-time experts or consultants for the big stuff - start to move up the food chain.”

7. Measure and report
Dana Gardner: “Measure whatever you can on how IT impacts business. Make the causal connections between a new application that improves a process and the results of the process. Use social tools inside the enterprise to do polls, to ask users to tell the good and bad about what IT is doing. Like with app dev, do scrums in the ops side to determine performance and then share that back to the developers and forwards to the users. A lifecycle approach where there is visibility from IT … will help improve perceptions.”

8. The organizational dilemma
Justin James: “Which departments have the foresight and willingness and open-mindedness to work hand-in-hand with IT? Which employees are willing to make the decisions to go ahead, knowing full well that the process is going to possibly cost a lot of people their jobs? That’s probably one of the biggest issues: folks know in the back of their heads that a push to modernize can cost jobs.”

9. Find a hero project
Dana Gardner: “IT must pick its first battles very carefully. It’s essential to show benefits early on to get buy-in later, and make those perceptions shift to the goodness of IT. So find a pain point for the leadership: Perhaps it’s visibility into some business process, or ability to use data better and faster. Business leaders love a good chart. Make them see that IT is making data, analytics and dashboards a priority. Or find a problem that impacts those tasked with business development and fix it or offer suggestions. IT needs to proactively court those that are building the new business winners and engage with them. It has to be more than repaving cow paths and replacing older servers… It’s a culture thing, as much as anything. And people change culture.”

10. The technical CEO
Dana Gardner: “I expect to see offices of the CEO comprised of a COO-CIO duo. When business operations, market strategy and IT knowledge are combined, big things can happen. The fact that CEOs have one come from sales and founders may need to give way to more technology savvy people at the top. Selling is important, of course, but making the strategy align with what the technology allows is more important nowadays. You need to have something to sell, and the products and services themselves are increasingly about technology. So let’s get more techies in the corner office for more kinds of companies.”

11. The three factors you must have
Justin James: “You need to have … a proactive IT department and a visionary leadership team (not merely the CEO), AND open-minded employees who won’t drag their heels and sabotage the process. That’s a rare combination, and it’s one of the big reasons why we don’t see organizations transforming their IT as much as we see new organizations coming up that use IT to drive profits from day 1.”

12. Dominance of the technically-capable
Dana Gardner: Let’s face it, a lot of companies are not going to make IT a profit center, and they will be in trouble, and then more trouble. It will be very hard to transform a company that is dysfunctional in IT. On the other hand, companies that do IT well, that integrate the technically possible with the business necessary will be able to change and adapt. And they will hire that best minds that can build on the successes and go dominant in a big way. It’s not just survival of the fittest, it’s dominance by the most technology capable.

6 Secrets to Hiring and Retaining Great Employees

I ran across this article inc.com..... I think it's perfect for what is needed in in IT industry.... Specially in Chile.

Drupal Connect's founder John Florez drives the fast growth of his company by stacking his team with top tier talent. Here’s what he looks for when hiring for his Drupal development company and how he keeps them excited about coming in each day.

1- Hire Awesome Personalities
Hire people who are not only awesome talents, but awesome to be around as well! You're building a team; each member has to be able to work well within a collaborative environment. Hiring someone who is talented but a "lone wolf" is a risky and potentially costly endeavor.

2- Positive People Are Contagious
Hire cool people who have a positive outlook on life. The employee you want to take on is someone you can share a beer with at the end of the day. Positive attitudes spread, and ultimately come to define your company as a whole.

3- Keep People Excited About Work
Be a leader who is welcoming and positive, and sees the best in each of their employees. This attitude will trickle down and make for a more positive work experience overall. People want to wake up each morning excited about coming to work. It's important for a leader to create an environment and culture that people are proud and excited about.

4- Don’t Nickel-and-Dime Your Employees
Be mindful of the bottom line – but not at the expense of nickel-and-diming! These are tough times for a lot of people out there. But let's face it: no one wants to work for a cheap boss.

5- Coach Your Leaders
Coach your leaders, but don't manage them. If you find yourself managing your top people, you're doing something wrong. You're not inspiring, and you're therefore not bringing out the best in your lead employees. If you properly coach your leaders by bringing out their best qualities, they will in turn coach those reporting to them.

6-Avoid Stagnation
Make constant growth a priority, and encourage your team to contribute to this evolution. Your company is a living, breathing organism that needs to be fed and nurtured, and employees need to be able to contribute to this growth process. For example, six months ago, a team member suggested we create a support and maintenance program to offer to our clients. Today, this program is a thriving and growing part of our company, accounting for 20% of our overall business!

Want to succeed in IT? Five tips from the top

Again, this is not mine. I got if off techrepublic.com and it seems that this is where IT is going. More and more IT Managers (CIO, CTO, and other IT management positions) are having the same problems. How to deal with the shift that the organizations are having. Where is this shift going to? Well.... to where it has always been.... THE BUSINESS.

This text belongs to Paul Coby IT director at UK retail giant John Lewis and former technology chief at British Airways.

1. Connect to your business customers

Coby’s experiences have led him to develop a simple maxim: “There are no IT projects, just business projects.”

Coby concedes he has become well known for this mantra: “That phrase resonates,” he says. “People just get it.”

The explanation for the strength of that response is simple: success in modern IT is all about using technology to support new business opportunities. IT professionals looking to support the organisation along that development path must be engaged. “You always need to connect to your business customers,” says Coby.


2. Don’t talk jargon

Coby’s advice to other CIOs is to avoid falling into the techno-babble trap and ensure the organisation is alert to the business benefits of technology.

“Don’t talk jargon,” he says. “We know that’s important but anything that makes IT sound obscure will make people switch off. And IT is too important to modern business for you to allow that to happen.”


3. Remember that IT is a team sport

Good CIOs have a strong personality and are not afraid to lead from the front. But those character traits in isolation will not be enough. A good CIO is only as great as their supporting cast, something that Coby is keen to recognise.

“Always remember that IT is a team sport,” says Coby, who says success does not necessarily start and end with the appointment of a CIO.

For example, Coby says a lot of the good things he has achieved since joining John Lewis began before he arrived. As ever, IT is in flux - and the speed of the digital transformation means great CIOs must lead their team through choppy waters.

“Everyone’s technology environment is going to continue to become more complicated,” says Coby. “The people supporting IT have to deal with very complex systems. And the ongoing digital transformation means the CIO sits at the very top of a very large iceberg. The role of the CIO is to enable the transformation.”


4. Never put innovation before day-to-day operations

Most IT leaders come from a technical background. But CIOs looking to get ahead are often warned not to just concentrate on the bits and bytes of technology.

While technology provides the backbone to modern business operations, it is no longer a dark art. The digital age is all about being able to plug and play different systems, and to draw on applications and information on-demand. CIOs looking to help the business make the most of digital technology must get strategic.

However, Coby issues a word of warning. “Operations really matter,” he says, stressing that good IT leaders do not prioritise innovation at the expense of day-to-day systems.

Coby is looking at how to transform IT at John Lewis and working out how to make the most of innovative technology, such as the use of tablet devices on the shopfloor. “We want to deliver great things,” he says. “But if tills go down, no one will listen to me about innovation.”


5. Enjoy your job

The final piece of advice from Coby is simple: “Try and enjoy it.”

Coby says any job has its challenges and IT leadership is no different. He is pulled in a number of directions, as John Lewis continues to pursue an ambitious growth strategy that over the past decade has led the retailer to bring regional shops under a single brand and open new stores.

Yet Coby relishes the fast pace of change in retail, which he says is different to other sectors. Across back-end operations and front-end innovations, he is concentrating on the things that staff and customers will expect as standard in the next few years

“I like this job because it’s a lot of fun,” says Coby. “The business continues to change and people in the organisation really need the IT team to deliver.”

The 5 Qualities of Remarkable Bosses

First I want to say that this is not my work. I got it off the web and it’s from Jeff Haden, but I feel it is so true that I have to let others reed it.
 
1. Develop every employee. Sure, you can put your primary focus on reaching targets, achieving results, and accomplishing concrete goals—but do that and you put your leadership cart before your achievement horse.

Without great employees, no amount of focus on goals and targets will ever pay off. Employees can only achieve what they are capable of achieving, so it’s your job to help all your employees be more capable so they—and your business—can achieve more.

It's your job to provide the training, mentoring, and opportunities your employees need and deserve. When you do, you transform the relatively boring process of reviewing results and tracking performance into something a lot more meaningful for your employees: Progress, improvement, and personal achievement.

So don’t worry about reaching performance goals. Spend the bulk of your time developing the skills of your employees and achieving goals will be a natural outcome.

Plus it’s a lot more fun.

2. Deal with problems immediately. Nothing kills team morale more quickly than problems that don't get addressed. Interpersonal squabbles, performance issues, feuds between departments... all negatively impact employee motivation and enthusiasm.

And they're distracting, because small problems never go away. Small problems always fester and grow into bigger problems. Plus, when you ignore a problem your employees immediately lose respect for you, and without respect, you can't lead.

Never hope a problem will magically go away, or that someone else will deal with it. Deal with every issue head-on, no matter how small.

3. Rescue your worst employee. Almost every business has at least one employee who has fallen out of grace: Publicly failed to complete a task, lost his cool in a meeting, or just can’t seem to keep up. Over time that employee comes to be seen by his peers—and by you—as a weak link.

While that employee may desperately want to “rehabilitate” himself, it's almost impossible. The weight of team disapproval is too heavy for one person to move.

But it’s not too heavy for you.

Before you remove your weak link from the chain, put your full effort into trying to rescue that person instead. Say, "John, I know you've been struggling but I also know you're trying. Let's find ways together that can get you where you need to be." Express confidence. Be reassuring. Most of all, tell him you'll be there every step of the way.

Don't relax your standards. Just step up the mentoring and coaching you provide.

If that seems like too much work for too little potential outcome, think of it this way. Your remarkable employees don’t need a lot of your time; they’re remarkable because they already have these qualities. If you’re lucky, you can get a few percentage points of extra performance from them. But a struggling employee has tons of upside; rescue him and you make a tremendous difference.

Granted, sometimes it won't work out. When it doesn't, don't worry about it. The effort is its own reward.

And occasionally an employee will succeed—and you will have made a tremendous difference in a person's professional and personal life.

Can’t beat that.

4. Serve others, not yourself. You can get away with being selfish or self-serving once or twice... but that's it.

Never say or do anything that in any way puts you in the spotlight, however briefly. Never congratulate employees and digress for a few moments to discuss what you did.

If it should go without saying, don't say it. Your glory should always be reflected, never direct.

When employees excel, you and your business excel. When your team succeeds, you and your business succeed. When you rescue a struggling employee and they become remarkable, remember they should be congratulated, not you.

You were just doing your job the way a remarkable boss should.

When you consistently act as if you are less important than your employees—and when you never ask employees to do something you don’t do—everyone knows how important you really are.

5. Always remember where you came from. See an autograph seeker blown off by a famous athlete and you might think, “If I was in a similar position I would never do that.”

Oops. Actually, you do. To some of your employees, especially new employees, you are at least slightly famous. You’re in charge. You’re the boss.

That's why an employee who wants to talk about something that seems inconsequential may just want to spend a few moments with you.

When that happens, you have a choice. You can blow the employee off... or you can see the moment for its true importance: A chance to inspire, reassure, motivate, and even give someone hope for greater things in their life. The higher you rise the greater the impact you can make—and the greater your responsibility to make that impact.

In the eyes of his or her employees, a remarkable boss is a star.

Remember where you came from, and be gracious with your stardom.

What? more than a year?

I can not belive this! It has been more than a year since my last post..... Ok... promise that in the next 48h I will post something.....

Are you ready for your next job?

Well, I wasn’t, and I should have been.

I don’t know about you, but I didn’t see my last employment as what would get me my next job, but after being unemployed for 2 months I think different.

Don’t get me wrong, I like stability, but whatever you do at your work place must help you get your next job. Lets go over a few tips.

1- Stay up to date with what is out there: It doesn’t matter if your organization is small, budget constraints, you hate Microsoft/Linux, your boss is happy with the 486sx PCs you have or your are just overwhelmed with the day to day IT stuff, you still need to stay in touch with reality. You can go to vender events, online webinars, blogs, create a lab or whatever you can think of, you have to know what is out there, and not just technology, but also things like PMI, CMMI, or ITIL. Most likely you have been working at the same place for a few years and the next job will require some of the things I just mentioned. Just because you don’t use them at your current job doesn’t mean others don’t use it.

2- Have a good network of colleagues: A good way to get a job is by referral, and to do that you need contacts in other companies. Most likely you already have friends, schoolmates and colleagues in other companies that can help you. Another way is at the vender events, there you can make acquaintances with other people in the industry. You can also use social websites like LinkedIn, this site is the largest professional network on the Internet with more than 90 million members in over 200 countries. Its Facebook, but for professionals. Lots of recruiters look at candidates profiles, they can see what you have done, recommendations, what others think about you, etc. The more people you know, the better chance to get a job.

3- Try not to fall into a very specific niche: It may be that you are working in Development linking to a weird application that no one uses, or support a platform that is used by 1% of the industry. If this is the case, you may be in trouble. Yes there is some sort of job security, but you never know. Most likely, the very specific skill you have learned will not be used on your next job, for instance, I know how to integrate TAXWare with .NET, but can I use it down here in Chile? I don’t think so… so why even put it on the resume. You just might dig yourself into a hole if your niche is to specific, so keep up to date with other technologies and development trends. I heard an ex colleague mention this as the reason why is was changing jobs. What he was doing was so specific that the integration of this product he worked with that none of what he learned over the last year or so was used elsewhere.

4- Certification is a must: Ahhh…. Certification…… This should be seen as a long term investment in yourself. If you are working as a helpdesk tech, its more than clear that you most likely know by now most of the problems with Windows 7, or if you are a Network Admin, you know by now how to create a user account or email account in Exchange. So why get certified? Will my current employer pay me more? Not likely so why bother? Well, the next time you look for a job, that certification will make your resume stand out a bit more than the other 150 candidates! That’s why. Have you ever seen on a job posting ITIL certification desired? Well, the guy that just got certified yesterday will have a better shot for that job over you that have been leading projects for 5 years and have no certification. So, see what is being asked for, and get certified in it. And by the way, you might be able to sell the certification pitch to your boss and have the company pay for it!

5- Look for a job once ever year or two: I was told a long time ago to put your resume online every 18 months and apply for a few jobs just to see what your are worth. I did that in 2000 just before the .com bubble bust in the US and in a few weeks I got calls from DELL, Disney and Pandesic, all wanted to interview me… Keep in mind that you always think you have some sort of an advantage over all the rest, but why wait until you need a new job to find it out? Some good sites are http://www.careerbuilder.com and http://home.monster.com in the US; http://www.trabajando.cl/ and http://www.laborum.cl/ in Chile

6- Validate your references: I have heard a number of times (and this happed to me) that people seem not to understand why they cant get a job. Well don’t be surprised that you are getting bad references. Have a friend call your last boss and see what references you get. The best you can do is to get a Letter of Recommendation, that way you have it in writing and it will avoid or at least minimize calls to your last employer.


Don’t think just because you do your job well you will be at your post for ever, even Admiral Kirk got benched for a while. Be prepared! As a good friend once told me “prepare for the worst and hope for the best”, once you are on the street, there is not much you can do, so do it while you are in a position where it can be done.

Please feel free to comment on any of this, or add more job search web sites.

George,
The Captain.

I am back!

It has been a while... and lots of things have happend in IT and in my life.... so in the next few days I will update the site with a lot of news!
Stay tuned!

The Captain.