Fresh Links Sundae encapsulates information I have come across during the past week. Often they are from the people whose work I admire or resonate with me. I hope you will find these ideas thought-provoking at the minimum. Even better, I hope these ideas will, over time, help my fellow IT pros make better decisions, be awesome, and kick ass!

On the surface the two IT management approaches, DevOps and IT Service Management (ITSM), may seem dualistic in nature. In a recorded podcast, Troy DuMoulin and Chris Dancy discuss how DevOps and ITSM are undoubtedly co-dependent to each other and indivisible. PR 52 – Dev&Ops: Defining Value From Two Sides Of The Same Coin (Troy’s Blog)

Many organizations have global operations these days, and some of them deploy IT service desks with multi-language and multi-geography capability. Stephen Mann discusses some of the technology and process challenges of those global IT service desk operations, as well as good practices to consider. Multi-Geography or Multi-lingual (IT) Service Desk Good Practice – Part 1  Multi-geography or Multi-lingual (IT) Service Desk Good Practice – Part 2 (HDIConnect)

There are a number of ways to implement IT Service Management within your organization. Ryan Ogilvie shows us the approach of taking a closer look at where you are now and determining what gaps you may need to fill to move ahead. Service Management Getting Back to Basics – Part 1 – Your IT Teams  Service Management Getting Back to Basics – Part 2 – Increased Number of Incidents with No Driver  Service Management Getting Back to Basics – Part 3 – No Failed Changes, Incidents You Say?  Service Management Getting Back to Basics – Part 4 – Critical Incidents vs Number of Emergency Changes  Service Management Getting Back to Basics – Conclusion – Wrapping it Together (Service Management Journey)

Many IT organizations have developed an extensive set of metrics to track and to measure performance. While measurements are necessary, Michael Scarborough reminds us the importance of structuring the measurements for overall effectiveness. CSFs and KPIs: How Many Does Your Organization Manage? (Global Knowledge Training Blog)

Statistics have shown that the large projects requiring years of implementation or millions of budget fail significantly more often than the regular, smaller projects. Pearl Zhu explains why big project can be more fragile and how to improve overall IT project success rate from the enterprise architecture perspective. Why is Big Project more Fragile (Future of CIO)

As 2013 draws to its conclusion, Andrew Horne summarizes five of CEB’s most popular topics from this year and highlight what they mean for the IT organizations in 2014. Five Lessons from 2013 (And What They Mean for 2014) (CEB’s IT Blog)

As organizations scale up the use of Agile, it can become difficult for teams to establish a shared understanding because everyone can work on multiple products or be geographically disparate. Dennis Stevens believes that you don’t have to sacrifice shared understanding for growth, and he explains how organization can still effectively scale up Agile. How to Achieve Shared Understanding When Scaling Agile (LeadingAgile)

Today’s work reality, with the perceived decline in job security and the erosion of corporate loyalty, can make it difficult for organizations to manage its talent pool. Marshall Goldsmith talks about the trends that have shaped the workplace and suggests seven approaches for an organization to retain its high performers in turbulent times. Retain Your Top Performers (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

We have learned from experience that being present and active engagements are essential in building relationships. When interacting with others in the digital space, the required “presence” can be difficult to achieve. Ted Rubin outlines the techniques we should consider when trying to build an effective relationship without being physically present. How to Look People in the Eye Digitally (Ted Rubin Straight Talk)

Taking a big idea from inception all the way to execution can be a complex process that requires much hard work of planning, adjusting, and, sometimes, retreating and starting over. Nilofer Merchant shares her experience and perspectives on how to strategize approaches for launching a new endeavor. How to Tackle The New Thing (Nilofer Merchant, LLC)