Tag: Filipa Preston

Fresh Links Sundae – March 2, 2014 Edition

http://www.dreamstime.com/-image5686314Fresh 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!

Filipa Preston believes that ITAM can play an essential partnering role to the business. She explains how ITAM can add value by demonstrating the bankable savings the project actually delivered while also showing how we can reduce risks to the business in the long-term. How do you convince the CFO? (The ITAM Review)

IT is well positioned to make positive contributions to many aspects of the business operations. Michael Hugos suggests ways that a CIO can help the VP of Sales in the organization. How the CIO Can Help the VP Sales (Enterprise Efficiency)

In today’s organizations, our job often is not to control change, but rather to control the impact of change on the project. Samuel Brown recommends four approaches when dealing with changes in project management. Four Axioms for Controlling Change (Global Knowledge Training Blog)

Many IT organizations are trying to transform themselves from a cost-center role into a value-added role. Pearl Zhu explains what steps IT can take to enhance their value-added approach. How to Run IT as a Better Business Partner (Future of CIO)

To many people, Agile means delivering results with short planning cycles and making adjustments as we go. While speed and schedule are crucial, Mike Cottmeyer reminds us that the ability to plan and to estimate well is critical to all projects. Managing Risk and Uncertainty in Agile (LeadingAgile)

Many Business Continuity Management (BCM) programs need to transform from a reactive, isolated activity to an integrated, solution-driven strategy that adds resiliency for the organization. Patrick Potter explains why the transformation is important and what BCM leaders can do to make more of an impact. Building A Stronger, More Strategic BCM Program (Continuity Insights)

Some product backlogs are unavoidable, but not all backlogs present a negative impact. Len Lagestee outlines eight signs for which the backlogs seem to be ineffective and should be actively managed. 8 Symptoms of an Ineffective Product Backlog (Illustrated Agile)

Business analysts often find themselves given a high-priority project with little time to prepare. Laura Brandenburg explains what a business analyst can do to clarify scope quickly and to put a reasonable timeline estimated in place. How to Create a Business Analyst Timeline (Bridging the Gap)

Many organizations use published corporate values to encourage certain behaviors from their leaders. In reality, Marshall Goldsmith believes that the leaders’ actions often speak much louder than words posted on the office walls. Leaders Make Values Visible (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

For some, public speaking means memorizing the entire speech and delivering it to the audience. Mitch Joel believes that is the wrong way of delivering speech and offer suggestions on how to make your speech add value to your audience’s time. Another Public Speaking Horror Story (Six Pixels of Separation)

Fresh Links Sundae – August 4, 2013 Edition

http://www.dreamstime.com/-image24270014Fresh Links Sundae encapsulates information I have come across during the past week. Often they are from the people whose work I admire or whose ideas resonate with me. I hope you will find them at least thought-provoking or something of value.

For a number of IT organizations, outstanding customer service has been touted as the key to organizational success. Rob England points out that it is necessary to have the proper perspectives before investing resources purely for the sake of exceptional customer service. Customers are not your top priority (The ITSM Review)

Organizations accumulate a vast amount of information and knowledge over time, and losing some of the critical knowledge can hurt productivity significantly. Ryan Ogilvie discusses why knowledge management (KM) deserves our attention and how can organizations get started in putting a workable KM process in place. WORN – Write Once Read Never? – The Importance of Knowledge Management (Service Management Journey)

The methodologies such as Agile, Lean, and DevOps can present some promising ideas for continual process improvement. Simon Morris suggests two starting steps for those organizations who want to start integrating Agile, Lean, and DevOps into their ITSM effort. Simple steps towards Agility and Service Management improvement (The ITSM Review)

To do IT Asset Management (ITAM) effectively, inventory along is not going to be enough. Filipa Preston suggests that a close collaboration between HR, IT, and procurement can go a long way to improve and to ensure the organization’s ITAM effectiveness. How many machines, really? (The ITAM Review)

When initiating or executing changes, plans and tools are critical components to have. With a three-part series, Jason Little explains why models, tools and plans still cannot replace the soul change agent must have to bring change that matters. The Soul of a Change Agent – Part 1, The Soul of a Change Agent – Part 2, The Soul of a Change Agent – Part 3 (Jason Little)

Business Process Model (BPM) can be a useful tool to describe how a process works, even if one knows little about the technology or business systems involved. Laura Brandenburg explains what is BPM and how to create one. How to Analyze a Business Process (Bridging the Gap)

As an experienced business professional, Jim Taggart believes that a country’s greatest competitive asset is its human capital and how it develops it. He explains why social capital is necessary for building the human capital and how organizations can build social capital for accomplishing their objectives. Build Your Organization’s Social Capital by Keeping Good Company (ChangingWinds)

While many organizations continue to be skeptical of how best to leverage the available social media tools, people are using the readily accessible tools to help them get their work done. Michael Schrage outlines several examples of how social media technologies have empowered people to accomplish their tasks. The Real Power of Enterprise Social Media Platforms (Harvard Business Review)

Instead of emphasizing on feedback or rehashing something that had already happened and cannot be changed, Marshall Goldsmith would like to encourage leaders spending more time creating a positive future. Leave It at the Stream (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

Websites have evolved over the last 15 years and have become more valuable to more organizations. Seth Godin tells us what is one crucial question to ask when building a website and why the question matters. Q&A: What works for websites today? (Seth’s Blog)