Tag: Jeff Haden

Fresh Links Sundae – September 22, 2013 Edition

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. More importantly, I picked these articles to help my fellow IT professionals be more successful. 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!

Working in IT organization often involves working with consultants, and conflicting dynamics can emerge between management, consultants, and practitioner employees. Tobias Nyberg provides suggestions on how to deal with those situations when one of those conflicting dynamic surfaces. Practitioners: Do you feel unwelcome in your hometown? (The ITSM Review)

Defining IT services should always be done from a business perspective. Ryan Ogilvie explains what elements are necessary when working with customers in defining and implementing IT services. Baking Up IT Services – Swedish Chef Style (Service Management Journey)

According to Patrick Gray, enterprises are losing their emphasis on the bread and butter of IT, and the need for server technicians and systems administrators seems to be diminishing. He advises how IT professionals can plan around this trend. Make a plan as enterprises hollow out IT (TechRepublic)

As a data scientist, Cathy O’Neil receives lots of attention and emails just for her my job title and Ph.D. in math. While it is flattering, she also points out that some serious headwinds are forming in the sea of big data. The bursting of the big data bubble (mathbabe)

As a new business analyst, it can be a challenge to figure out how to learn everything you need to know to be successful. Laura Brandenburg articulates the type of knowledge you need and how to document and synthesize the information you pull together. How to Learn About a New Business Domain (Bridging the Gap)

There are a number of writings that talk about and define leadership. Peter Saddington presents his definitions of leadership using the Agile perspective and outlines questions that can help you evaluate your leadership strengths and weaknesses. Agile Coach Leadership Traits (Agile Scout)

Andrew Dlugan believes that poor speakers often fail to understand the concept of the ladder of abstraction. He proceeds to define the ladder concept and explains why it is essential for all speakers to know. The Ladder of Abstraction and the Public Speaker (Six Minutes)

We may work with some people who, for one reason or another, choose not to be committed, to their work and also to the full experience and the team that they are a part of. Mitch Joel explains why it is necessary to periodically examine our own perspectives with the question “Why are you doing the work that you’re doing?” Opt In To Your Work (Six Pixels of Separation)

According to Jeff Haden, being stuck on measuring yourself against the entrepreneurial greats like Steve Jobs is only self-defeating. He suggests striving for a much better goal. The Best Kind of Entrepreneur to Be (Inc.com)

Referring to his book Linchpin, Seth Godin talks about what will the quality jobs of tomorrow look like. Q&A: Linchpin: Will they miss you? In another similar discussion, he talks about whether the war for talent is real or merely perceived. The truth about the war for talent (Seth’s Blog)

Fresh Links Sundae – September 1, 2013 Edition

With the NASDAQ outage on August 22nd, a number of people have been analyzing and discussing the incident and the lessons learned. Brian Barnier explains what risk management lessons we could have learned from this incident. Have the right lessons been learned from the NASDAQ outage? (ISACA Now)

Some people advocate that the gap between ITSM and Agile are wide enough where the two frameworks really cannot leverage each other’s principles. Simon Morris outlines his thoughts on why ITSM practitioners should care about Agile principles and the positive effects Agile can bring to an ITSM organization. Applying Agile principals to Service Management (The ITSM Review)

Getting IT service management initiative off the ground can sometimes seem like a long journey without highly visible progress. Julie Montgomery suggests things we can do to maintain our focus. The 8 Step Cycle to Grow Your ITSM Impact (Plexent Blog)

Taking the lessons learned from her recent training for marathon, Melanie Karunaratne articulates how the lessons can be applied to improving customer satisfaction in IT. Learning to Run (LANDesk Blog)

People like to compare methodologies and debate why one framework is more superior than the other. Dennis Stevens gives us a run-down between Agile and Waterfall and explains what matters more is about the problem you are trying to solve. Agile vs. Waterfall [] (LeadingAgile)

In business analysis, elicitation describes the set of techniques used to discover the requirements. Laura Brandenburg outlines a number of concrete steps a business analyst can take to make sure no requirements are overlooked. 53 Tips For Discovering All the Requirements (Bridging the Gap)

Jeff Haden believes that working for a start-up is different from working for an established company. He outlines the qualities that make a excellent employee for start-up or a brand new business. 7 Qualities Every Start-up Employee Needs (Inc.com)

James Altucher lists some hard-hitting advices for running your business. Whether you agree with the entire list, I think many advices listed are actionable and applicable to many aspects of life as well. The Ultimate Cheat Sheet to Starting and Running Your Own Business (Altucher Confidential)

Drawing from his personal experience, Hank Blank talks about one thing that can derail a consulting endeavor. I think Hank’s advice and James Altucher’s RULE #infinity resonate with each other. The Kryptonite of Consulting. (Thoughts on Networking, New Business & Agency Searches)

We often have the tendency to dismiss poor behavior as if we have permanent genetic flaws that can never be corrected. Marshall Goldsmith gives a personal example and advises how we can change and overcome the self-imposed limitation. Give Yourself A Chance (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

A bonus download…

David Ratcliffe used this presentation to support his talk at the recent “2nd Annual IT Service Management Leadership Forum.” It’s thought-provoking, and I highly recommend it. The 5 Most Important Leadership Qualities For ITSM (Pink Elephant)

Fresh Links Sundae – August 11, 2013 Edition

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. More importantly, I picked these articles to help my fellow IT Professionals be more successful. With these ideas, I hope they can help my fellow IT pros make better decisions, be awesome, and kick ass! I hope you will find them thought-provoking or something of value.

After completing a recent web application project, Bob Lewis shares with us the lessons he learned and how those best practices can also be applicable when it comes managing data and application architecture projects. Lessons learned from code diving (IS Survivor Publishing)

Together with CSI, Paul Wilkinson believes that problem management is one of the core capabilities that IT organizations needs to develop. He explains why problem management is also an excellent risk management capability. Problem management: Especially Now! (ITSM Portal)

As the workplace becomes more collaborative and knowledge-intensive, Andrew Horne believes that IT should interact more directly with individual employees to identify their needs and to generate innovations. He outlines five questions to ask in order to determine whether your IT organization is on the right track. Do You Have A C-Suite Problem? (CEB’s IT Blog)

Based on a recently published report from HDI and Robert Half Technology, many technology leaders believe that user demand for anytime, anywhere IT service/support is one of three major trends driving how IT provides services. Stephen Mann adds his observation that how IT services are perceived and consumed by business users/consumers/customers is just as essential as how IT delivers the services. The Future of the IT Service Desk…or whatever it becomes (HDIConnect)

When it comes to the concept of DevOps, there are a number of definitions of what DevOps is or should be. Phil Whelan interviewed John Arundel for his thoughts on DevOps, and I thought John’s candid perspective was very educational. John Arundel on DevOps (ActiveBlog)

Leveraging the findings from the recently published 2013 State of DevOps survey, Aliza Earnshaw gives us five measurements to consider if you are just starting to implement DevOps. 5 KPIs that Make the Case for DevOps (DevOps Blog)

While there are foundational characteristics that every mentor possesses, Len Lagestee recalls four outstanding traits from the mentors who have made a difference in his life. Four Characteristics of Memorable Mentors (Illustrated Agile)

Inspired by George Saunders’ recent graduation remarks to a group of students at Syracuse University, Mitch Joel believes that, in business, we can still be kind. Random Acts Of Business Kindness (Six Pixels of Separation)

While good bosses care about getting important things done, Jeff Haden also believes that exceptional bosses care about their people. 10 Things Extraordinary Bosses Give Employees (Inc.com)

How do great leaders encourage leadership development within his/her own team? Marshall Goldsmith recommends that the best ways top executives can get their leaders to improve is to work on improving themselves. To Help Others Develop, Start With Yourself (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

A bonus download…

Len Lagestee has combined 9 blog posts walking through an Agile Leadership Engagement Model by making them available in one convenient document. Enjoy the reading. Introducing the Agile Leadership Engagement Model E-Book (Illustrated Agile)

Fresh Links Sundae – July 14, 2013 Edition

Fresh Links Sundae encapsulates information I have come across during the past week. They maybe ITSM related or not quite. Often they are from the people whose work resonates with me, and I hope you will find them at least thought-provoking or something of value.

Business can be dynamic, and it is not possible to define rules that will cover all situations. Robert Stroud tells us a story about striking a balance between following processes and keeping the business needs in mind. Ask For Permission First or Forgiveness Later? (CA Technologies)

Based on a recent survey, the current maturity levels of some critical ITSM processes continue to lag behind the others, even after two decades since ITIL was first published. Tim Sheedy believes that the trend is changing, and the emergence of business technology is going to benefit ITSM. Does ITSM Still Have Relevance In The Empowered BT Era? (Forrester Blogs)

Many organizations use new technologies to help drive changes or to move the business forward. Once the technologies become ingrained into the business, what do you do if your business needs to move in a new direction, but the technologies already invested will not support the new business model? Bob Lewis makes a suggestion on what to do in those situations. Technology. It drives everyone forward. While it holds everyone back. (IS Survivor Publishing)

Even though social media may appear to be something new or revolutionary, Rob England explains that being social is nothing new, perhaps how we conduct social activities differs. Similarly, the need for ITSM has always been around, but how we conduct ITSM before, now, and in the future might look different. Progress (The IT Skeptic)

A number of new businesses have sprung up from the opportunities created by technological innovation. Anna Farmery explains why curiosity can be a prerequisite for seeing and excelling with technological innovation. How Curious Brands Gain Through New Technology (The Engaging Brand)

Customer retention is a critically important for any business. Jeff Haden gives his perspective of how to assess a business’ effectiveness in retaining its customers. Best Way to Calculate Customer Retention Rate (Inc.com)

Leadership can have a productive or distracting influence on the team. Stephen Lahanas outlines his suggestions of the productive leadership qualities. The Top 10 Tips for Team Leadership (Technovation Talks)

Thought leadership may seem to be a straight-forward concept, but how does one practice and become a thought leader? Mitch Joel explains what makes a thought leader and how to become one. How To Become A Thought Leader (Six Pixels of Separation)

The behavior of obsessing over a particular goal sometimes can cause us to miss the larger picture or mission. Marshall Goldsmith explains what changes each of us can make in order to avoid being overly goal obsessive. Goal 1, Mission 0 (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

Umair Haque does not believe that being an expert at winning the games is leadership. He outlines six qualities that real leaders should practice. How and Why to Be a Leader (Not a Wannabe) (Harvard Business Review)

Fresh Links Sundae – July 7, 2013 Edition

On his blog post a week ago, Bob Lewis advocates that many businesses can benefit from problem solving with an engineering mindset and approach. However, he also explains why the answer is not as simple as hiring more engineers. Ready to hire a refrigeration engineer as your next manager? Not so fast. (IS Survivor Publishing)

Performance and talent management practices are not what they used to be. Susan Cramm breaks down the employee’s social needs into five aspects and suggests what today’s progressive companies should do for their employees. Are You Leading Like It’s 1980? (Strategy+Business)

Drawing from a recent personal experience, Robert Stroud describes a failed service situation. He also explains why service management is more valuable than ever in this world where service automation is everywhere. “Your Call is Important to Us, but…..” (CA Technologies)

Mitch Joel believes that many marketers, who talk about the high potential of big data, actually have very little clues on what big data is or what it can do. He goes on to explain what big data can look like and should do. The Problem With Big Data (It’s Not Me, It’s You) (Six Pixels of Separation)

A number of ITSM initiatives implements processes and tools first and work on reporting only much later after-the-fact. Jon Hall explains why pushing reporting back is not a productive move and suggests ways to give reporting the deserved attention. Why does reporting get forgotten in ITSM projects? (Evolving ITSM)

In many IT organizations, it’s common to refer people outside of IT as “The Business.” Patrick Gray suggests that such us-vs.-them mindset is not productive for the organization. He also offers three approaches for working with colleagues from outside IT more effectively. Three tools for talking to ‘The Business’ (TechRepublic)

All of us have observed various leadership acts and behaviors from others. Jim Taggart talks about different types of leadership behaviors and what makes one leader more authentic than another. Are You an Authentic Leader? (ChangingWinds)

While measuring is necessary, Jeff Haden advocates that measuring what you need to measure and measuring it the right way is even more critical. Best Way to Measure Performance (Inc.com)

Sometimes successful leaders engage in unproductive behaviors because they confuse the “because of” and “in spite of” behaviors for their success. Marshall Goldsmith explains what changes a leader can make in order to avoid the “superstition trap.” Avoiding the Superstition Trap (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

Personal branding has captured many people’s attention in our socially active and connected environment. While what people think of us does matter, Nilofer Merchant suggests that what matters even more is what we do and deliver. Your Brand Is the Exhaust Fume of the Engine of Your Life (Harvard Business Review)