Tag: Rory Canavan

Fresh Links Sundae – December 8, 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. 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!

In spite of its negative connotations, politics can be viewed as the art of finding a way forward when people disagree about the best path forward. Bob Lewis explains how a manager can manage his/her political capital and work with the system effectively. Political Capital Management (IS Survivor Publishing)

For 2014, itSMF UK has decided to focus on four key topics that will drive its agenda, and those four key topics (referred to as the “ITSM Big 4”) were chosen based on the input from the ITSM community. Sophie Danby interviewed four ITSM Review regular contributors and practitioners to obtain their views on the ITSM Big 4. ITSM Big 4 – the practitioner view (The ITSM Review)

Maintaining a Supported Software Catalogue can immensely benefit the audit and reconciliation of Software Asset Management (SAM) data and facilitate activities at the Service Desk. Rory Canavan recommends a process for maintaining a Supported Software Catalogue. Process of the Month – Maintain a Supported Software Catalogue Process (The ITAM Review)

With the influx of mobile devices into the workplace, it will have a visible impact on what service desks have to do to provide support to the end-users. Stuart Facey recommends several planning approaches that service desk managers and ITSM professionals should consider. Service management for a more mobile world – is anything different? (The ITSM Review)

A number of organizations are struggling to find the balance between productivity and security when supporting IT initiatives such as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). Rob Enderle cautions that IT needs to scrutinize its BYOD approach and not put organizations and employees at risk by trying to be overly accommodating. IT’s BYOD Approach Is Wrongheaded (Unfiltered Opinion)

More and more IT support centers are paying close attention to customer satisfaction. Roy Atkinson explains what support managers can do to gain additional insight into their customers’ perceptions. Customer Conversations: One Thing (HDIConnect)

Diagrams and matrices can help to communicate complex ideas. Laura Brandenburg shows us how visual models can make business analysis work more productive with plenty of examples. How to Make the Requirements Process Faster With Visual Models 22 Visual Models Used by Business Analysts (Bridging the Gap)

Reflecting from the book “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty,” Jim Taggart talks about how an organization can meet today’s challenges by sharing power and enrolling its people to help find solutions. The Payoff from Sharing Power (ChangingWinds)

On those occasions when we are about to do something incredibly vital, we can get incredibly nervous. Jeff Haden suggests five things we can do to prepare ourselves mentally with a quick shot of confidence. 5 Ways to Get a Confidence Boost (Inc.com)

Most of us don’t like or fear public speaking because we believe the audience is focusing on us and constantly judging our presence. Seth Godin explains why those fears are simply misplaced. Speaking in public: two errors that lead to fear (Seth’s Blog)

Fresh Links Sundae – October 13, 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!

More and more workplaces are demanding more hours from the employees far beyond the typical 40-hour week. If you are in one of those organizations and need to cope with it, Bob Lewis has some insight to share. Escaping the toxic workplace (IS Survivor Publishing)

With enterprises being more software driven than ever, George Colony believes that technology management leaders must not only continue to manage the traditional IT but also need to make large strides on managing BT (business technology). Tech Management in the Age of the Customer (Forrester Blogs)

With ITSM concepts and frameworks in existence for over 20 years, most people thought we probably have reached a plateau in term of squeezing more productivity out of ITSM efforts. Allen Houpt advocates that more productivity can still be had and suggests 10 tips to reduce service costs in a webcast. The Little “ITSM” Engine That Could (CA Service Management)

As a follow-up to a recent discussion in the Software Asset Management group on LinkedIn, Rory Canavan presents a detailed process model for Corporate Governance for a successful SAM implementation. Process of the Month – Corporate Governance Process (The ITAM Review)

As the cloud and big data trends develop, jargons and buzzwords have made them difficult for people to understand the real issues behind those trends. Jeremy Bergsman talks about how data protection and third-party risk management should be addressed in order to master the cloud and big data trends. Are Buzzwords Clouding Your Judgment? (CEB’s IT Blog)

When it comes to creating a strong foundation for customer loyalty management, Ted Rubin believes that your customer service department plays the most important role. He recommends four approaches to leverage your customer service team for effectively turning customers into fans. Customer Loyalty Management via the Customer Service Silo [] (Straight Talk)

Empowerment is a noble notion where people are given the opportunity to fully leverage their capability and contribute to their organizations. For some under-performing individuals, Rob England suggests that “empowering” people can sometime means setting them up for failure. Empowering the hopeless (The IT Skeptic)

In an IT project, a business analyst will often need to create a functional specification. Laura Brandenburg explains what a functional specification is and what information goes into it. What Goes Into a Functional Specification? (Bridging the Gap)

Mitch Joel believes that many people are doing it wrong when it comes to preparing for a public speech. He recommends a 22-step approach on how to prepare for one. How To Give A Great Presentation (Seriously) (Six Pixels of Separation)

After spending three years managing a recent start-up, Jeff Nolan wrote a series of blog posts to document the lessons learned as well as what worked and did not. Startup Lessons Learned: Hiring; Startup Lessons: Dynamic Org Structures; Startups Lessons: Product First; Startup Lessons: Marketing; Startup Lessons: Board Management; Startup Lessons: Tough Decisions (Enterprise Irregulars)

Fresh Links Sundae – September 15, 2013 Edition

With so many data sources available to us, it is easy to analyze the data but still not getting the required results. That can happen when we analyze data without truly understand the business questions behind the analysis. Brian Barnier outlines four potential collaboration opportunities where IT and business can work together. Dangers of big lazy data / opportunities for IT leaders (ISACA Now)

When it comes to initiating an IT service improvement plan, a number of considerations should go into the planning. Over a three-part series, Michelle Major-Goldsmith presents a list of suggested starting points for your service improvement planning effort. A Trilogy – The One-Hour Service Improvement Plan (Part 2) (Part 3) (SHIFT)

With excellent customer service being one of the key goals of IT Service Management, Ryan Ogilvie reminds us that the ability to measure the quality provided is just as essential as the ability to provide services faster and cheaply. Request Fulfillment – How Good Are You? (Service Management Journey)

With today’s quick business pace, businesses are asking their IT organization to be more efficient and agile in providing the technology services the businesses require. Robert Stroud advocates that delivering business values, maybe on a smaller scale but quickly and efficiently, is the way to go. Can DevOps Get You Out of “Technical Debt”? (HDIConnect)

IT organizations manage a number of third party and off-the-shelf software assets on the regular basis. Rory Canavan presents a detailed asset management process model for managing changes to the software owned by an organization. Process of the Month – Software Change Management Process (The ITAM Review)

While teams bring many positive contributions to collaboration, they also can be a significant source of indecision. Patrick Gray makes recommendations on how we can do to stop this reactive behavior from taking hold in our organization. Eradicate a culture of indecision (TechRepublic)

In our lives, we probably know someone who seems to have a solid future ahead but somehow screws up life on a major scale. Susan Cramm explains how we can continually reflect and keep the worst in us from getting the best of us. Keeping the Stupid Out of Your Life (strategy+business)

With today’s globally distributed teams, having clear, timely communication amongst the teams is more crucial than ever. Over a three-part series, Peter Saddington presents his suggestions for managing a distributed Agile-based team. Ideas on Managing Distributed Teams Using Agile [1/3] – Introduction and Ceremonies (Part 2 – The Retrospective) (Part 3 – Review and Conclusion) (Agile Scout)

Some leaders try hard to win all the time, and they inadvertently try to add value to everything his team comes across. The behavior often adds incremental value while substantially diminishes employment involvement and commitment. Marshall Goldsmith advises us on what we can do stop this ineffective behavior. Adding Value — But at What Cost? (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

Successes in career are rarely achieved without struggle and rejections along the way. When you have one of those dip/valley moments, Mitch Joel reminds us how we can confront those negative experiences on our own. If You Have Ever Been Rejected… Be Like Bono (Six Pixels of Separation)

Something else you might be interested in…

Jim Taggart has released an updated version of his May 2011 e-book. The e-book begins with a brief overview of the global context within which organizations will operate in the years ahead. He also highlights the key trends that will have noticeable impacts follow. Workforce of the Future: Building Change Adaptability, 2nd Edition – NEW E-BOOK! (ChangingWinds)