Tag: Vaughan Merlyn

Fresh Links Sundae – August 24, 2014 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!

To compete these days, Martha Bennett believes that it is essential to make the most of the data you have. She outlines five areas where the business leaders need to tackle. Planning Your Big Data Strategy: Five Keys To Success (Forrester Blogs)

With the digital business trend, many organizations look to their CIO to lead by demonstrating technology leadership. Bob Lewis discusses a list of what’s required for technology leadership to be possible. More technology leadership prerequisites (IS Survivor Publishing)

In military, tactics and strategy are both necessary elements, and they complement each other in achieving the objective. In a three-part series, Stephen Lahanas discusses the building blocks and the steps for building an effective IT strategy. Building Effective IT Strategy – part 1 Building Effective IT Strategy – part 2 Building Effective IT Strategy – part 3 (Technovation Talks)

Stuart Rance often gets asked how long should an ITSM project take. He offers his opinions and suggestions on how implement ITSM to obtain value in the shortest time possible. How Long Should an ITSM Project Take? (SysAid)

Some IT organizations prefer to implement IT assets and configuration management as a single practice together while some keep those processes separate. Derek Lonsdale discusses the factors that can help determine the best approach for your IT organization? The synergies and duplications of IT Asset and Configuration management (ITSM Portal)

The Business Relationship Manager (BRM) team often acts as a bridge between the IT organization and their business partners. Vaughan Merlyn discusses the signs of an ineffective BRM practice which does not add value. When Business Relationship Managers Collude with Dysfunctional Behavior (IT Organization Circa 2017)

The US Government recently published a list of good practices for building effective digital services. Mike Loukides explains why private enterprises should also consider adopting these practices for their operations. Not just the government’s playbook (O’Reilly Radar)

There are a number of service providers who can lend their expertise to help completing an ITSM effort. Amy DeMartine makes some suggestions for how to pick your next ITSM implementation services provider. How to Find the right provider to complete your ITSM project (Computerworld UK)

Fresh Links Sundae – July 6, 2014 Edition

Vaughan Merlyn is running a five-part series on business relationship management on his blog. He discusses the common failure modes he comes across and what the IT organizations can do to implement an effective BRM practice. Common Failure Modes in Business Relationship Management – Part 1 Common Failure Modes in Business Relationship Management – Part 2 Common Failure Modes in Business Relationship Management – Part 3 Common Failure Modes in Business Relationship Management – Part 4 & Key IT Roles for Driving Business Value (IT Organization Circa 2017)

Although IT and business ultimately have the same goal in serving the enterprise, they often do not communicate effectively with one another in many organizations. Establishing a business relationship management function can improve the IT-business interactions. Ryan Ogilvie discusses that IT can do to get started. Translating IT and Business Speak (Service Management Journey)

IT organizations continue to face aggressive cost saving mandates, and IT service management practice could be leveraged to contribute positive results. Reginald Lo presents his perspectives on how does Service Management directly save costs and how do we reduce the cost of Service Management. Streamlining Service Management to Achieve Cost Savings Targets (VMware Accelerate)

A number of organizations have implemented IT practices around the DevOps concept with varying degree levels of success. Mike Loukides discusses what the DevOps trend is today and what organizations need to do in order to be effective. Revisiting What is DevOps (O’Reilly Radar)

A recent Forrester study found that many organizations experience low first change success rate for and long lead time on changes for IT infrastructure and applications. Matthew Selheimer discusses the problems he sees as the impediments to organization changes and how to improve the first change success rate. The secret to change success – understanding multiple perspectives (The ITSM Review)

Companies often assign leaders to affect changes (culture, behaviors, or climate) within the organization. People have different opinions on whether a leader should change a culture and, if so, how to change a culture. Rob England helps us answer the question of “Should you try to change culture?” and what a leader should do to promote changes. Don’t try to change culture (The IT Skeptic)

Putting out fires can be a common problem for the Program Management Office while struggling to manage a portfolio. Glen Alleman outlines five recommendations we should keep in mind, so we do not lose sight of the big-picture view of the project management process. Don’t be an Accidental Project Manager (Herding Cats)

In his new e-book Workforce of the Future: Building Change Adaptability, 2nd Edition, James Taggart discusses four major forces that are exerting major impacts in our lives. He outlines ten leadership lessons each one of us should leverage to adapt to the on-going change. 10 Leadership Lessons to Succeed During Turbulent Change (ChangingWinds)

Fresh Links Sundae – April 6, 2014 Edition

Many IT organizations have change management that is so bureaucratic and slow that it becomes unpopular with the business. Stuart Rance explains what the purposes of change management are and the steps that can be taken to do it more effectively. What Is Change Management For? (SysAid Blog) Stuart Rance

Business-IT engagement is a process through which business and IT stakeholders collaborate to create business values. Vaughan Merlyn explains how IT can improve its working relationship with business with his 3-level engagement model. The Disciplines of Business-IT Engagement (IT Organization Circa 2017)

Many organizations are considering or experimenting with big data initiatives. Tom Davenport outlines some key elements he has observed that make the initiative a success. What Makes Big Data Projects Succeed (Harvard Business Review)

A lot of companies are reorganizing themselves in push forward Big Data initiatives. Pearl Zhu compares and contrasts various approaches and paths for doing Big Data & analytics. Push or Pull: Which Way is Best to Do Big Data & Analytics? (Future of CIO)

Audit controls can be effective when applied to retrospective financial reporting, but they have shown losing effectiveness when dealing with today’s dynamic, fast-changing world. Brian Barnier believes we can make the controls more effective with business-objective-oriented management practices. Why didn’t the dog bark? (ISACA Now)

Denise Brosseu describes an amplifier as someone who curates, highlights and even shines the spotlight on the best ideas for the benefit of those around them. She talks about the benefits of being an amplifier and recommends the ways of becoming one. Are You An Amplifier? (Chic CEO)

In today’s competitive world, top executives recognize the need that leaders need to develop other leaders within the organization. Marshall Goldsmith and Kelly Goldsmith talk about six behaviors roadblocks leaders should consider when helping other leaders reach their goals. Helping People Achieve Their Goals (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

After delivering hundreds of live presentations in public, David Meerman Scott recommends the following 10 tips for anyone who wants to get better at public speaking. More top ten tips for incredibly successful public speaking (Web Ink Now)

Something else you might be interested in…

Microsoft has made a free Microsoft SQL Server 2014 eBook by Ross Mistry and Stacia Misner available for download. Free eBook: Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2014 (MSDN Blogs)