There has been a big push by our new CIO for our IT organization to be more innovative. What things can I do in my department to enhance our innovative culture? Innovation doesn’t always require the use of new leading technologies, such as AI. Within IT, innovation most often comes from innovative ideas on how to use technologies and equipment you already own. Below are 10 questions you can ask your staff, maybe one question per weekly staff meeting, that may help you drive innovation within your department: How are other industries using technologies that our company currently owns? What technologies are our competitors using that are giving them a competitive edge against our company? How can we combine two or more technologies our company owns in creative ways to solve business problems? What open-source software can be inexpensively integrated into our existing infrastructure in a secure way that helps IT or organizational productivity? If budget was not an issue, what could we do to enhance your technical environment? Then, how can we do it less expensively? Are there any technical or business processes that could be done more efficiently? If so, how? What technologies are we currently using that should be phased out to make budget dollars available for new innovative initiatives? What can we do to help foster an innovative company culture? Can it be started today? What measurements can we use to show the return on investment of our innovative ideas? If we knew we would not fail, what [...]

I work within a large IT organization and the people in my department have been given the opportunity to work from home. If I do, does it reduce my opportunities for promotion or increase my chances of getting laid off? In short, the answer to your question regarding the effect of working virtually on promotions and layoffs is that it depends on the following: Your company’s culture and norms regarding working virtually The percentage of people at your company that work remotely How visible you can be on a day-to-day basis to your boss and others How effectively you can perform your job remotely Now let’s discuss these items one at a time. Your company’s culture Companies, like people, have specific values, strengths, weaknesses, prejudices, and, dare I say, personalities. That said, consider the following questions when deciding if you want to work virtually: Is the company technically equipped with conference room speakers, remote computer access, and tools needed to facilitate efficient work from outside the office? Does your company conceptually support working virtually or does it simply tolerate it? Can you remotely participate in important department discussions? Is there an out-of-site-out-of-mind mentality for those working out of the office? Is your boss supportive of working virtually or begrudgingly providing the option because it’s company policy? Are virtual teams at your company managed well or managed poorly? Percent of people working remotely The reason I ask this question is that if a high percentage of people work from home or business groups [...]

Question: Are technical conferences wort the time and money? At their best, you get whisked off to cool locations like Las Vegas and New Orleans. At their worst, they are down the street from where you work, and you have to come back to the office in time for a 4:00 staff meeting. Cool locations aside, with proper planning, a technical conference can be of real value to you, your staff, and your company. This planning is divided into two parts; picking the right conference, and budgeting your time once there. Regarding picking the right conference, consider the following: Do you think the keynote speakers provide you insights that will help you at work as well as help you grow professionally? Will you immediately be using the technologies you will be learning at the conference? If not, the knowledge you have gained will fade by the time you need to use it. Will there be the opportunity of professional networking? If yes, is it with people that can be of value to you professionally? Given that all companies have limited budgets, is this the best conference for you to go to from your company’s and your professional perspective? Is the timing of the conference at a time that will not adversely affect your current work projects or deliverables? Is the timing of the conference at a time that will not adversely affect your family beyond standard traveling inconveniences? As you see, the nature of these questions are to try to assure that [...]