The power of long term networking

I was speaking to a group of recent college graduates who all had the good fortune of being hired into the same company's IT consulting practice and were in the process of going through an intensive introductory training program.  I would like to tell you what I told them. I asked the class to make believe it was fifteen years in the future. Then, I pointed to a person on my left; I'll call her Mary, and asked the group to make believe that she was now the Senior Vice President of North American operations for the company.  I then pointed to a person on my right named John and said he had left the consulting firm about ten years ago and was now the CIO of a Fortune 500 company. With this stage set, I turned to Mary and told her that John's company was in the process of looking to hire a consulting company for a two million dollar project. I then asked the group which of the following scenarios Mary would have wished had transpired over the past fifteen years. Mary and John had kept in touch every couple of years via LinkedIn, simply saying hello and congratulating each other when each was promoted. Mary and John have not spoken in the past ten years since John left the company, but she did go to his going away party. Mary and John have not corresponded since the training program they were both in at the beginning of their careers. [...]

By |2025-04-22T14:47:38+00:00April 22nd, 2025|
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If you’re a technical manager, know about technology

I was speaking with a group of younger software and hardware IT professionals.  They were a great crowd, extraordinarily knowledgeable in their specific areas of expertise, and just a joy to be with, but had a lot to learn. As part of my presentation to this group, I asked them what they know about less-we-known IT megatrends such as digital twins and dark data centers.  I found it fascinating to learn that most of the people in the room were not at all familiar with these trends.  Upon further discussion, it also became apparent even though these people truly knew their specific technology; they were not very familiar with other technologies that surrounded them within their own IT shops.  As we talked further, it became apparent to almost everyone in the room how a wider view of their chosen profession could help their current job performance and their future professional growth. The moral of this story is NOT that techies should be experts in everything, that’s impossible.  The moral is that you, as an IT professional, should be a mile deep in your technical specialty and be a mile wide and an inch deep in the other areas of IT. What I mean by a mile wide and an inch deep is that you should have a broad, basic understanding of the various technologies used within IT and a general understanding of the technology trends that are driving change and innovation within the industry. This is particularly important to those in IT [...]

By |2025-04-09T19:03:32+00:00April 9th, 2025|
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5 Reasons teaching technology to others is good for you

We all know that teaching others is a time-honored activity.  Parents teach their children about the world. Master craftsmen teach their apprentices the tools, tricks, and techniques of the trade.  Many athletes become coaches and many technologists often mentor new, less experienced, members of the profession. As you may expect, this training is of great value to those being trained; the children, the apprentices, the young athletes, and less seasoned techies. What is the true value to the teacher?  The answer to this question is the thrust of this topic. Teaching others in the workplace, as either a professional instructor or as a helpful mentor is in many ways more valuable to the teacher than to the student.  I believe that most IT professionals would agree, that in the workplace, we should all help, mentor, and guide those with less experience than ourselves.  After all, it’s good for the company and it’s the right thing for us to do as human beings.  That said, teaching your technical skills to others also has the following personal advantages: The people you teach will become your internal company supports It expands your knowledge of the topic Helps to position you as a thought leader within the company Helps you define a very positive professional brand Helps maximize your value to the company The reasons that the people you teach will become your internal supporters are:  You have personally taken the time to help and mentor fellow techies. This type of kindness is generally greatly appreciated. [...]

By |2025-03-25T17:43:43+00:00March 25th, 2025|
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6 Ways to start thinking like a CIO and how it can help you get there

What things can I start doing now, as an IT Manager, to move toward me goal of eventually being a CIO? It may sound premature to start thinking like a CIO this early in your career, but it will help you begin to notice things you would otherwise miss. This phenomenon is best described using a totally non-technical example. Think of a highway that you drive on all the time. It could be to and from work, to and from a loved one’s house, or to and from your favorite activity. Ok, with this vision in mind, let’s pretend that one day when driving down the highway, your car is very low on gas, and the “Gas” light starts to flash. Wanting to save money, you made the decision to buy gas at the station near your house, rather than off the highway, because you thought it would be cheaper. Then, during your drive home, you begin noticing road signs everywhere advertising gas stations just off almost every highway exit. Why is it that you never noticed these gasoline signs before? The answer is because you didn’t need gas. As a second and third example, this analogy also works for restaurants when you’re hungry and restrooms for, well, you know. Back to the topic at hand, this same phenomenon is true in the workplace. If you only concentrate on your specific job, and not the other things around you, you won’t notice the manager level, IT-User level, and upper management level interactions [...]

By |2025-02-25T15:48:56+00:00February 25th, 2025|
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10 ways to maintain your professional connections

I have been contract project manager for about five years and have made some great business connections. My hope is to use these people as professional references, job referrals, and potentially to rehire me for additional contract work. How can I keep in touch with these people without being annoying or looking only self-serving? Thanks for the question and I hope my answer is of value to you. To begin, you are very wise to want to maintain your previous business connections for references, referrals, and future work. Many businesses are made and careers are enhanced with the assistance of those with whom we have previously worked. To your question, the key for you is four fold; Touch base with your contacts enough that you will not feel uncomfortable reaching out to them for a favor or question If possible, find ways to provide them value and help, so their assistance to you does not feel like a one-way street Be thankful and respectful of those who provide you assistance Pay it forward by helping others as a thank you to those who helped you Listed below are various ways to accomplish the above criteria: Create a spreadsheet listing the people you would like to keep in touch with, the last time you connected with them, the reason for the contact, and notes from your last conversation. This spreadsheet will help you keep track of how long it’s been since you spoke with them and conversation starters based on the notes from [...]

By |2025-01-21T14:58:57+00:00January 21st, 2025|
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12 Tips when writing emails and business communication

Do you have any tips on how to enhance the emails and other written communications I’m sending to my team, other people inside IT, and my non-IT counterparts and vendors?  The ones I’m writing now seem to leave people flat and uninspired. Let’s begin by discussing the importance of written communication. The standard party line for this topic is that the quality of the emails you write, the presentations you display, and the documents you create are a reflection of your professional ability, attitude, and attention to detail. Yes, this is all true. Let’s, however, expand this statement into the virtual world we now live and work in. The advent of email, Microsoft Teams, blogs, discussion boards, and social media in general has caused a resurgence, if not a rebirth, of the written word by everyday people. In the workplace this is magnified by the popularity of virtual teams spanning across the street, around the country, and around the world. As a result, many of the people you work with today, maybe even including your boss, you may never meet in person causing your main interpersonal communication to be totally phone, Zoom, and email based. There have been various studies that have said that a relatively small percentage of the communications between people are based on the word and that the majority of the communication is based on body language and voice tone. These studies range from 93% body language and non-verbal queues by James Borg to studies by others ranging from [...]

By |2025-01-07T13:15:34+00:00January 7th, 2025|
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2 Very hard, but doable, steps to becoming a technical thought leader

What is an internal IT thought leader and how can I use it to accelerate my professional growth? One of the best ways to move ahead professionally is to be viewed by those at your company and those generally within your industry as a thought leader. This, of course, is not an easy task but is very doable with the right plan, a willingness to learn, and a willingness to share your hard-earned expertise with others. One advantage of being an IT professional is that you have the opportunity of becoming a thought leader in various areas including the following: In a specific technology, such as AWS, Azure, or Python In the use of a specific vendor’s software package, such as SAP, Microsoft, or Oracle In an IT area, such as datacom, cybersecurity, or AI In IT related practices and methodologies, such as Agile, Project Management, or ITIL In technologies related to a specific industry or profession, such as patient records, equity trading, accounting, manufacturing, sales, or social media If done correctly, from a personal branding and technical expertise perspective, becoming any of the above can help get you promoted, increase your income, get you a seat at the table when technical decisions are being made, provide you the opportunity to speak at professional conferences, get quoted in industry publications, and other similar activities and accolades. The first step in becoming a technical leader is to maximize your technical knowledge and truly become an expert: Get any formal credentials, such as certifications, [...]

By |2024-12-17T15:36:26+00:00December 17th, 2024|
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7 Ways to talk with business users

When my team and I talk with our business counterparts about our software development projects, they seem not to care.  How should I deal with this issue? As much as we love the technologies we use and how they work, most of our business users don’t.  Business users are, generally speaking, looking for solutions to their problems and not necessarily the behind-the-scenes technologies that make it work. That said, you will know you are talking too technically to your business users when: Their eyes glaze over and don’t seem to understand what you are talking about When they don’t ask you any follow-up questions regarding your articulately stated technical explanations When the users say “That sounds great, but what does this mean for me?” When the users just say “Great, thanks” with no added comment and then change the subject. Additional ways to know you’re talking too technically to your users is to: Watch the body language of the person you are talking to for visual cues that they are bored, uninterested, or totally lost Listen to their tone of voice to see if it sounds dismissive and they are trying to end the conversation The habit of speaking to business people too technically can be very career limiting.  From an IT management perspective, it’s great when the people in your group can communicate effectively with those outside of IT. Doing so, has the following benefits: Reducing the chance of miscommunications on an array of topics, including business requirements, resource planning, user [...]

By |2024-11-20T20:13:27+00:00November 20th, 2024|
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10 Questions that can help your IT department be more innovative

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 [...]

By |2024-11-05T15:22:07+00:00November 5th, 2024|
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6 ways to help influence your manager

My boss is a great person, but sometimes I can’t seem to get his attention and support for the things I think are most important for my department. Any suggestions on how influence my manager in this way? The first thing you must do to gain the support and ear of your manager is to be the best employee you can be. You must: Do quality work Embrace company values Meet your deadlines Play well in the organization’s political sandbox . . . and generally, be a true asset to your company With these things now in place you can influence your manager. That said, when reading these suggestions, note that you should choose your tactics wisely, based on your relationship with your manager, your department’s role within IT, and the culture of your organization in general. When you bring issues to your manager, also provide potential solutions and your suggested recommendation. With a well thought out recommendation in hand, you will very likely be able to correct the issue in the manner you wish. Try to view the world from your manager’s perspective. This will not only help you better understand your manager’s needs and wants, it will also help your professional growth should you wish, in time, to attain your manager’s position. Be transparent with your manager. Be equally willing to tell them about the good news as well as the bad news. This approach of sharing both good and bad news has many advantages including the following: It develops [...]

By |2024-10-22T14:27:38+00:00October 22nd, 2024|
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