We’re in recession – it’s a golden opportunity! If you are master in your craft industry then don’t wait for the recession to end, now is the time to move. This advice might seem counter-intuitive because in hard times it’s natural to want to feel secure in your organization, and certainly take advantage of any severance […]
URGENT: Now Is The Time To Move Jobs If You Think You Are S**t Hot! Read More »
I am not going to take credit for all of this post… I was inspired by Esther Schindler ‘s article on CIO.COM titled ‘Managing and Motivating Developers: Tips for Management Cluefulness .’ The subject is close to my heart as over the last 8 years I’ve been doing exactly that. I’d also say that Esther’s
How IT Leaders Can Get The Most Out Of Developers Read More »
For a bit of fun I posted some behaviors exhibited by people who classify themselves as geeks, and invited you to see how you compared. So this time it’s a list of behaviors exhibited by Technical Professionals – techies who take themselves a bit more seriously. If you say Yes to more than 3 of
Are you a Technical Professional? How to find out Read More »
Example: With a worldwide energy crisis in full effect, IT is coming under pressure to be more socially responsible: what is your response ? The $64,000 question is how responsible you feel towards the social implications of energy consumption? Do you care if data centers are burning more energy in a day than a town
Technical Professionals acting on Social Responsibility Read More »
If you’re an aspiring CIO or CTO then you have to keep on your game CONSTANTLY . But it isn’t always about being clever. It’s about doing a number of simple things well, and continuously. I post a number of articles about career progression from the shop floor to the board room table, and below
10 More Tips for Aspiring Execs… Read More »
Are you a Geek? If you do three or more of the following, then the answer is Yes! You spend more time automating something than you ever would performing the task manually You buy t-shirts for their comedy value You store binaries on your iPod You have more categories on your iPod than you do
Are you a Geek? How to find out Read More »
Do you sometimes get blank stares when discussing IT matters with the business? Or maybe you get push-back on changes you want made, but the push-back is non-specific or seems irrational? Well maybe the reason is because you’ve lost your audience in your use of language. I come across situations very frequently where this is the
Don’t try and be Clever, Stupid: Using language for the layman Read More »
The title references a post on the CIO.COM website back in May this year. The article in question is called ‘Six Secrets of Top-Notch Business Analysts’ written by Thomas Wailgum. I’m looking at this specifically to basically challenge why the six behaviors described in the article are referred to as ‘secrets’. To me, they look
‘Secrets’ of Top-Notch Business Analysts Read More »
BPM (Business Process Management) projects have been initiated in many of the organizations I talk to – it’s a hot topic. Vendors and consultants will be making all sorts of promises and bold claims – so I thought I’d document some of the things NOT TO DO. Jeepers I wish I had this info only
15 Blunders to Avoid when Implementing BPM Read More »
Let’s face it, my site looked crap until yesterday. Dull, boring, and grey! Well after some great feedback from Paul Piotrowski’s blog InspiredMoneyMaker.com (you can see the review of my blog here ) I made the changes I’d been thinking about for ages and JFDI’d them. So I’ve now got a new theme and a
Newsflash! New Look to SimonStapleton.com! Read More »
How many of the ‘White Papers’ (technical white papers) do you read are quality, informative items, and how many are just marketing crap? In my early career, I found White Papers to be an effective, informative and free way of learning about technology. I used to read a lot of them. Back then (I’m talking
White Paper or Sh1te Paper? Read More »
BPM isn’t a fad nor a bolt-on to business. BPM is a model for business and it is growing. BPM is about continuous improvement and scale through technology. BPM must be recognized at the highest level in an organizational to truly deliver on the promises sold by vendors. Here’s why: Continuous improvement is the primary
Why Business Sponsorship and a Center of Excellence is Key to BPM Success Read More »
Many of you might know about Software as a Service (SaaS). It is a growing industry within IT, and based around (what might be to some) a simple concept. That is, software isn’t owned, but rented; not installed, but accessed; it’s not paid for upfront, but pay-as-you-go. You could liken it to watching TV rather
Can you afford to continue wasting time and resources by re-inventing the wheel and firefighting? This is the question many IT leaders are asking themselves in light of a downturn in financial markets and pressure to get more from less. Recent keynote addresses by companies like IBM and Forrester say that IT must move away
You Must Industrialize IT to Secure your Organization’s Future Read More »
I’ve just come from the Forrester IT Forum in Lisbon, Portugal, and discovered a number of insights that crystallized some thoughts I’d been having for a while. One of these insights that resonated especially was the future of IT Leadership and the potential fork in the road of the IT career path. During the last
Prepare for the Future of IT Organization, or Be Left Behind Read More »
I’ve been mixing with some of the top Execs (CIOs, CTOs, Heads of IT) over the last few days at the Forrester IT Forum in Lisbon, Portugal, and I’ve had a number of conversations about the top issues they face. Not surprisingly, delivery is still the key concern. What I discovered though is that this
Delivery is still the top concern of Execs! Read More »
You might think that Web 2.0 was set to totally disrupt and displace the big players in the IT industry. New players have risen in the last 15 years; Google, Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Myspace, to name but a few. All these new guy’s propositions are based on amassing large volumes of data on individuals and
The Phenomenal Power of Enablement: Implications for Corporates and Individuals Read More »
Have you noticed that when your organization announces something in the press that you begin to receive an unusual number of calls offering consultation and other services? Your company may have just announced a new product launch, division, lay-offs or a serious accountancy error. It can be a pain in the ass, quite frankly. But
How to respond when prospectors call following Press Announcements Read More »
The media continues to report that we’re in the grip of a recession. Whilst this maybe true, I haven’t yet seen a cascade of severance and canceled projects; but that may still come. A little while ago I offered 5 recession beating tips for Technical Professionals which discussed some proactive measures to reduce your personal
Grip of recession (?) Read More »
This is a continuation of this previous article, which looks at the implications of the Product Life-Cycle. In the previous article, I discussed the phases Development, Introduction and Growth. Now onto Maturity. Maturity is the phase where the product is well established in the market in terms of market share and is turning a healthy profit for
The Implications of the Product Life-Cycle (Part Two) Read More »
