The ‘art’ of Opening and Closing meetings
If as you’ve felt that your meetings haven’t had the right spark of energy, or actually resulted in anything but a room full of hot air, then read on.
Communicating ‘Bad News’
A number of emails led me to write this article on communicating ‘Bad News’. This is a common issue in business, particularly in the western world where short-term results are king. Passing on information that is considered to be unwelcome fills a lot of people with angst and dread, so I want to address this …
Principle vs Specific arguments
I’m constantly reminded how a dynamic of argument and debate is in the wrong place. A recent issue cropped up where a colleague was pushing back to a technical supplier because insufficient information had been provided against a change request. The problem though was that the phrasing of the pushback was principle-based, i.e. he argued …
The impact of Unplanned Work
This might resonate with you if you’re a technical professional: how many times have you been asked to do a piece of work (often portrayed as a ‘small’ job) which disrupts planned activities and means one of both slip or are done with compromise? A study in 2002 found that IT departments can be spending …
Can you spot a bad CIO? (… or CTO, or IT Director, or IT Manager, or Head of IT)
I was perusing the CIO.com website and found a good article which covers the traits of a ‘bad CIO’. If you forgive CIO.com’s annoying paginated delivery of content, you might enjoy reading this. I think it applies not just to bad CIOs, but as I suggested in the title it can apply to spotting anyone …
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… whilst we’re on the subject of recession…
A recent article on HBS: Working Knowledge gave a marketing view on coping with recession (take a look.) You might notice a number of parallels between the advice aimed at marketers and the advice I gave in my last article ‘5 Recession Beating Tips’. I think this is because marketing and technical departments face similar …
5 Tips for beating recession in techical roles
It’s hotly debated whether we’re heading into a global recession or not; my personal view is that the economy is slowing down sufficiently enough to spur me to prepare for recession. Taking positive action now could soften the blow if such a disaster were to happen, and I’d confront it on the front foot. Below …
Going for a curry or tacos may do more for you than your hunger
I’ve coined the phrase ‘Going for a curry or tacos’ as a euphemism for getting out with your colleagues over dinner to ‘socialise’ ideas and problems. It’s really about getting out of the office environment where formal positions and behaviors are established and enforced, and getting together with colleagues (from various levels) to chew over …
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Are you at risk from Outsourcing?
My recent survey found that 30% of respondents were concerned that outsourcing will put your job at risk. This is a complex area and also a concern that has real grounds as its undeniable that outsourcing has been a huge source of change in business organization, management and economics. I’ve personally been involved in organizations …
Taking your first step as a manager or supervisor in technical teams
One of the most difficult moves on a technical career path is moving from technician and knowledge worker (i.e. a ‘doer’) from a manager of supervisor. I found this tough, as do many technical professionals who have this responsibility thrust upon them. Supervisors and managers of the 21st century will have broader responsibilities, taking charge …
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