A blog about Practical, Effective IT Strategy Planning, by Andres Vivas

With great surprise I found this article by Nancy Lublin at Fast Company Magazine’s site, called “How to Write a Mission Statement that Isn’t Dumb”

Surprisingly enough for me, Mrs. Lublin mentions many of the characteristics of Missions Statements I mentioned in that first post about Mission Statements some time ago, and then when I talked about Guy Kawasaki’s video.

Here are the two comments I want to highlight about her article:

Mission statements don’t have to be dumb. In fact, they can be very valuable, if they articulate real targets.

And:

Here is my challenge: Write a mission statement with a goal that’s an action, not a sentiment; that is quantifiable, not nebulous. If you’re trying to sell a product, how and how many? If you’re trying to change lives, how and whose? Take your wonky mission statement and rip it to shreds. Then ponder your ambitions, and write and rewrite the thing until it reflects — in real, printable words and figures — the difference that you want to make.

So, I recommend you spend the 4 minutes it will take you to read Mrs. Lublin’s article, I believe you will find good information there as well.

Technorati Tags: Guy Kawasaki, Mission Statement

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I was part of a meeting today where 20 people or so were working together on reviewing measures to avoid problems created by the conficker virus.

I was taken aback by the amount of resources that big organizations have to dedicate to something like this. I understand that news circulating about this virus magnify the issue and management gets alarmed about it.

The reason number one why we are dealing with this problem is that Microsoft’s Operative system had a vulnerability, they released a patch in October 15, 2008 and still today many computers have not been updated (find instructions on what to do next here).

I understand this happening to mom and pop, where there is no support or any technical help, and in many cases the computer is just a device to be used to see the kids’ pictures.

I find it unacceptable that this situation happens in mid size and big organizations, where there is a clear understanding of how IT helps the business and we all know the importance of keeping our computers up to date.

If you are the IT lead for your organization, how can you make sure the technology is being maintained correctly? What processes and procedures have you put in place to avoid this type of events?

I understand that a virus causes disruption when nobody knows about the vulnerability and the hackers and virus developers exploit it. But almost 6 months after the fix has been released? And it affecting big organizations?

If that is the case, we in IT are responsible for this big failure. I don’t think we can justify it in any way. Good thing this is happening in April 1st, so we all can look like fools if we are actually impacted by this.

What are you doing to make sure something like this does not affect you and your organization?

Technorati Tags: conficker, IT suppot, Microsoft, virus

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Last January the CIO Magazine published their 2009 “State of the CIO” survey.

I found their findings very interesting, and I strongly recommend that you take a look at their findings.

For example, as CIO you have responsibility for non-IT areas like Security (32%) and Strategy (25%). You should also be on the job for 5 years and 4 moths on average (5 years, 11 months if you work for government). You should report to the CEO (47%) or the CFO (16%) or COO (16% as well). The average salary was reported as $247,900.

When asked to select the activities that best characterize your focus and how you spend your time, your answer should have been:

1. Aligning IT and Business Goals

2. Cultivating the IT/Business partnership

3. Improving IT operations/systems performance

Also, half of CIOs said that IT is still considered a cost center.

There are more factors covered by this survey. I recommend you go and read it
.
So, how do you rank in comparison with the 506 heads of IT that took the survey?

Technorati Tags: CIO, IT Strategy

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I had the fortune of attending a presentation by Mike Pulsifer where he mentioned the importance of preparing your presentation and all the things that are related to having a successful presentation.

From all the topics presented the one that caught my eye was the point about presenting data in a way that clearly conveys the intended message and allow the attendees to grasp the concept easily.

I suggest you take a look at this post, where he explains the concept better than I ever could.

Technorati Tags: mike pulsifer, presentations

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I’m not gonna pretend I am an expert in security. I simply understand some basic concepts and let others use their expertise on that.

One of those experts I rely on is Jason Yuen. I met Jason not too long ago but I am very impressed with his knowledge, ability and for walking that extra step to make sure things are done right.

I follow his blog and I suggest you do the same. He presents information in a simple way, so I enjoy reading his posts.

His blog, Understanding Information Security, provides me with good information that I can see implementing in the short term.

Today’s organizations feel more and more pressure to comply with many regulations and, given the current economic climate, I can only expect more of the same. I won’t dedicate my time to specialize in security, so I will continue relying in experts like Jason and many others.

Do you know any security experts that you recommend? If so, please add their information in the comments section, I’s like to know more experts in this topic.

Technorati Tags: information security, jason yuen, security

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Mike Pulsifer sent me a link to the post Are you answering questions or questioning answers, by Scott Ginsberg.

Scott’s post makes excellent points about the power of questions. Too many times we focus too much on the answers, but asking the right questions at the right times will open our brains to explore other possibilities.

I don’t recall where I got this other piece of advice, but it stuck with me. What if, instead of asking Can I questions, you ask How Can I?

Questions like How Can I or What If stimulate our brain to look for multiple solutions and alternatives

For example, let’s examine what happens when you ask a team member for a technical solution (after all, she is your technical resource) about checking your email from your smart phone while on vacations (and, hopefully, you are NOT checking your work email at all while on vacations).

If you ask her:

Can I check my email from my smart phone while on vacations?

You only give her two options: She can either say yes or no. Probably she will say no, as there is not an open port in the firewall to reach the internal email server.

On the other hand, if you ask her:

How can I check my email from my smart phone while on vacations?

Now her mind is rushing to find a solution to the problem.

By simply adding the word “How” to the same question, we have given this person the chance to find a solution. You just expanded her possibilities, it is not a Yes/No question anymore, it is not a binary scenario (after all, most of us are not computers, right?) but we just gave this person the freedom to look for alternatives and provide more value than a simple “No, it can’t be done.”

Give it a try. Next time you find yourself asking a “Can I” question, think for a moment and rephrase it as “How can I”. I am positive you will get better answers, and, who knows, this person could surprise you by giving you an extra solution that you never thought of. That is the power of human interaction.

Technorati Tags: ask right questions, Power of Questions

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In my opinion, Vision is the most important of all of our senses, and I know I am not the only one that feels that way.

My wife was looking for a clear, simple, clean, easy to understand explanation to what a Podcast is.

She did what most would do, she Googled it. She found this video that expresses visually what podcasting is and it does it in a way that anybody can understanding.

I suggest you watch this video, and I hope it sparks new ideas on how to present ideas to your audience. Enjoy it!

Technorati Tags: presentation, Tools, visual representation

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I’ve mentioned briefly in the past about the importance of having a PMO in your organization, so your projects can be successful. In my career, I’ve met many Project Managers, but three or four of them really stand out, and I am happy to announce that one of them wrote a guest post for this blog. Without much further ado, here it is Alec Satin‘s.

7 Marks of a Best PMO

Guest post by Alec Satin

Bad project management offices (PMO)s are easy to describe.  You may have had to work with one at some point. Notice the words, had to work with one.  People will do anything possible to minimize their interactions with a bad PMO.  Poor PMOs don’t care. They have little contact with the people in the organization actually doing the work.  Their focus is on compliance by force. Communication flows one way – from them to you.

Great PMOs are Good for Executives, Project Managers and You

It’s been said that all happy couples look the same.  All of the best PMOs share certain characteristics which endear them to management and the project managers they support.

1. Projects Align with Organizational Goals

At some level, every project is conceived to provide some benefit to the organization.  The business case, charter and scope ideally describe this in an understandable way.  A good PMO ensures that all projects worked in an organization have benefits that truly align to the most important needs and objectives of the business. If the nature of the business environment changes significantly, a good PMO will decide what impact if any this will have on the active projects.  Sometimes projects need to be redefined, shelved or even cancelled.  If a project’s benefits are no longer benefits, it makes no sense to continue working the project.

2. Project Success Rates Increase

A good PMO ensures that all needed resources are available and allocated before the start of the project.  The PMO monitors the project plan and budget throughout the lifecycle to ensure that the project remains on track, and that resources are available as needed. As large risks present themselves, the PMO may help in brokering solutions which are best for everyone involved. These activities increase the number of projects completed on time, on budget and in scope.

3. Project Management Competence Increases

Organizations with good project management offices find that the skill and competence of project management activities improve over time.  PMP Certification is common.  As important is the establishment of formal or informal mentoring programs for all project managers. Mentoring increases networking relationships, provides practical guidance for newer project managers, and contributes to a team culture in the organization.

4. Standards and Templates are Developed and Improved

A good PMO provides useful, practical and helpful project templates. These templates are revised as often as necessary to ensure that the right type of documentation is being created.  Clear guidance is provided to ensure that the minimum number of documents are created for any particular project.

5. PMO Tone is Inviting

The PMO is considered a partner and resource rather than a bully. The compliance aspect is deemphasised.  Learning and Improvement are embraced.

6.  Training is Available

A good PMO offers more than one class a year.  Free training is available in multiple formats and in various ways.  There may be online sessions.  Classroom training may be provided.  An open door policy may be in effect for a few hours every day. There may be a constantly monitored IM (instant messaging) or chat account available to any PM with a question at any time.

7. Learning is Embraced

The PMO members seek out feedback and incorporate it into project management office policies and activities.  Lessons learned are included in projects and in the PMO itself.  The PMO looks for ways to continually increase its value up (to management) and down (to project managers).

Do you have a World Class PMO?

(Image by ideologie)

Technorati Tags: Alec Satin, PMO

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A friend of mine sent me the link to this video from Guy Kawasaki. In it, he talks about entrepreneurship and provides advice for start ups.

What caught my attention from his presentation was the fact that he mentioned the need of creating a Mantra instead of a Mission Statement. He advices the audience to keep in mind that a Mission Statement must be useful for your employees. This is the same point I was making in my post Is your Mission Statement worthless?

The video is 39 minutes long and contains great information about many topics, but if you want to watch only the section where he talks about Mission Statements then start watching 06:22 into it, and you can stop watching at the 12:12 marker.

Here is the video:

Technorati Tags: Guy Kawasaki, Mantra, Mission Statement

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