Hunter Muller of HMG Strategy runs a really appealing series of CIO network conferences.  In his update from a recent summit, he features Saad Ayub, SVP and CIO of Scholastic Corporation, the world’s largest distributor and publisher of children’s books and a leader in educational technology and children’s media. As a panelist, Mr. Ayub talked...Read More

A friend of mine works in California as an in-house coach, most recently specializing in the area of bullying in the workplace, which is more prevalent than most would suspect, not to mention the whole larger subject of bullying in schools.  She sent me an article on coaching abrasive leaders and I wanted to share...Read More

John Eggert of IdeaLeadership out of Houston, Texas, conducted a survey, whose purpose was to ‘better understand the challenges to communication and collaboration among professionals from technology-related disciplines and those outside of these disciplines.’  John was kind enough to allow me to share his findings, which are in an article entitled “Non-Technologists’ Perceptions of Technology...Read More

Technologists are perhaps the least aware of all employees of the value of having a personal brand. More important to them is getting a project done on time, completing development, going from test to production or ensuring the business has signed off on requirements. Transcending Boundaries Technologists need to transcend the perceived narrow boundaries of...Read More

One of the questions I am asked and many of the comments I receive from my blog have to do with technologists making the transition from ‘technology’ to ‘business leadership/management.’   (One quick note:  while I write about ‘technologists,’ the term can also pertain to those in technical roles such as auditor, financial analyst, market analyst,...Read More

Personal Character The Oxford dictionary defines ‘character’ as “the collective qualities or characteristics, especially mental and moral, that distinguish a person or thing; a moral strength; reputation, especially a good reputation.” I think we’d all agree that character matters significantly in our personal lives as well as in our professional lives.  Indeed, a goal, and...Read More

The February 27th issue of Time magazine contains an article entitled “What Would Steve Do?“ by Rana Foroohar.  I am calling attention to this because of the lessons Ms. Foroobar extracts from Walter Isaacson‘s book on Steve Jobs, lessons I believe should be embodied in all coaching relationships between technologists and business managers because they...Read More

I was asked by a non-profit to speak about ‘executive presence.’  Beyond thinking it was about how good one looks and how well one projects, akin to stage presence, I knew little, so I did some research and learned a lot. My favorite definition was:  “Executive presence is an authentic quality that builds trust in...Read More

Business strategy, planning and technology strategy inherently belong together.  Unfortunately, many firms do so sequentially, or not at all, which makes the technologists’ job even more difficult and many businesses critical of their technology investments.  The effect on business performance is significant. I recently read a series of steps firms can take to integrate these...Read More

Yesterday I attended a CIO Summit, put on by the Society for Information Management (SIM) in New York City.  My attendance was prompted by the topic of IT leadership, which was covered in several breakout sessions and by the keynote speakers. It was gratifying to hear senior technology executives say they recognize what they need...Read More