July 9, 2023 “I’ve looked at life from both sides now. From up and down and still somehow…” When you’re an IT leader, you need to remember the words of Hippocrates. No, not those words. In addition to the famous…
In Praise of Single-Mindedness
May 31, 2023 It’s been a minute since I’ve taken the time to put pen to paper. It’s hard sometimes to distill the events and trends into something worth writing about. I do that, dear Reader, because I don’t want…
“The Doctor will see you now…”
April 23, 2023 Every Therapist needs their own Therapist. When you’re a leader and change agent, you have to be a therapist sometimes — to the folks who report to you and to the organization as a whole. Your job…
“Ladies and Gentlemen, the Quiet Quitters!”
“If work violates your values, quitting is an expression of integrity.” Adam Grant, Author & Organizational Psychologist February 27, 2023 This last Christmas, I was talking to a friend who didn’t understand Quiet Quitting. What my friend didn’t understand was…
Momentum
Today is my 60th Day with my new employer. My team asked me recently, “Why do you keep count like this?” I tell them that it’s to preserve momentum — forward movement. Coming into a new organization, with challenges and…
My Superpower
November 11, 2022 Periodically, post-pandemic (is it?), colleagues and former colleagues have reached out with some interesting career opportunities. Some have been local, and some have been back in the Pacific Northwest — place means less and less these days…
Enjoy the “Newness”
December 2, 2022 My very first full-time IT gig was as at the University of Tulsa, as the manager of campus computer labs (75-80% — which was essentially a specialized form of desktop support), followed by general campus desktop support…
The Fine Art of Surfacing Data
One of my roles as a “management consultant who happens to do tech” is to go into organizations and look for ways in which things can be streamlined and make information more accessible. Organizations of all stripes struggle with this,…
Watching the Detectives
As what some would call a “serial entrepreneur,” I have a soft spot in my heart for small businesses and those fledglings just leaving the nest. Armed with great ideas or better approaches, it’s an exciting time, and I get…
An uncomfortable book hits too close to home
The CEO (and CIO, and VP of IT) have resigned. The board president/former CEO has come back from retirement, to quell any potential stockholder revolt. In the last month, stock prices have fallen 30%. A Mid-level IT Operations Director has…