March 2013 – Merely Do It!

Fresh Links Sundae – March 31, 2013 Edition

Fresh Links Sundae encapsulates information I have come across during the past week. They maybe ITSM related or not entirely. Often they are from the people whose work resonates with me, and I hope you will find them at least thought-provoking or something of value.

The most critical of IT success factors is relationship management. Bob Lewis describes the approaches IT leaders need to take in order to get the business/IT relationship right. In IT, relationships come first (IS Survivor Publishing)

Surveys can be an excellent source of valuable feedback for IT. Jeanette Smith suggests several ways of making the surveys better-designed for getting the results. How to Craft the Right Questions for Your Next ITSM Survey (Plexent Blog)

Responding to talk about users spontaneously creating their own communities for mutual technical support, Rob England believes it will take a lot more than talk and projection for the self-support notion to take hold. Service desks and spontaneous user combustion (The IT Skeptic)

As technology makes it easier to form competent teams, Scott Adams believes the need for management won’t go away but will continue to decline. The Management-free Organization (Scott Adams Blog)

Many organizations achieve operational excellence, but they spend less effort understanding customer needs. Brad Power suggests that marrying these two competencies is quickly becoming a competitive necessity. Operational Excellence, Meet Customer Intimacy (Harvard Business Review)

For many of us, the way we were raised was to look after others first and to put ourselves last. Steve Knight advocates that it is also essential that we also take care of ourselves, so we can better assist others. Why you need First Aid to be a great communicator and leader (INSEAD Blog)

Believing that the best business analysts are appreciated by stakeholders and have a wide variety of career options, Laura Brandenburg outlines her observations of what separating a mediocre business analyst from a good one. The 7 Secrets of Good Business Analysts (Bridging the Gap)

Although change is something that many of us find uncomfortable, Anna Farmery suggests three things business leaders can do to lead changes and evolve the organization. Why Change is a Culture Not a Project (The Engaging Brand)

We use our own ideas of who we are to rationalize all sorts of our own behavior. Marshall Goldsmith advocates that letting go of those limiting definitions will enable us to do better work. An Excessive Need To Be Me (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

As the industrial age gradually being replaced by the connection economy, Seth Godin describes the six assets that can lead to successful work in the connection economy. Toward zero unemployment (Seth’s Blog)

Fresh Links Sundae – March 24, 2013 Edition

With ideas that come from years of executive experience in managing technology, Bob Lewis outlines the principles any IT professional looking to lead in the years ahead should consider. 19 principles every IT leader should heed | It management (InfoWorld)

IT services and resources are not infinite, and congestion can result from the demand placed on the IT services. Jon Hall suggests several approaches for managing the demand and making the services more assessable for an organization. Congestion charging… in IT? (Evolving ITSM)

With many technology solutions being procured outside IT’s involvement, Robert Stroud believes IT will need to change its ways if it hopes to stay relevant. Changing Role of the Service Manager in the Hybrid World (CA Technologies)

Using Kubler Ross’ Model of Grief, Michiel Croon discusses several different types of IT organization and explains why adapting processes and tools should always respect and reflect the nature of the IT organization. A service-type dependency adopting process and tooling (ITSM Portal)

For many things we do in IT, projects and processes seem to go hand-in-hand and often used interchangeably. Jan van Bon explains why projects are, by definition, independent from processes. Project or process – why is it so hard to use both? (ITSM Portal)

As the nature of work changes in organizations, Andrew Horne suggests that there are three competency areas for employees to master in order to be productive and how IT can help. It’s Time to Rethink IT Training and Support (CEB’s IT Practice)

In order to move an organization forward, Michael Schrage believes it is important to ask the right questions, or to have the right kind of important arguments within the organization. The Arguments Your Company Needs (Harvard Business Review)

Ted Rubin believes that assumptions have the tendency to limit ourselves to a narrow view of things. He advocates why it is necessary to challenge your assumptions if you want to be successful. The Problem with Assumptions (Ted Rubin)

All organizations periodically take on activities that add unnecessary costs and complexity. Ron Ashkenas explains why organizations take on those excessive activities and offers suggestions to minimize them. Why Organizations Are So Afraid to Simplify (Harvard Business Review)

Our positive beliefs about ourselves often help us become successful, and sometimes these same beliefs can make it tough for us to change. Marshall Goldsmith suggests ways we can overcome the success delusion and position ourselves to undertake the needed changes. The Success Delusion (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

Fresh Links Sundae – March 17, 2013 Edition

When comparing to products, partners and processes, addressing the people factor with leadership is often the most critical element of an ITSM initiative. David Ratcliffe outlines which behaviors and actions can enable a leader to generate trust, confidence and respect when interacting with others. The WHATs and HOWs Of A Great IT Service Management Leader? (Pink Elephant)

The recent decisions from Yahoo! and Best Buys on curtailing telework generated many reactions. Bob Lewis discusses his opinions about working remotely, maintaining relationships, and explains why the decision at Yahoo! was more of a fairness issue at this juncture. Yahoo! We get to work together face to face (IS Survivor Publishing)

As a tutorial to those who may be new to the ITSM subject matter, Stephen Alexander outlines three major ITSM roles, what they do, and the differences between those roles. Process Owner, Process Manager or Process Engineer (The ITSM Review)

Cloud computing, like many technology tools, cannot address all business problems. Patrick Gray lists several situations when the cloud computing might not always be the appropriate solution we need. When is the Cloud not the right tactic? (TechRepublic)

Many of the consumer/cloud technologies can be quite capable. Before building critical business processes on the consumer-grade cloud solutions, Bob Lewis suggests spending some time investigating whether the organization may need something more sophisticated than consumer-level technology can provide. Don’t let consumerization be the free lunch that eats you (InfoWorld)

In a two-part series, Niek Bartholomeus gives an in-depth look into how he apply the DevOps principles within his organization in order to support the software delivery activities. [DevOps] #1 My experience with introducing DevOps in a traditional enterprise [DevOps] #2 A closer look at introducing DevOps in a traditional enterprise (BMC Communities Blog)

While most of us live in a competitive business environment, Scott Eblin suggests five reasons why sharing expertise or cooperating with your competitors might make sense on occasions. Five Reasons Why You Should Help Your Frenemies (Eblin Group)

In a three-part series, Jim Taggart explains what is emotional intelligence (EI) is all about and how EI principles apply to leadership. Are You Emotionally Intelligent? EI–The Inner Side of Leadership: Part I Are You Open to Outcome, and Not Attached to It? Emotional Intelligence, Part Two Do You Know Who You Are? Part Three on Emotional Intelligence (ChangingWinds)

Jeff Haden believes that we all can do many things towards becoming happier. He outlines ten things we should stop doing altogether. How to Be Happier at Work: 10 Tips (Inc.com)

Many of us fail to follow through on a number of changes we promised to do. Marshall Goldsmith gives five of the most common reasons for giving up on our goals and makes suggestions on overcoming the roadblocks. The Five Reasons We Give Up (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

Fresh Links Sundae – March 10, 2013 Edition

Leverage a recent Forrester study on the topic of on-premises and SaaS ITSM tools, Stephen Mann discusses the good practices distilled from the discussion with a customer. 12 Tips For Moving From An On-Premises To SaaS ITSM Tool (From A Customer) (Forrester Blogs)

Bob Lewis suggests that there are no magical technology solutions that can solve hard business problems with only minimal work. IT is all about good people doing the hard work. Don’t believe the drumbeat against IT (InfoWorld)

In the latest issue of ServiceTalk from the itSMF UK, Robert Stroud offers two phased approaches to address the challenge of proving full account of IT costs in terms of business capability. Financial Management: The Forgotten Discipline (CA Technologies)

In order to have an effective problem management practice, Simon Higginson believes there are four problem management measurements that are essential. Four Problem Management SLAs that you really can’t live without (The ITSM Review)

For some time, the traditional IT’s emphasis on process and technology has not paid sufficient attention to the people component. With the advance of IT, Matthew Selheimer believes that IT organizations can restore the balance for success by integrating five key behaviors into the people component of the triad. Power to the People (The ITSM Review)

Believing the creation of service catalog is the first step of a successful ITSM implementation, Yemsrach Hailemariam outlines seven key considerations when formulating your own service catalog. 7 golden rules for getting the most from the Service Catalogue (The ITSM Review)

Believing there is a limit for humans to accept and process the rate of change, Rob England advocates that IT exists to protect and to serve the organization by managing the risks, resulted from the rate of changes. Slow IT (The IT Skeptic)

After working with many successful leaders who are committed to taking their games to the next level, Marshall Goldsmith recommends that one key ability of today’s executive should be learning and knowing how to ask questions. Advice on Getting From Here to There (Marshall Goldsmith Personal Blog)

Some business principles come and go. Jeff Haden outlines eight principles that are timeless and you can use forever. 8 Timeless Business Principles (Inc.com)

Concerned that there is a trend of assuming complex social issues can be solved as engineering challenges or as nicely packaged, convenient nugget of solutions, Umair Haque argues that great ideas challenges us a lot more than simply entertaining us. Let’s Save Great Ideas from the Ideas Industry (Harvard Business Review)

Fresh Links Sundae – March 3, 2013 Edition

Collaboration between organizations requires an understanding of each organization’s operating style and values. Bob Lewis outlines an approach that can help assessing an organization’s style and achieving a better understanding of it. A matter of organizational style A follow-up post explains what happens when the operating modes don’t line up between organizations. (IS Survivor Publishing)

Reflecting from a recent experience on a cruise, Robert Stroud describes how the service management and program management concepts should also be used outside of IT. Service Management is Valuable Outside of IT as Well! (CA Technologies)

Using information collected from a recent webinar on leveraging ITSM to increase business satisfaction and the perception of IT, Stephen Mann shares the poll results and his thoughts. Is Customer Experience Important To Internal IT Organizations? With Free Statistics! (Forrester Blogs)

Complexity often gets in the way of providing workable solutions to the business. Alex Honor explains how the complexity was built and what we can do to avoid or limit it. The key to simplicity isn’t “Know How” it’s “Know Why” (dev2ops)

Traditionally, Continual Service Improvement (CSI) is often thought of as the last set of processes we put in place when formalizing ITSM. Rob England advocates perhaps we need to start with CSI first. Everything is improvement (The ITSM Review)

Looking back at the 2013 Oscars, Martin Grobisen recounts some of the winner speeches and shows how the excellent work from the Service Desk can also enhance an organization’s IT performance. ITIL goes to the Oscars (ITSM Lens)

A well done ITSM effort can sometimes bring unexpected benefits to an organization. Jennifer Simpson describes a recent audit experience where practicing ITSM actually helped her IT organization during the audit process. IT Service Management and Audits (ITSM Portal)

Marketing is about changing people’s actions, and successful marketing effort is often a targeted one. Seth Godin advocates that you need to know who your audience is and how the change will affect them before a marketing effort can be truly successful. You can’t change everything or everyone, but you can change the people who matter (Seth’s Blog)

When it comes to personal career growth, incremental improvement is good but sometimes a major change in the mindset is needed. Anna Farmery outlines her suggestions on what questions to ask when striving for a better career. How to Have a 10 Times Better Career (The Engaging Brand)

We often hear advice from successful people that follow our passion can lead to personal success. Scott Adams explains that success is much more than simply following one’s passion. Follow your Passion? (Scott Adams Blog)