IT Leader Book Review: “Lead Well And Prosper”

So how is an IT Leader supposed to keep on top of his / her game? There were very few college courses that we had to take during our undergraduate years that dealt with management (or even better, leadership). Even if you’ve gone on and gotten an MBA, precious little time is devoted to the … Read more

IT Leaders Know That It’s Not All About Them

Please put your hand up in the air if you are a micromanager. Is your hand up – if it is then good, you have a pretty accurate picture of yourself. If it isn’t , then I bet if we talked with the people that you work with, we might get a different answer. By … Read more

Managing Trophy Kids: Can’t We All Just Get Along?

A lot has been written recently about the next generation of workers that is in the process of entering IT departments right now (I’ve done my part!) However, what’s been missing is a fundamental understanding of what an IT Leader is supposed to do once they are there. Ron Alsop who writes for the Wall … Read more

An IT Management Nightmare: Managing Trophy Kids

Remember that Jack Nicholson line from the movie that was made from the Steven King book “The Shining”:  “.. Here’s Johnny…“? I seem to recall that he delivers this line as he stands at a door with an axe in his hands trying to break into the bathroom. I suspect that many IT managers feel … Read more

Do You Want To Work With An IT Trophy Kid?

Even though the world currently looks like it is upside down, there is a much larger change going on that will have a much longer impact than this temporary financial crisis: the arrival of the millennial generation into the IT workplace. Are you ready? Just to make sure that we’re all talking about the same … Read more

What’s An IT Manger To Do When You Screw-Up BIG TIME?

So I’ll be the first one to admit it – I’ve screwed up big time at work. It was awhile back, but as I remember it I was responsible for crunching some numbers that were going into a report that was being used to plan what the company was going to be working on for … Read more

Your Next IT Manager Challenge: Girl Fight!

By this time in the 21st Century, I’m hoping that we’ve all got the diversity message: gender, race, age, sexual orientation (you too California) don’t matter when hiring people for jobs or when managing them. However, it turns out that there’s been a pink elephant lurking in the room that many of us (males) may … Read more

Simple Steps To Becoming A Better IT Manager

A question that I often get asked by both new and old IT leaders is “how can I become a better manger?” The question is a simple one that has complex answers. What all IT leaders want is to become one of those leaders who has the ability to get all of our employees to … Read more

5 Characteristics Of Hard Core Gamers That IT Managers Need

As yet another generation comes to work in the IT department, IT mangers are being confronted with another management challenge. More and more of the new wave of workers are coming from the world of multi-player online games. These games consist of large, complex, social systems that are constantly evolving. Games like World of Warcraft … Read more

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Who’s The Best IT Manager Of All?

Those boys who get locked up and do work on behavior neuroscience continue to come up with new and interesting discoveries all the time.  This time around they’ve made a stunning discovery that will have a long lasting impact on how IT managers do their job. Do I have your interest yet? Daniel Goleman and … Read more