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

How An IT Leader Does A Performance Review

I hate performance reviews. I hate getting them and I hate giving them. In my mind they are a waste of time for both the IT Leader who’s giving them and the IT staffer who is getting them. I’m not sure who dreamed these things up, but they remind me of a 19th century factory … Read more

So IT Leader, Are You Thinking About Getting An Executive MBA…?

As the world’s economy continues to shudder, everyone in IT is scrambling to find ways to make themselves more valuable to both their current employer as well as to their next employer (if needed). For a long time, getting an MBA has been an option that many IT Leaders have considered. The big drawback has … Read more

Shh! How To Keep Your IT Job Search Secret…

Do you plan on working at your current IT job forever? Nope, I didn’t think so. In fact, there’s a very good chance that you won’t be working for the company that you are currently working at forever. What this means is that you’ve got to start that search for your next job now. Oh, … Read more

Why Are There So Few Women In IT?

Oh, oh – this is the kind of blog posting that can cause all sorts of folks to get angry. Before you build up a big head of steam and get ready to fire off an angry “women are just as capable as men” letter to me, wait just a minute. The question that we’re … Read more

Are IT Managers Afraid Of Commitment? Employees Speak Up.

An IT department does not consist of just a bunch of servers and some cabling. It’s really made up of bright, talented people who know a lot about how servers, networks, and applications can be used to propel a business forward. However, not every company and not every IT manager treats their staff 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

IT Manager Breakthroughs: The Power Of A Peer Culture

So where should creativity live in an IT department? We use creativity to solve problems, create designs, and to determine what projects to pursue. IT Managers need to be the ones who have creative control within the IT department in order to ensure that projects get done correctly. However, this is often easier said than … Read more