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I need a digital vacationdigital
A popular B2C eCommerce marketplace announced that it will shut down the website and engage customers only on the mobile phone; the news had everyone wondering about the wisdom behind such a move. Various views prevailed on the trigger towards this unusual step; speculations did not stop despite press releases that outlined the rationale behind the move. Everyone watched with abated breath when D-day arrived; a few days later a small dip in traffic and revenue was reported with an optimistic view that they will bounce back.
It is published statistics that number of smartphones is increasing globally; the personal device is also becoming the primary means to access Internet, browse, check email, communicate, socialize, and do some personal and official work. Phones are also getting smarter, larger, with higher compute capacity now beginning to rival computers of a not too distant past, offer reasonable mobile storage and increasingly better cameras. Conventional wisdom says that mobile is and will remain the primary device of choice.
Then the latest hype and hoopla is around wearable technology; it all started with glasses (the kind you wear on the eyes) mimicking some of the futuristic movies of the 90s depicting humanoids with special powers. Next came fitness bands which offered alternative ways to view limited information while they monitored body vital functions; these were followed by smart watches wanting to change the way you consume information. Seesawing between screen sizes, each device competed for attention by offering notifications of all types (see Divergence is …).
Did I forget tablets which now masquerade as mini-laptops or phablets that disguise themselves as big sized phones or handy sized tablets ? Crossovers of all types have attempted to bridge a perceived gap until they either became the standard or irrelevant. Case in point as an example, laptops with touchscreens or tablets with keyboards competing for bag space. Depending on need and at times driven by corporate policy, there are cases where both have won and coexist as personal and work device.
Are we obsessed about staying connected or is technology pressurizing us into compulsive behavior for the next notification or alert. Who benefits from connected devices and alarms that keep us on our toes? Is our life changing for the better or worse with guiding forces that we no longer control? From a closed society that valued privacy we have moved to an open world where almost everyone has access to life events that we decided to share and then exercise control on who can see them forgetting that it has been cataloged for data mining!
Coming back to the Thing that could/will be the primary information creation and consumption device(s), it is quite likely and highly probable that contextually there will be separation. We will have the choice on how we would like consume; willingly or inadvertently we will be broadcasting data into the servers of service providers, marketers, and feed analytical engines through the various Things that on or off us will monitor what we are up to in our lives and the feedback mechanism will to nudge our choices subconsciously.
Information consumption shall extend beyond visual interactions to encompass auditory as well as kinaesthetic experience. I think the phone as we know it today will probably retain a large share while other form factors (may be integrated into the phone or discrete) will complete the experience. Change contextually will be driven by where we are, what we are doing, who are we with, time of the day, at work or home or leisure, traveling or stationary, and finally personal choice based on peer influence and personal comfort.
There will also be forced or chosen moments of disconnected bliss (let's call it Digital Vacation) until withdrawal symptoms give way to the craving or we time out the detached life. Extreme cases would undergo Digital detoxification camps and participate in support groups (not digitally but in person) and be monitored actively ironically by digital devices. Does this situation sound too dramatic, hypothetical or out of science fiction? Well I believe that the future is already here for some while others will catch up sooner than later.
Blessed would be a few who can at will detach themselves and have no impact on professional or personal life.
BYOD is dead, long live device independence and proliferationBYOD, Mobile Computing
The advent of smartphones started a small experiment for senior management; it has now become mainstream. Explosion of smartphones in the enterprise driven by economical choices and increasing convenience has seen Progressive IT departments adopting a controlled and open attitude towards providing access to information on the go. Solutions have evolved with app-ification of many processes and business opportunities and Cloud based offerings. BYOD is no longer a 4 letter word, it's reality for enterprises and CIOs.
Reluctant IT organizations are being pushed and forced into acceptance to define a framework on how to weave BYOD into the company fabric. Reality of yesterday which revolved around unmanaged devices, multiple platforms and form factors, and security of corporate data appear to be excuses now. While the starting point for most enterprises has been MDM or Mobile Device Management, additional solutions are equipping enterprises to create a secure and managed ecosystem for employees and partners.
The next few years will see a shift towards BYOD for most enterprises who are deploying mobility solutions of any kind. This is largely driven by the need to push information to stakeholders though newer use cases are emerging with sales force, distribution and approvals. There is also a pull exerted by various parts of the enterprise who are beginning to realize the time value of information. The challenge is not security anymore, it is managing the upsurge in expectations driven by the fact that someone has already done it somewhere in the world.
Is there a balance between complete freedom to totally restricted world? There is no formula by size or industry type or even geography that provides a generic universally acceptable answer. Each enterprise will have to find its own equilibrium depending on need and benefit; my belief is that information enabled employees are likely to take better decisions or create newer opportunities in comparison to staff that live with enforced restrictive policies. Wearables open up new opportunities for the savvy technophiles.
The world is getting bipolar with mobility divided into 2 camps – Android and iOS. Stealthily a third alternative is emerging which offers comfort of the known and familiar to IT folks: Windows! IT knows how to manage this platform while others intrusively came in from the consumer employee. I believe that this trend will be the savior for IT giving them a platform that they know how to manage. Interestingly new innovation with dual boot devices with Windows and Android are just around the corner.
Some people may ask, what about the Blackberry as a device or platform? Should we stop thinking about it? There still are remnants of this in some enterprises. Should they stay in focus? Predictions have a bad way of turning around and biting you; so if they do offer something critical that others don't (which I am not sure of unless it is specific to your business), move them off. It is easier to manage one less technology than keeping it lingering around. In the near term I don't see any merit in continuing with them.
The future belongs to an empowered enterprise where every person has information on demand available on his/her fingertips on a device of his/her choice. Ubiquitous and seamless access activated by secure channels that are MITM (Man In The Middle) and MOTB (Man On The Browser) attack proof; apps are obviating the need to create adaptive websites and compromises in user experience. Enterprises should explore a way to use Apps to provide secure transactional capabilities to employees while running off a public or private cloud.
New devices will continue to challenge IT; drive with policy which is adaptable and allows for induction of new environments. Put them to work in a lab before they start knocking on the door asking for permission to connect. Invest in tools and technology that allow you to manage the devices by exception and policy; that is easier to execute than creating an exception every time something new turns up. You will have limited time and capacity, use it wisely. Finally take a stand if it comes to a crunch; after all when things break only your neck is on the block!
Sliding IT security priorities put enterprises at riskLeadership, Security
I read somewhere about the government's intent to increase budget allocation towards fighting and creating cybersecurity awareness. The link was hidden somewhere towards the bottom of the newsletter; quickly I clicked through to read word by word the good news and realized that it was indeed true! The chart showing CAGR was quite impressive with the trend line going north; then I looked again at the Y axis to find that the investment per annum was so low that the entire news was like actually too scary to be funny.
Not too long ago when I wrote about Creating Secure & Safe Enterprise, many CIOs and CISOs wrote back with their personal experiences; most of them agreed that their realities were reflected within. Some of the interesting facts that emerged is that budgets were a challenge, but then not really a challenge when an incident occurred. With corporate focus on short-term goals and measurement of tactical performance, the biggest challenge that everyone unanimously portrayed was that of sliding priorities with security settling close to the bottom.
Why is security investment such a drag when it comes to budgeting and spending? Why do enterprises and with that I imply the CXOs who collectively represent the Management believe that they don't really need to invest in protecting their information assets which are family jewels in most cases? What creates such a lackadaisical attitude towards creating process, policy, and implementing tools that provide a secure framework to do business despite the fact that threats are increasing and businesses are losing customers, revenue and credibility!
Everyone agrees in principle that security is a must; they (the CXOs) espouse this in conferences and project themselves as the messiahs of information protection and security. When one such leader was asked pointed question on the budget allotted, he sidestepped the question deftly instead talking about how the industry needs to up the ante. The lip service that ignores the elephant in the room is beginning to hurt enterprises. The cause for such an attitude towards keeping the doors and windows open has to be deeper.
I am not that big and not an attractive target for anyone! Why would any hacker want to breach our security? Our customer data is locked up on one computer and only two people have access to it; they are both trustworthy. We don't have anything worth stealing, so why would anyone compromise our systems? We know internal threats are higher than external, we have information distributed across multiple solutions, so no one can decipher the full picture; we have locked USB, installed anti-virus and firewall, isn't that enough?
Is lack of awareness or education creating a false sense of security and complacency? Or is it a belief that such things happen to others and I am safe? Is CXO ignorance and indifference an acceptable proposition towards defining the security posture of an enterprise? When you live dangerously sooner or later an adverse incident does occur and that is when the scapegoat syndrome always ends up pointing fingers at the CIO or the CISO, and/or the service provider. Breaking this paradox is the need of the hour for enterprises.
No one wants to fall sick or die but everyone takes health and life insurance! Investments in security are like insurance to protect the business. Physical security has seen this paradigm shift with electronic tags and biometric solutions becoming the norm. With the number of threats increasing and new ones emerging, the education of CXOs is not just an imperative but an urgent need. CIOs, CISOs, Internal Audit, and Risk Committees have to own up the information protection agenda and drive it with their collective might.
Using ethical means to understand vulnerabilities and fixing them should be high in the corporate agenda towards creating a safer digital enterprise. Customers and consumers are becoming sensitive to this fact and the probability of them taking their business elsewhere is beginning to happen. A safe and secure ecosystem is required for the extended enterprise including suppliers, contractors, partners, and customers. The writing on the wall is that companies who emerge as secure digital enterprises will be winners of the future.
Where are you?
Creating safe and secure enterpriseLeadership, Security
Information and Cyber security is becoming a big topic of discussion extending beyond IT; in recent times it has definitely caught the attention of many country heads – Presidents and Prime Ministers alike. Conferences and Summits are being organized with discussions and debate around how to protect sovereign interests and secrets in many parts of the world. It is thus surprising that beyond a few industries like telecom and collectively the BFSI companies, there is very limited traction with CEOs and Boards.
Security breaches are increasingly creating adverse impact on enterprises; many high profile incidents have heightened awareness globally thereby removing the excuse of ignorance for decision makers. Thus manifestation of interest is easily discerned by the presence or absence of a security function, irrespective of whether it reports to IT or not. Recent survey by global consulting companies indicate improvement over the years though the gap is still quite large to give comfort. Why the indifference or inertia?
If we go back in time, systems were islands of information; information was exchanged between systems manually or through physical electronic media. Soon there was a way to connect multiple computers and they talked to each other within the computer room or data center. Improvements in telecom networks introduced the ability to connect distant locations though still within the enterprise. The advent of long distance data networks and the internet introduced new possibilities to connect with external stakeholders.
Standardization of data formats and published formats like EDI, XML, and integration using published APIs created new business models as well as collaboration opportunities with Extranets and Exchanges. The interconnected world also brought with it crooks, rogues, greedy and the disgruntled who wanted to disrupt business as usual and profit from enterprise loss. The industry responded with solutions to prevent intrusion, hacking, sniffing, direct and indirect attacks, attempting to create a shield around the end points and the transport layer.
IT was chastised for writing insecure programs that could be broken; they were never expected to write code that would be subject to threats from within or outside as their starting point was information islands. Remedial action demanded layers around the information while business upped the ante to demand information anywhere, anytime, for everyone. Moving from offline transactions to real-time information flow, programs were patched, retired, replaced and then left to run on uncontrolled machines thanks to BYOD.
Conventionally adopted protection technology solutions have been compromised; new vulnerabilities are being discovered every day. Patching remains the solace of the susceptible which lags the threats and their discovery. Evolution of defense strategies offers newer ways to safeguard the data but they come with a cost that is unpalatable to many enterprises. Challenge lies in non-existent to thin security budgets. Business expectation of quick and dirty solutions does not allow for adequate time to create secure solutions.
In conversation with a few CXOs, they expected regulators to enforce spends on security; according to one, spends will stay muted unless it is mandated. Another had instructed his CISO to find low cost or open source solutions; alternatively to selectively deploy security for specified endpoints or applications leaving the rest protected with basic anti-virus. To him no evidence of leakage implied that all systems are well protected; head in the ground appears a good way of declaring enterprise information assets secure.
It is contingent upon senior enterprise leaders, CXOs and Boards to take up the cause and demonstrate leadership starting with visible endorsement of security for all information assets. Risk Committees are at risk should a breach become high profile with loss of credibility and customers losing trust. Recovery from such incidents can be long and painful consuming higher budgets and efforts than planned interventions; and when something does go wrong, necks roll. There are many examples of breaches claiming CIOs and CEOs tainting their illustrious careers.
It is up to IT organizations to include security by design into every new system they plan to build or buy. New technologies do offer opportunities to create secure solutions and they do not necessarily come from current industry leaders in solutions or security. The world is connecting in a way never imagined before. Collaboration has extended beyond B2B, B2C, C2C, E2C, C2C, to M2M, and new paradigms are created every day. Reality is the innovation wheel is spinning faster and faster, where are you in the game?
Someone had quipped "You cannot do today's job with yesterday's tools and expect to be in business tomorrow." And I agree, do you?
A discussion with the CEO on server and storage sizingLeadership, Servers, Storage
It was time to refresh the data center with existing infrastructure completing its lifecycle; some of the equipment was end of life with no support available, the rest needed replacement to ensure that the company stays current with technology. The IT team gathered all the data and statistics on usage to arrive at new configurations that will serve them for the next 3-4 years. All interested vendors contributed to the technology evaluation with differentiated solutions promoting esoteric features that normally don't matter.
The team assimilated the information overload with judicious sifting that created a clear picture aligning the need to the offerings. It was a fair comparison where technology took precedence over comfort with any specific vendor or technology. To be doubly sure, the team reached out to peers and seniors across the industry to validate the recommendation. After a few iterations, all of it came through as good to go. To conclude the exercise, a presentation was prepared for the CEO who would needed to approve the budget and bless the project.
The CEO was known to be a technophile who kept the CIO and the rest of IT on their toes; he was well read, well connected and at times deep dived into finer details that most techies would find hard to hold a conversation. He was the force behind the company adopting IT in the way they did, spending judiciously and yet remaining current with industry evolution; recent times had seen a slowdown in investments and it was time to play catch-up. D-day arrived and the CIO along with the team was ready to present.
Why have you chosen the configuration that you present? What are my options with engineered systems or for that matter Public Cloud? Why do I need to invest in 50 TB of storage upfront; how can I stagger the deployment? Why have you chosen 12 core processors over 16 core? Why not 1.2 TB disks or SATA drives which offer higher capacity? Why is the number of VMs so low per physical box? Where is your Cloud strategy? The discussion went on for an hour with the CEO throwing question after question at the team.
The team could field only some and ran out of answers after some time; they promised to rework the solution with clarifications sought and inputs given. They were not expecting the kind of questions asked, they had prepared the business case based on transaction volume, new systems underway and planned, business growth and new initiatives that the business had planned over the next few years. It was as if the tables had turned on them with the CEO going technical while they had focused on business outcomes.
Is this a reality for large number of CIOs or just an exception to the rule where CEOs and CXOs rarely get into technology discussions citing ignorance and the fact that they find technology unfathomable ? Scanning the horizon I find that this breed of techno savvy CXOs is beginning to grow; they may not be able to differentiate between SAS and NL-SAS drives or size storage based on IOPS, they do understand basics that matter and are able to hold their own based on reasonable understanding of technology; all thanks to tech going mainstream media.
This world is antonymous to the world I wrote about last week (My CFO thinks he knows technology). There are people who know technology and use their expertise where it matters and there is a breed who thinks who know and want to show off in various forums. The first engage and challenge you to find better solutions, the other group ends up being a pain with their pseudo expertise. It takes little effort to see through the façade of the latter who can derail the best of hard work by seeding random thoughts of doubt.
Having worked with both camps, I found that opportunities can be created with the technophiles to engage and innovate depending on your risk appetite and ability by staying updated with finer nuances of technology. This may sound contradictory to the well beaten drum that CIOs need to move away from technology to business; my view is that CIOs cannot leave their foundations for purportedly greener pastures; they need to stay grounded in their domain while learning the newer skills and moving forth.
After all if the CFO does not know about IRR, NPV or ROA (Return on Assets), s/he will become a liability to the organization!
My CFO thinks he knows technologyLeadership, Technology
After a weeklong discussion on the new business opportunity that clearly defined the process and the strategy, the CMO thanked the IT team and the CIO for their active participation. Then he said something that resulted in pin drop silence and uneasy calm: I think the solution should be ready within a week from now? You know in college we used to write code and release programs in a few days. The CIO decided to clarify different reality for enterprise solutions that require a bit longer for time measured in weeks and months.
The CIO had invited the CFO to the IT meeting to interact with the team; every month he used to call some of the business leaders to give the team differing perspectives of how they contributed to the business and made a difference. In an endeavor to show off his technical prowess, the CFO asked about the storage environment: why don't you use the NAS for the ERP? SAN is expensive; you should know how to economize! I have been involved in many technology projects and want to help you to choose most optimum solutions!
I had the privilege of working with many CEOs who were tech savvy and challenged me to find new ways to use existing investments as well as keep scanning for new technologies which could be disruptive in the future. The joy of working with such CEOs multiplied the not just my enthusiasm but also kept my teams motivated to put in their best to keep us ahead of the curve. This obviously created a culture of tech adoption that infected the rest of the CXOs to create an enterprise that enjoyed the benefits that IT can bring to the business.
Life gets interesting when some of the CXOs think they know technology better than IT professionals just because they worked in a tech company or studied a programming language in their school. Above are just 2 samples of such dialogues which keep the CIOs challenged and humored at the same time. They would make a great compendium to keep the IT fraternity smiling for a long time; the question that keeps raising its head is how to address such "know IT all" and "been there, done that" situations without creating a scene.
In conversations with many CIOs sharing experiences a few strategies emerged which had worked for most of them. To begin with the general consensus was to humor them by letting them speak out their heart and then keep doing what is in best interest of the project, team and the company. They need a platform to voice their knowledge which makes them feel better about themselves; most are happy doing just that in a harmless way without realizing that their wisdom is no longer relevant to the current technology realities.
The balance select minority of self-professed and declared IT experts who really believe that they know, unaware of when to stop are a challenge that needs handling with care. In positions of influence or power, they can be seriously disruptive to progress. This elite group wants to stay involved, sit through review meetings, add value to discussions with vendors, and get into minute details of deep technology that is best left to the techies. The group had no silver bullet though everyone had faced and managed such individuals in their careers.
Some CIOs had escalated such incidents where possible to the CEO or the Board to get them off their backs. Another avenue appeared to be to get an external third party or consultant on board to provide an expert view to counter the often antiquated, incorrect or incomplete knowledge. For the rest it was about the adverse impact on their deliverables which they were unable to control. So they struggled with shifting goalposts and changing timelines driven by the inane and absurd; they just had to grin and bear it.
One CIO had decided to take on such a CXO head-on and not accept the nonsense; he corrected the CXO in meetings and gave alternative and at times contrary views which almost every time put the CXO in an embarrassing and compromised situation. Unable to withstand the humility of the situation, the CXO confronted the CIO: Why do you keep countering everything I say as if I know nothing? You make me feel like a chump! What makes you so right all the time as if you know everything? Stop doing this else…
The CIO moved on to newer pastures leaving the company to the mercy of half-baked buzzword laden CXO.
CIO's jobs is so easy!CIO, Leadership
They had a new CIO and the IT team was wondering how he would be; the earlier CIO was a self-professed workaholic. A bachelor staying few blocks away, he would land up at the office during his morning jog. He would stay on until the morning review meeting with the team running over every activity of the previous day which they had to record in a time sheet. His need to know everything and micromanage every activity obsessively; the team feared his scrutiny. So when the new CIO was announced, everyone was apprehensive, can it get worse?
The new guy came on board with his reputation preceding him as a celebrated CIO with much published success. Many of the team members had heard him in a few events and seminars though did not know his personality or working style. His demeanor was friendly and approachable which portrayed a pleasant personality. IT vendors spoke highly of his professional expertise and no nonsense way of working; he was tough with them and yet appreciated their contribution. This confused the IT team especially his direct reports.
The team of seven who ran the IT organization were coincidentally all of the same experience levels though across domains and technologies. Some old and some new, they had a tolerable coexistence with occasional professional conflicts resulting from overlapping responsibilities and dependencies on their individual success. Respective teams ran an efficient shop which the organization was proud of, with early adoption of many technologies. Their only challenge was an unfriendly image of IT which was growing rapidly.
The CIO met with the team collectively and individually within the first week to note their challenges and opportunities, aspirations and setbacks, and to understand the organization and team culture. He looked at their modus operandi, reports they created for internal review, processes and practices they had imbibed; he was quite happy to see their diligence and dedication towards work. He also found that some negativity was attributable to the earlier leader's high technology orientation and disconnect with the business which rubbed off onto the team.
Soon they settled down into a comfortable rhythm, back to the grind, except that they noticed a subtle shift in the way business interacted with them. It was as if suddenly the enterprise had discovered some of the good qualities of the team that got beaten up every so often for operational failures, some of which had nothing to do with IT. Enjoying their new found status, the team gave it back in kind with positive collaboration towards solving business problems or finding new opportunities to win in the cutthroat industry.
Few in the IT team who were hired by the earlier CIO missed the daily morning grilling and technology sessions; they craved the micromanagement, instructions on how to do, prioritization of their activities; for them the regimented way had comfort, it took away the pain of thinking. They associated the new hands-off approach and delegation with lack of technical prowess and acumen; they saw the CIO attend business meetings, seminars, events, and take lead as the spokesperson for the industry which was in conflict to their benchmark of what a CIO should be.
They seeded thoughts across the IT team on the frivolous nature of their new leader and his style of operation; grudgingly granting the fact that business had begun to love technology and investments had gone up, these were anyway expected. For them success was despite the CIOs interventions and not because of what he did. The majority disagreed though had stray thoughts on what is indeed the role of the CIO and the complexity of the job which seemed to change dramatically with the new person. He appeared to have so much of free time!
I recently met with one of the seven who had taken on the role of the CIO stepping into the shoes of his highly successful boss. He was one of the persons close to the earlier CIO though not critical of the new one; he acknowledged the complexity of the role and the balancing act that it demanded from internal stakeholders expectations, team dynamics and its management, vendor ecosystem that needed periodic attention and finally the orchestration of all the components to keep everyone together aligned to the vision of the company's future.
Few months into the role, he was struggling with the balance tilting frequently, the bar raised high; he was enjoying the challenge. He had finally found the answer to the question, what is the role of the CIO!
Big customer of a small vendor, or small customer of a big vendorIT vendors, Startups
The CEO was perplexed that despite his product having all the features and more when compared to the market leader, most enterprise customers were shy of giving him business. His product was priced at a discount to the larger and dominant players thus providing great business cases and ROI; the technology platform was current versus competition. Customers liked the product and agreed that it met specifications and requirements; however it did not result in business. His company was a young startup and had few customers.
The world of startups is exploding and they offer solutions for existing and imaginary problems that you may have never thought about. Consumer applications are finding their way into the enterprise while the choices for enterprise applications have increased manifold. Convergence across the differing use cases creates opportunities for IT to automate and/or create new process efficiencies. These are beginning to offer viable alternatives to the large vendor solutions with complex licensing models and maintenance contracts.
Meeting a few entrepreneurs exhibited the most prominent feature across all the discussions was the belief and the passion in their ideas. Everyone had a dream to challenge the big players, wanted to solve problems of the world, and almost everyone was born a digital native. For these individuals the pursuit of their dream overshadowed the difficulties they faced learning to survive in fiscal deficit. With loads of infectious enthusiasm they happily demonstrate the value of what they have or plan to build to anyone interested.
They have like-minded teams with great technology skills and ability to create solutions with velocity that puts many enterprise IT teams to shame. They are able to react quickly to market and demands of their sparse customers; the struggle is largely around creating a dialogue with business and IT leaders on how their solutions will benefit the enterprise. They are the advocates and the best salespersons for their companies and solutions and in an endeavor to get first few customers, it is highly probable that they are willing to offer bargain prices.
Most enterprise CIOs and business heads find themselves meeting these entrepreneurs more often, now competing with the larger well established local or global solution providers. The gorillas with loads of muscle power, large number of customers, and an ecosystem of system integrators create doubts in the minds of potential buyers on the stability and longevity of the minnows. Thus in the face of perceived risk most customers end up making the expensive choice of going with the well-entrenched players.
Good news is that there is a wave of fresh air wafting through the crevices in the enterprise fortress – the data center and the application landscape; some successful and early adopter CIOs have taken calculated risks and the call to work with startups. The benefits in almost call cases have been beyond compare with quick and unbelievable ROI; for the struggling beginners these saviors were embraced and they stretched to exceed expectations. The CIOs pleased with success built symbiotic relationships by mentoring them.
For the safety net seekers following conventionally long implementation cycles, the larger players provided rich functionality though with restrictive practices offering ROI over 2-3 years. They became victims of their choices when they could have taken an alternative approach and experimented with the newer generation solutions and enjoyed associated benefits. The loss of agility came with its own set of challenges considering the fact that rarely a solution change is undertaken after long cycle of implementation.
Startups nurture their customers who imposed faith in them; large enterprise customers bring them credibility. They contributed significantly to their revenues which in turn helps them raise money from interested sources. For the large players another customer is just another customer even if you are a dominant force in the industry; exception being companies who are larger than these large vendors and they are just a handful. Relatively size does makes a difference to the treatment the vendors give to a customer.
All things being equal the question is where do you want to be? A big customer to a small vendor or a small customer of a big vendor? Your choices will determine not just your success but also your ability to influence the product direction, shape industry solutions, and finally give you a financial advantage. Having been in all the three camps, I would say that being a big customer of a startup outweighs the perceived risks; the sluggishness imposed by big vendors can be a big challenge; finally as a part of startups now I love big customers!
How not to implement an ERP today!Change management, Leadership
I recently met one of the senior team members of an enterprise who had decided to move away from bespoke custom developed solutions to implement a market leading ERP solution. For the company it was a big step forward after much discussion, debate and hesitation on the changeover and expected resultant business impact. They had thought about it many times, engaged with different consultants to assess the business case and every time decided to retain status quo fearing business disruption and no change readiness.
The ERP wave that started in the mid and late nineties ebbed almost a decade back with almost everyone taking one or other solution. The resultant automation, integration of business processes, and transparency brought about a quantum jump in efficiency for most. Some enterprises resisted the change to process and practices embedded in the solutions, ending up with highly customized implementations. They delivered superior results over the earlier tailored solutions though with overhead of maintaining the custom code.
In the ensuing years with the changing industry and economic dynamics, maturity and evolution of the solutions with new features and technology, and new business models, the ERP implementations began to appear as monolithic and unwieldy. The high level of customization became a roadblock towards leveraging newer technology and innovation. Soon it was evident that new strategies will be required to overcome the agility challenge; to gain benefit from the new age solutions, it became imperative to review the IT landscape.
Business CIOs took up the challenge and recommended trimming bolt-on and fringe solutions with every version and technology upgrade. The brave ones endorsed and took up reimplementation of their ERPs which eliminated changes to the core solutions and depended on parameterization over custom code to the extent possible. Advent of the Digital world and on-demand service models gave them an opportunity to stay current and relevant. Few who had implemented out-of-the-box solutions stood validated and happy.
In conversation with my friend I was curious to learn about his journey on the project which had high visibility in the industry due to the large size and complexity as well as the reputation of his company being risk averse. They had gone live after multiple misses to the timeline stretching the project to a level where the fainthearted would have got palpitations. He was not too happy with the end outcome; the project which to begin with had been planned well down to the last level of detail had not gone the anticipated way for many.
The going in mandate was to stay with out-of-the-box best practice processes and functionality with help of one of the best global implementation partners. Everyone had aligned to this direction which was deemed to be the best approach for a large enterprise. Functionality was cast in alignment to available features, changing process to ensure that business requirements are met. Progress suddenly faced potholes and bottlenecks with some new constituents challenging every decision that steered away from changing the system.
Archaic views prevailed over commonsense and best practices were overruled as being irrelevant to the company's context. The direction was changed to the well-trodden path of an era gone by as the new players had only been on that track which lay mothballed and abandoned by the newer generation of IT leaders and followers. Thus began the regressive journey of change that brought in a battalion of programmers to fit all processes with customizations even if it meant breaking the core to batter the system into a familiar face.
When the secret chambers are opened and fundamental innards tinkered with, something has to break; and it did colossally spinning a spiral from which it became difficult to surface. Despite the writing on the wall the team plodded through with fear of retribution should they even raise a whimper. Deadlines came and went. The chaos and delays started hurting the business who finally found their voice and asked uncomfortable questions. The inept leadership reduced project scope, blamed everyone but themselves, and finally declared go-live with a badly bandaged system.
With an embargo on communications, the real state of affairs will probably never be known, though murmurs are heard off the records of the adverse business impact and the loss of credibility of the team with the business. Published numbers do indicate everything is not hunky dory; I guess that this episode will remain under the carpet for some time to come. Custom applications and customizing commercial off the shelf systems are getting buried. Unfortunately the challenged in positions of power continue to hurtle enterprises down the ravines of ignominy.
You are a business CIO, where is your team?CIO, IT teams
The IT team was pleased with the effort and congratulated each other for the delivery. The team had worked hard with the development partner to meet aggressive timelines and delivered for UAT a few days early. But that is when the problem started; the team working on the UAT came up with many exceptions that poked holes in the solution; a process not captured well, some processes missing and absent data elements. It was like IT was from Mars and the business was from Venus and they blamed each other.
The CIO was peeved off by the disconnect; the vendor with high pedigree and domain expertise had been carefully and jointly chosen; the business had offered domain experts with good standing, and the IT team understood the technology well enough. So the CIO did some quick checks on the delivery versus expectations and discovered that the IT team knew the business though the understanding was not as deep as it appeared to be. There were translation losses with implicit assumptions by the business and IT.
I think the drums started beating almost a decade back on the need for the CIO to become business savvy. It was about understanding business operations so that the written and articulated processes are translated it into a solution that meets business expectations. The origin of this was the nemesis of what everyone called scope creep and resultant change requests that escalated cost and created time overruns such that the end solution at times became irrelevant to the business; bridging the gap was necessary and critical.
The CIO also had aspirations to get a seat on the Management Committee or the Operating Board or equivalent leadership team. Discussions in these meetings largely did and continue to focus on topline, operating efficiency, bottom line; essentially discuss monthly performance and numbers. Some teams had graduated to reviewing competitive activities and customer engagement while the more evolved ones discussed strategies and more openly. For the CIO to get there it was imperative that s/he understand, participate and contribute.
It took some effort and humility to make the grade, while some for whatever reason did/could not; the fruits of the effort were worth the struggle and more. As a business partner the CIO enjoyed the perks of being in the team and on the table working lockstep with other CXOs. Having a bird's eye view of the business and a pulse of operations, the CIO stitched together the missing pieces of the jigsaw that made up the business. The transition to a business leader brought new aspirations which resulted in lateral or upward movement for a few.
The IT team reveled in the success and leadership position taken by the CIO; the adulation apart some of them attempted to follow the CIO's footsteps that led to the transformation. The CIO was happy in his/her new found position and willingly coached anyone who wanted to follow the path. Key lessons revolved around the not so obvious soft skills which help in building relationships; s/he also stressed the need to know the chosen function or domain as well to be seen as a subject matter expert internally as well as externally.
Attempting to get to the bottom of the imbroglio, the CIO realized that the IT team involved in the project had not fully imbibed the learning citing paucity of time and work pressures. They had sidestepped some meetings and relied on their knowledge and focused on technology. The vendor to his credit had attempted to engage with the business and had suggested field trips which were deemed unnecessary by the IT team. Thus the partial understanding created a solution that evidently did not meet expectations and resulted in frustration on both sides.
It is the CIOs responsibility to push his/her team to leave their comfort zones and make the cut; business in most cases is willing to help the learning. A planned approach to engage from both sides works best; the CIO must measure the engagement levels and continuously create opportunities on both sides to appreciate each other's expertise. Project success is an important milestone but to move to a trusted partner and advisor takes a lot more. In this case walking the talk is a difficult journey which the IT team had failed to do.
Prepare your teams the way you plan your learning, after all your success depends on them.


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ITEM: 9211 Our oversized Big Apple cap is 12" in diameter, and can be worn by both men and women of great style. Made of pure wool or leather with satin lining. Eight-panel design. Made in the USA.
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Quality Selection Price Value
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subset: commoncrawl


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Sunshine and warm weather can only mean one thing -
it's barbecue time.
Fire up the grill and create a little Michelin star magic at home with Heston's ultimate barbecue recipes. Think smoky beef burgers, Asian-style ribs, succulent chicken wings and hot dogs with plenty of bite.
With 20 smoking hot Heston recipes, including Midwest baby back ribs, spicy kebabs and slow-cooked pulled pork sandwiches, it's time to get outside and get your grill on.
BBQ ribs recipes
Sticky, juicy and delicious - ribs are a barbecue classic for a reason. Go all American with Heston's Midwest baby back ribs, or give your ribs an Asian-style makeover with a sweet-sour marinade. Heston's advice? 'Brine your meat then stick it in this intense, zingy, sweet-sour marinade (that also doubles as the cooking liquor) and you'll get exactly the sticky, gooey ribs your after.'
BBQ chicken recipes
No cookout is complete without the much-loved chicken wing.
"Chargrilled chicken wings slathered in a rich, sticky sauce has got to be one of the all-time barbecue classics. A little lime marinade to season and soften the meat, a coating of sauce made from punchy flavours and a sprinkle of sesame seeds for some crunch, and you're good to go."
For a lighter option opt for chicken and quinoa.
BBQ lamb and pork recipes
'The smell of lamb cooking on a grill is irresistible, especially if you then serve it up with some earthy sauteed mushrooms and crunchy, flavourful crispy onions,' says Heston. We couldn't agree more. Mix up your meats by adding Heston's lamb burgers and pulled pork sandwiches to your barbecue menu.
BBQ beef recipes
Steak, hot dogs, burgers and Mongolian beef buns - Heston's meat feast is made for the grill. Smoky avocado sauce gives the traditional beef burger a distinctive edge, and hot dogs are brought to life with sharp sauerkraut, caramelized onions and tangy piccalilli mayo.
BBQ fish recipes
For a sizzling starter, take a retro prawn cocktail and give it the barbecue treatment, Heston style. 'By letting the lemons and some of the lettuce leaves colour on the grill it introduces a charred note that takes the dish in a new direction' says Heston.
BBQ vegetarian recipes
Want your barbecue to be a meat-free zone? Fret not, Heston has the all the answers without a potato salad in sight. Predictable butter dipped artichokes make way for artichokes steeped in a zingy marinade, and for spectacular simplicity, create another dimension to sweetcorn by adding paprika butter and a little Manchego. And then there's Heston's veggie burger. 'A veggie burger so full of flavour, even confirmed carnivores will want to try it,' he says. We don't doubt it.


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Moderator: Regulators
Therapist wrote:Oh yeah LOTR have been sooooooo mature
Have you ever played any of the lego games? They are actually a lot of fun and a GREAT way to get non gaming friends/loved ones in to games. They are cute simplistic games that many hardcore gamers and critics praise. I had a blast playing lego Batman. Also as for the "mature" thing thats just your opionon. Some would say you and I are immature for collecting LOTR toys. Heck I have even seen other LOTR collectors veiw the toys as childish. They believe either you collect props or dont collect at all. Also MANY MANY adults buy and play with Legos. They have a HUGE adult fanbase.
Now you know and knowing is half the battle G.I.JOE
darththomas81 wrote:I loved Lego Starwars and Indy, full of cheeky little bits and great light relief when you're fed up of hardcore gaming. Personally I think any sort of merchandise / media relating to a film will only serve to increase the fan base of any given property. Ok it may only be a temporary raise but it's still there. As for actual Lego it's the most successful toy ever so I can't see it failing really.
Galactape wrote:And here I thought tis topic had died.
Galactape wrote:I know he's new, your a stalker, and which daughter? I hear you have 50.
Galactape wrote:Yor only 26, your bound to have more than one 4 year old. And if you are so good at ages, lets have some more guesses.
Therapist wrote:Galactape wrote:Yor only 26, your bound to have more than one 4 year old. And if you are so good at ages, lets have some more guesses.
I already told you how old you are who said I was 26?
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BBQ Rubs
Meat Mitch Rub (6 ozs)They state "We built Meat Mitch Rub for war and we ain't takin' any prisoners." In a raw taste and smell test I found that it has the perfect amount of sweet, with just the slightest hint of heat, with tones of paprika and black pepper that really round it out nicely. Meat Mitch really needs to be tried and if you have tasted their sauces, you know that these guys really mean business! Learn More
Regular Price: $7.99
Special Price: $5.99


text: not watching it, since I have better things to do than waste 3 hours watching trash, that's just going to piss me off. Have fun everyone else though. Usually I would watch ppvs via stream, since prices for the quality we get is just too damn bad and nobody got money to waste buying a 40-70$ ppv a month.


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Product Details
Chevy Silverado 2008-2010, Horizontal Black Aluminum Billet Grille by T-Rex®. Nothing says custom like a Billet Grille, and nobody does Billet like T-Rex. T-Rex sets the standard for Billet Grilles with their use of the finest aircraft grade aluminum, and manufacturing and quality standards that exceed OEM. Depending on application, the Billet grille installs as a bolt-on overlay or as an insert, which requires cutting out the center of the factory grille while retaining the grille shell.
- Timeless, classic design
- Available in vertical and horizontal styles, depending on application
- Constructed from aircraft quality 6061/6063 Billet Aluminum
- Matching bumper grille(s) available, if applicable
- Comes with hardware and instructions
- Limited 3-year warranty on finish
- Limited lifetime structural warranty
- Proudly made in the USA
Car customizers have been installing Billet Grilles on custom cars, lead sleds, and street rods for decades. It's a traditional modification that personalizes the vehicle and sets it apart from the cookie cutter sameness of factory original. A Billet Grille tells the world that you're not satisfied with ordinary, and a T-Rex Billet Grille announces that when you go custom, you go first class.
T-Rex Billet grilles are the standard worldwide for design and quality. They start with advanced CAD engineering and design, followed by rigorous testing for fit, finish, and durability. Once the design is approved, the finest aircraft quality 6061/6063 Billet Aluminum is used to produce the grille using state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques, like a custom jig for laser cutting materials, precision TIG welding, and meticulous assembly and quality control. The completed product is then finished in durable "Sinister Black" powder coating, or electro-polished to a high gloss finish.
The Billet Grille comes in vertical or horizontal style. Matching bumper grille(s) are available, if applicable, as well as custom grille badges to complete the custom look. Depending on application, the grille installs over the existing grille as a bolt-on overlay, or as an insert, where the center section of the factory grille is cut out and removed but the factory grille shell is retained. Hardware and detailed instructions are included to complete the installation, and the grille is backed by a limited 3-year warranty against finish defects and a limited lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.145.75 227.00
Brand: T-Rex Part Numbers:
T-Rex® has been creating the finest grilles and accessories for more than 15 years, and today is the world leader in aftermarket grille design and manufacturing. The company's product line includes traditional Billet Grilles, aggressive X-Metal Grilles, innovative Torch Series LED Light Grilles, luxurious Upper Class Grilles, and economical, easy to install Sport Series Grilles. At the company's 45,000 sq. ft. facility in Corona, California, a staff of over 100 people use the most advanced CAD engineering and design to develop cutting edge prototypes. These prototypes then undergo rigorous testing for fit, finish, and durability before they are Okayed for production in their state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. All T-Rex employees, from production to R&D to corporate staff, are all dedicated to one purpose: employ American craftsmanship to produce the finest grilles and accessories available anywhere on the planet.Product Reviews (26)
Every Customer can leave a review about our service and the product that was purchased. In order to leave your review for your new product, please follow the link in the email you receive after completing your purchase. You can rate appearance, ease of installation, price/value and product quality.T-Rex® - 2-Pc Horizontal Black Billet GrilleAverage Rating: 4.7 of 5APPEARANCEEASE OF INSTALLATIONPRICE/VALUEQUALITYShow Next 10 All T-Rex Reviews(3.3)APPEARANCEEASE OF INSTALLATIONPRICE/VALUEQUALITY2005 Chrysler 300 | Posted by Maquel | (Meridian, MS)
Couldn't install.Was this review helpful for you? YesNoShare this review:(4.3)APPEARANCEEASE OF INSTALLATIONPRICE/VALUEQUALITY2010 Chevy Camaro | Posted by David | (Dublin, OH)
A fancy little piece, that can add a little flair. Location to install can be difficult, but otherwise a nice product. Liked having the different options to choose from.Was this review helpful for you? YesNoShare this review:(5)APPEARANCEEASE OF INSTALLATIONPRICE/VALUEQUALITY| Posted by Toriano | (The Colony, TX)
The lion was a very high quality piece the chrome looks great. The installation was very simple. Size of the piece was perfect. Love it very satisfied w/ my purchase.Was this review helpful for you? YesNoShare this review:(5)APPEARANCEEASE OF INSTALLATIONPRICE/VALUEQUALITY| Posted by Helen | (West Memphis, AR)
I order thing for all tree of my truck and they look so good everyone think a man done it but I done everything to the trucks and they look real go.Was this review helpful for you? YesNoShare this review:(4.8)APPEARANCEEASE OF INSTALLATIONPRICE/VALUEQUALITY| Posted by Michael Angelo | (Edmonton, AB)
The item gives new aggressive look to my chrome mesh grill that i bought also in CARiD.Was this review helpful for you? YesNoShare this review:(5)APPEARANCEEASE OF INSTALLATIONPRICE/VALUEQUALITY| Posted by Reggie | (North Hero, VT)
Very nice.Was this review helpful for you? YesNoShare this review:(5)APPEARANCEEASE OF INSTALLATIONPRICE/VALUEQUALITY2013 Hyundai Santa Fe | Posted by Bitterli | (Orvin, AA)
Very good quality and easy to install.1 people found this review helpful.Was this review helpful for you? YesNoShare this review:(4.8)APPEARANCEEASE OF INSTALLATIONPRICE/VALUEQUALITY| Posted by Michael | (Barrington, RI)
The emblem arrived a few days later but well worth the wait. It looks excellent on the billet grille on my 93 Ranger. lf you are from military family or a true american, this is the way to go. I have received a lot of compliments and have been asked where I bought it. Thank you, CARiD. Well done.Was this review helpful for you? YesNoShare this review:(4.3)APPEARANCEEASE OF INSTALLATIONPRICE/VALUEQUALITY2008 Chevy HHR | Posted by Philip | (Mettmenstetten, AA)
Good product.Was this review helpful for you? YesNoShare this review:(5)APPEARANCEEASE OF INSTALLATIONPRICE/VALUEQUALITY2010 Chevy Silverado | Posted by Calvin | (Lubbock, TX)
High quality. Looks very clean!1 people found this review helpful.Was this review helpful for you? YesNoShare this review:
Product Reviews (26)
Product Reviews (26)
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July 22, 2013
Links: Australian Glass and the Pacific Northwest at Museum of Glass
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Action/Adventure, SciFi/Fantasy
The story of Peter Parker, an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy, and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.
Rated PG-13 for sequences of action and violence.
Visit the official site
Cast: Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield
Produced by: Avi Arad, Todd Black, Grant Curtis
Directed by: Marc Webb
Written by: James Vanderbilt, Steve Ditko, Stan Lee
Running time: 2hr 16min
Opens: Jul 03, 2012 Limited


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Who will be crowned King and Queen of Bully Gras 2011? Find out at the Bully Gras Ball this Saturday at the Starkville Country Club. The ball is being held as a benefit for OSERVS (Oktibbeha-Starkville Emergency Response Volunteer Services). Tickets are still available for $50 each and may be purchased by calling 384-2200.
Votes for King and Queen of the Bully Gras Ball will be secured by donations made to OSERVS the night of the ball. Cash or check in any amount will be accepted and can be designated for the donor's court member of choice. Tokens will be made available so a single donation amount can be shared between court members. The gentleman and lady with the highest dollar amount of votes at the end of voting will be crowned King and Queen, respectively. The Court will be presented shortly after 8 p.m. with voting to follow immediately and should end sometime just before 10 p.m. with the coronation of the King and Queen.View more articles in:


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Apart from:
- being strong technically
- being able to communicate effectively
What are the most important formal / informal skills required to really shine as a developer?
(Naturally, I struggle with the first two, but even so...).
Apart from:
What are the most important formal / informal skills required to really shine as a developer?
(Naturally, I struggle with the first two, but even so...).
closed as off topic by Yannis♦ Mar 8 '12 at 13:17
Questions on Programmers Stack Exchange are expected to relate to software development within the scope defined by the community. Consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement if you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope. Read more about reopening questions here. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
In addition to all the answers posted on that question and this one. There are so much to suggest. Here are few things I try to improve myself everyday.
Develop your interpersonal skills
Keep your word, always
The more you will do this, the more people will trust you. You will get more opportunities to get better. The key here is to not commit on things you know you won't be able to achieve. So learn to say "no".
Develop Empathy
You must be able to put yourself in other's shoes. This includes your colleagues, but also your users, managers, the insane sales guy or the crazy marketing girl. By practicing this, you will be able to identify what are their interests. You will discover that while they are most of the time very different than yours, it's possible to create a win-win scheme with them.
Be Assertive
Anger, fear, jealousy, shame, etc. They are all created by your mind. Understand you decide how to respond to events. "In between stimulus and response there is a space, in that space lies our power to choose our response in our response lies our growth and our freedom." Victor Frankl
Develop your problem solving capabilities
Know when to unlearn.
I like the concept of creative destruction. This has nothing to do with communism! ;)
Experiment, Fail, Learn
The more you will fail, the more you will learn. Be sure to learn from your mistakes.
Don't say in your comfort zone
The more you will leave it, the fastest your will learn new things. Interest yourself to the business. Instead of taking lunch only with technical guys, try to go with the suits some times.
Develop your physical skills
Invest in your body
Doing sport regularly will not only improve your overall health, it will improve your ability to think.
Know your limits
Take regular pauses. This will boost your productivity.
I also suggest you to have a look at this great book on the subject.
Don't know if you are counting this somewhere under the first two
Here would be some other skills that I'd note:
These are all big things that I use on a regular basis and am still developing as new stuff keeps coming out all the time.
Getting Stuff Done
You can be as savvy as you want, but the bottom line entails getting stuff done, and in a timely manner.
Stay on schedule, learn how to plan and project, network effectively, and have deliverables.
Being skeptic to a certain amount.
A pleasant personality. Helps when working in teams.
You need to align your interests with what the business values.
Geeks are often not great at considering the wider context of their work. Many products fail because developers build it using technology/methods that interest them at the time. They aren't thinking impartially about solving the problem in the best way for the business.
If you can consistently solve problems in the best way for the business then you are on your way to becoming a great developer.
Social perception is never a waste of time to develop. Please don't confuse it with empathy. When social skills don't come naturally, you must be able to identify and understand the implications of any cognitive bias in those around you, and also in an introspective sense. You must also be able to fit in with others without needing to conduct multiple breaching experiments. (Does this sound to anyone like the smart person who tried too hard to fit in?)
The article I mentioned suggests something called "Implicit Personality Theory", but I caution anyone against making assumptions. If in doubt, don't.
Finally, learning how to 'not think like a programmer' comes in handy, especially when dealing with the opposite sex or designing user interfaces.
The main of non-technical skills is what called common sense. It may be not obvious but to clearly look on the things is rather hard in some situations.
Also, it is always necessary to think about user experience while developing anything. So, the abstracting skill, which will divide you from your product and make you think like user is also valuable.
The ability to agree to disagree. You will be forced to work with people who don't agree with you and never will agree with you. This doesn't need to be a source of conflict. In fact, it's a good thing! Would you really like working only with people who are just like you?
There's a peculiar kind of empathy that I have found useful in making additions or fixes to the code of another developer. Most developers have a coding style that is somewhat akin to the style any artist or craftsman evolves towards his art/craft. Programmers have an unusual craft in that it is highly likely that when they leave a project the project will continue in the hands of some other programmer.
When I am that other programmer I tend to read through the code, get an overview of the structure of what's been created and follow the design decisions the original developer made even if I personally wouldn't have done it like that. I don't know for certain whether that's right or wrong but I do know that in examples I have seen of systems that have had a change of dev team more than twice the resultant mess of conflicting design approaches and coding standards slowly begins to undermine the original system.
Even in systems I've seen where one developer has programmed bits one way and then a second developer has taken on a subsystem or modification and just arbitrarily changed the underlying design ethic it has tended to cause severe problems in implementation, bug-fixing and so on. Essentially two bits of half-built system don't make a whole system, they make a mess. It's like someone building a suspension bridge and then another engineer replacing the middle with a bridge on a columnar support while trying to leave the ends suspended.
I think what I'm talking about is an appreciation of what someone else has done, good and bad and a willingness to undertake not to make things worse. Particularly not in the most pernicious way "making things worse by trying to make them better".
It's not a skill I've seen many others exhibit so maybe I'm just crackers, but personally I have found it has made things smoother in my day to day programming life.
Persuasion Don't confuse with coercion. You're going to get management demands, user requests, and other developer's opinions, so you better learn how to handle them when you think they are wrong. If you just take it, you'll drive yourself nuts in this business. Being able to persuade people will require: communication, empathy, logic, social skills, tact, understanding of the business, etc. You will also learn what battles to fight because nobody wants to be the person who disagrees with everything. Try to keep in mind that you're doing these people a favor by using your technical expertise to identify and solve problems.
Have a thick skin. Don't get insulted or upset at every little thing. Most stuff in business is not meant personally. They did not pick C# for the project to personally annoy you.
Learn to work with people you dislike. There will always be people you dislike in any large workplace. Deal with it. BTW if you compliment people that you dislike when they (perhaps by sheer chance) do something right, it will make your criticisms be more meaningful. If you acknowledge the good, then people won't dismiss your comments about the bad as "Take that with a grain of salt because he hates Joe."
Criticize actions not people. Learn to sense when the timing is right for a criticism. Saying, "we need to redo this from scratch because it..." 2 days before a deadline won't make you any friends or business allies.
The time for input is before a decision is made. You only make yourself look childish and stupid for whining about it after it is too late to change. You look unprofessional to refuse to implement a decision you disagree with and are at risk for being fired. All employees in all professions always have to implement some decisions they disagree with. That's part of life. If you don't like the direction of most of the decions being made, either become one of the decision makers or move on to a place that suits you better.
Compliment people often, especially in writing to their bosses. Especially compliment people outside of IT that you have to work with to develop internal projects. Say please and thank you. But don't give fake compliments (people can usually tell), you don't want to sound like a sales person. People work alot better with people who are nice to them and who they feel appreciate them.
Make your case for changes you want in business terms not in technical terms. Managers don't care that it is the cool new technology that you want to learn. They care that it solves a problem the old technology didn't solve or didn't solve well. A real problem that the organization has, not a problem described in the marketing literature for the product. Learn to create a decision analysis document. When you show the pros and cons in writing, it is alot easier for the managers to accept your ideas. I have never yet lost an argument when I had a decision analysis document to show them why what I wanted was the best way to go.
The amount of input you have in an organization is directly related to your organizational position (managers have more input, it's a fact of life) or the respect that you are held in. You may not want to be a manager, but everyone can strive for being that respected employee who is always asked for input informally before the manager decides. You get that respect by delivering product, by behaving professionally, by showing that you have in depth knowledge and sharing it (become the person others go to when they are stuck), and sometimes by being consistently right when others are wrong (but not by being snotty about it). Junior employees almost never have much input into processes, design, tools, etc. Seniors almost always do. Whether you make the leap from junior to senior often depends as much on your attitude as your ability.
English (if it's not your mother tongue).
Am surprised that hardly anyone has mentioned one important skill: at least rudimentary business or finance skills. Considering that programming may even take you to industries dealing with financial domains and services, this skill would help you a lot.


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It's easy to believe that the cooking gets better the farther south you go. But just wait until you travel south with us, all the way past the Equator to the Island Continent, and take a look at what has been described as "The Best C4 in All of Australia."
Raymond Doyle, of Shailer Park, Queensland, is the current steward of this mouth-watering Corvette. But it wasn't always this way. Raymond tells us his '90 Vette was ocean-freighted to Australia in the mid-'90s after its American owner lost interest following an engine-bay fire. (Sure, we know steak on the barbie is a tasty treat, but please, not on a Vette's intake manifold.)
Enter John Bondock, of Corvette Automotive in Brisbane, Queensland. Obsessed with unlocking the potential many Americans have forgotten the C4 Corvette has, Bondock has earned his living and his solid reputation by being Queensland's foremost expert on C4 conversions. According to Doyle, the praise for Bondock extends even further. "He may be the best converter of right-hand-drive C4s in Australia," Doyle says.
The first thing Bondock noticed was the extent of the fire damage underneath the Corvette's bonnet. Apparently, when the Australian importer asked for a well-done Vette, he got exactly what he ordered. Perhaps next time he should specify a "rare" one.
Bondock immersed himself in the C4 project. He was indefatigable, consumed. He replaced the Vette's blackened wiring harness and ECU with fresh components, and while he was at it, he fully rebuilt and restored the rest of the car to like-new condition. And as if that wasn't enough, he laboriously converted it to RHD.
The C4 was then sold to another Australian, "a guy heavily involved in computers," according to Doyle. Unfortunately, Aussie owner number two had little interest in enjoying the taste of the previously BBQ'd Vette, and the car fell into neglect. It was then that Doyle came to its rescue. "I heard it was for sale and sold our '89 Vette to buy it," he says. "It had been sitting from 1998 to 2003."
And that's when the process of preparing Australia's tastiest C4 really began.
Raymond Doyle makes his living in the automotive-paint business. He is the company representative of Hi Chem Auto Paint Tech, an Australian firm specializing in supplying color tints to domestic trade distributors and retail auto-body shops. Doyle tells us, "I am a 'panel beater' [autobody specialist] by trade, with many years of spray-painting experience. The paint work [on the '90] took nearly one year to complete. The underside of the bonnet took two guys six weeks, or 400 hours non-stop."
Asked about the recipe behind his Vette's piquant paint hue, Doyle says, "The paint on the car is Glazurit basecoat and clear. It is not a standard color...and only I have the formula. It is one-of-a-kind. The secret formula we sprayed was painstakingly wet-rubbed over many months. Sometimes we made our own rubbing blocks to get into awkward places."


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Featured Discounts
Get the most out of your visit to the most beautiful place in the city. Take advantage of these great discounts listed below.
Located on the southeastern shore of White Rock Lake, the Dallas Arboretum features rotating displays four times a year, providing breathtaking color for visitors from March through November.
The Dallas Arboretum honors discounts on our website only. Incorrect pricing and promotions by other entities, such as third-party sites, will not be accepted.
Wednesdays BOGO (Buy One Get One Free)
Every Wednesday through July 29
C.C. Young Senior Thursdays
Every Thursday
$11 admission and a 20% Gift Store discount
Bring a Friend Friday
3rd Friday of the Month
July 17
Start your weekend right and share the garden with a friend who gets in for free with a regular paid admission with coupon.
Download the Bring a Friend Friday coupon here
YMCA Discount
$5 Admission with valid YMCA card
Monday, July 6 – Thursday, July 9
Scout Discount
Friday, July 31
Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies and Cubs wearing their scarves receive free admission, plus 50% off for their families (up to 4 members).
(In honor of World Scout Day which is August 1 )
No tour of the Dallas-Fort Worth area is complete without a stop at the Dallas Arboretum. The Dallas Arboretum is conveniently located near both Highway 635 and Interstate 30 with easy access and parking for vans and buses.
For groups of 15 or more, the Dallas Arboretum offers discount admission and tickets as well as the opportunity to add a guided tour and meals. If you are looking for a scheduled visit, please review the options below in order to find the best fit for your group. Requests for guided-tours and/or meal options must be submitted prior to your arrival date. You will be contacted within one business day after receipt of the request.
Please call 214-515-6520, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or email firstname.lastname@example.com to secure these rates.
Discounted Tickets (Self-Guided Tour)
Groups of 15 or more enjoy a discount on individual admissions. Day admissions are $13 per person for adults, $10 per person for senior adults, and $9 per person for children ages 3-12.
Cool Thursdays Concert Series
Groups may purchase tickets to the Cool Thursdays Concert Series for a discount of $2 off the non-member price. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call 214-515-6520 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Guided Garden Tour
Groups have the opportunity to have one of our experienced tour guides lead your group on an educational and entertaining tour of the gardens. Guided tours include seasonal highlights and are available year-round. These tours are an additional $7 per person.
Dining Options
Groups may pre-order from one of the Dallas Arboretum's boxed lunch menus which include various sandwich assortments and tempting treats. Boxed lunches are $15 per person and are served in a semi-private area or can be taken anywhere within the gardens.
For groups looking for a more formal dining setting, we offer a seated lunch on the Loggia at the historic DeGolyer House. Groups are required to pre-order food from a set menu and seated lunches are an additional $27 per person.
The Dallas Arboretum is committed to making educational opportunities accessible for all students. Field trip scholarships are available for select programs while funds last. Qualifying schools can apply for scholarships to have fees reduced up to 50 percent for approved requests.
Bus stipends are available while funds last. To request a bus stipend, please submit your written request on school letterhead and fax it to 214.515.6578. Please include your field trip date, program and number of students.
Email firstname.lastname@example.com for more information or to apply for a scholarship.
Membership is the greatest discount of all! Receive the best possible discounts at the Dallas Arboretum by becoming a member today.
All members enjoy:
- Free year-round general garden admission.
- On-site parking is free for members.
- Express entry during major events.
- Discounts in the Hoffman Family Gift Store, the Arboretum online store and at area businesses.
- Reduced ticket prices for Concerts, Adult Programs, workshops and lectures.
- Invitations to exclusive members-only events such as the annual Easter Egg Hunt, Goblins in the Garden, and Sweets and Treats.
- Quarterly newsletters and monthly emails highlighting gardening information and upcoming events.
- Reciprocal admission to more than 200 botanical gardens and arboretums worldwide. Find participating organizations
- Early Morning Member Walks, 7-9 a.m. from March 1 through October 31 (No photography allowed before 9 a.m.)


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Narrow your search
Using ReadNotify software, a fan who constantly emails Jay-Z says he's sure that the star is reading all his missives -- some more than once.
Just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not watching you. Surveillance is a boom industry in the UK, so here are some handy (and frankly bizarre) tips on how to avoid being spied on


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The 2012 Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Induction Gala presented by Cincyfavorites.com will be held the evening of Sunday, June 24 at the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati.
The Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Induction Gala is a biennial event that attracts over 1000 people in what is the ultimate celebration of Reds history. The 2012 Gala will feature appearances and remarks by 2012 inductees Sean Casey and Dan Driessen as well as appearances by a host of Reds luminaries including Reds Hall of Famers and alumni and the members of the 2012 Reds team.
The event's program will be a lively and entertaining combination of history, humor and inspiration that will produce memories that will last a lifetime. Gala attendees will also enjoy an elegant dinner and will receive a special gift to commemorate the evening.
Tickets are $160 for Hall of Fame members and $175 for non-members. Full tables are available to both members and non-members for $1,650. Tables of $3,300 and $6,000 that include seating with a current or former Reds player are also available. Please contact (513) 765-7921 for more information.


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Hot rodders have known about the power of the Gen III/IV for quite some time, and it's not news to anyone that they're being dropped into just about everything. They're so popular, in fact, that many engine shops now report that conventional builds are on the decline. That sounds downright wacky at first, but think about it for a short while and it makes perfect sense. Not only can you make 650-plus streetable horsepower with an LS small-block these days, but you can build them as large as 500 ci. Throw in the weight and handling benefits of an all-aluminum platform, especially in Pro Touring projects, and the swap appeal of these motors becomes quite obvious.
Whether plans call for a 9,000-rpm screamer or a stock salvage yard score, swapping an LS motor into classic Bow Tie muscle is easier than ever. Several aftermarket manufacturers offer engine mounts, headers, oil pans, and transmission crossmembers that make an LS retrofit a strictly bolt-on affair. Even so, there are lots of potential hiccups that can easily be avoided with a bit of research. Gen III/IV small-blocks rolled off the assembly line with a number of different front accessory drive, intake manifold, oil pan, and throttle-body designs, all of which can affect how smoothly your swap progresses. To get to the bottom of it all, we had a chat with Marc Lewis of Hedman Hedders, Liz Miles of Hooker Headers, and Mark Campbell of Street and Performance. Here's their advice for a fruitful LS swap.
Marc Lewis: Swapping an LS motor into a muscle car used to require very expensive custom headers, but that's not the case anymore. The application list of Muscle Rods LS swap products manufactured by Hedman Husler Hedders is a virtual alphabet soup of iconic GM cars and trucks. Unlike some products that can be produced as a one-size-fits-all product, headers cannot. Header primary tubes are built using rigid, immovable tubes. When a manufacturer designs a set of headers, they must determine the most effective path to use for the tube routing, so they do not interfere with steering or suspension components, auxiliary engine/vehicle components, crossmembers, or chassis components. Change any of the variables in the engine compartment, and you risk hitting any number of items. This can bring your installation to a screeching halt. Although many installers like to use the gentle persuasion of a hammer to make a set of headers fit, this is not what most manufacturers intended for you to do. Not only will banging on your tubes negatively affect the performance you expect to gain from the headers, a beaten set of headers just doesn't look very good under the hood.
For the reasons mentioned above, Hedman Husler has invested countless hours developing its LS swap headers and motor mounts to ensure that they fit right in without any need for massaging. The R&D team at Husler's Georgia plant did this by bringing in specimen vehicles that matched the most frequently used setups. While on the racks, the Husler designers develop mid-length and long-tube headers in a variety of diameters, as well as companion motor mounts and transmission crossmembers. The Hedman Husler guys basically did all the trial-and-error work before the parts ever hit the market. These headers are currently in production for Chevy Tri-Five and X-frame cars, as well as A-, B-, F-, G- and X-bodies. We also offer a range of headers for '67-98 two-wheel-drive GM half-ton trucks and SUVs.


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Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Factory Farms, the Over-Use of Antibiotics, and Our Health
Kristof found that 70% of all antibiotics used in the US are used to treat healthy livestock. Why give a healthy animal antibiotics? So that when they're exposed to the horrible conditions of a factory farm, they will have a better chance of surviving until slaughter. This non-therapeutic overuse of antibiotics is one reason we're seeing more and more antibiotic-restistant pathogens that threaten our health. In fact, MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant staph infection, kills 18,000 people annually; and a new strain of MRSA can now be found in an estimated 25% to 39% of US hogs.
The practice of giving antibiotics to the animals who are destined for our plate compromises our health for the sake of our industrial food system--for the sake of efficiency, corporate greed and cheap meat. Just another reason to choose food from family farms!
Kristof mentions that there may be some upcoming legislative action to curb the overuse of antibiotics in our food system. As things progress, we'll keep you informed so that you can act to help stop this dangerous practice. In the meantime, choose antibiotic-free meat!
To learn more about Farm Aid's work against factory farming and issues like antibiotics, click here.
4 comments:
- S.Meres2:21 PM
Obviously we all know just how wrong this practice is, but what we tend to forget is that the end result is going to hurt our family farms much more deeply than the big feedlots. I'll explain...ReplyDelete
President Obama has already "pledged" to improve food safety, and Congress has already penned two bits of legislation that are being promoted as in the interest of Food Safety. The public is going to fed a bunch of garbage, making food safety into a crisis, so that this legislation will slide through unchallenged.
These two bills are:
House Resolution 875, or the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. Sponsored by Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., whose husband is on Monsantos payroll.
Senate Bill 425, or the Food Safety and Tracking Improvement Act, sponsored by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
Both the house resoultion, and the bill in the senate are worde in such a way that it will be very difficult for the small family farm or homestead....especially if they are organic, to comply....and the fines for non compliance can be up to 10 years in jail, and 1,000,000.00 in fines per violation....not to mention forfeiture of your property.
While, the fines I have listed are the maximum, it is not hard to see that even the minor fines would easily tax a small family operation beyond their means....not to mention the possibility of loosing thier land.
The major backers of these two bits of garbage are Monsanto, ADM, and Tyso...need I say more?
Please contact your representatives, and tell them to stop trying to mess with the people who are doing things the right way...small...local...organic.
I strongly disagree with you conclusion. Your statement."Obviously we all know just how wrong this practice is, but".......that "but" is the reason we are here. We all know it is wrong, the factory farmers know it is wrong and the american farmers know it is wrong "BUT" as soon as this profit agenda comes in to play the animals ALWAYS lose out no matter who cares. Profit margins always trump animal welfare.ReplyDelete
Your concerns are legitimate but targeting animal welfare isn't the answer.
- S.Meres11:58 AM
I do believe that you misunderstood my position. I am not targeting animal welfare. I for one am very opposed to factory farming of any kind, or the mistreatment of animals.
Small family farms that do not try to copy the management practices of the big guys will always place the welfare of their animals at the highest priority...if they don't, they fail.
You are absolutely correct that the driving force behind this is the profit agenda....or plainly....greed. I will add to this....ignorance and complacency. The average person doing their grocery shopping at the local Wal-Mart mega store....doesn't understand what it takes for Tyson to put a .69/# chicken in that store. When given a choice of that .69/# factory farmed, "fecal Chicken" (to quote Joel Salatin), and the 2.50/# pastured/organic chicken raised down the road, i guaranty that at least 7 out of 10 people will choose the .69/# chicken. So what we have is a combination of the big guy's greed and the consumers ignorance, complacency, and their desire to save a buck trumping the small farmer, and ultimately animal welfare.
While I strongly disagree with the likes of PETA, I personally take the welfare of my animals very seriously....I for one would not want to eat a neglected, diseased, stress-out, etc. animal or animal product, ie. milk, eggs, etc. I take this right down to my beehives which I refuse to treat with any chemicals, antibiotics, acids, essential oils, etc.
- Anonymous1:29 PM
I am a consumer who still eats meat in small quantities. I am very concerned about food safety, but most importantly I am concerned about the abuse of animals on large factory farms. I have read Senate Bill 425 and did not find it offensive...am trying to understand your opposition.ReplyDelete


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Terry Anderson 11/10/2014
How well does enforcement of the Endangered Species Act preserve wildlife habitat? On the John Batchelor show, Terry Anderson talks about how the ESA has affected spotted owls, bald eagles, silver grayling, and wolves.
Shawn Regan 05/23/2014
Cliven Bundy's battle was born out of a broken system that encourages conflict, not negotiation.
Shawn Regan 04/22/2014
When environmental groups buy ranchers' permits, there's no need for the feds to start rustling up trouble.
Reed Watson, Peter Hill, Shawn Regan, Laura Huggins 03/26/2014
Listen as Aaron Flint of "Voices of Montana" talks with Reed Watson, P.J. Hill, Shawn Regan, and Laura Huggins about free market environmentalism.
Terry Anderson 01/27/2014
In an interview on the John Batchelor Show, Terry Anderson explains how hunting in Namibia provides local communities with the right incentives to manage and conserve wildlife.
Charlotte Huus-Henriksen 11/26/2013
PERC Julian Simon Fellow David Schmidtz focuses on conflict resolution at the intersection of economics and ecology. In this video, he explores "alien priorities."
Shawn Regan 07/24/2013
PERC research fellow Shawn Regan provides testimony for the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on "Funding the National Park System for the Next Century."
Reed Watson, Brett Howell 01/10/2013
Despite their ecological and economic importance, Florida's coral reefs are teetering on the verge of collapse. Scientific studies point to the impact of effluent discharges from municipal storm and wastewater treatment facilities along the coast.
Bruce Yandle 02/01/2011
PERC Senior Fellow Bruce Yandle orginated the theory of Bootleggers and Baptists in the early 1980s. In essence, two different groups suppor the same, regulations, but benefit from different effects of the regulation. Has anything changed?
Todd Gartner 01/12/2011
Todd Gartner, a 2007 Enviropreneur Institute alum, describes how economic incentives can be used to connect forests, water, and communities. Working with the World Resources Institute he discusses his work on two pilot projects that are connecting the buyers of ecosystem services with the sellers...


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The B-List - I Am Alive
Tyler and Tom try not to survive in this post-apocalyptic survival game - I Am Alive.
Tyler and Tom try not to survive in this post-apocalyptic survival game - I Am Alive.
Ubisoft's postapocalyptic action game reportedly hitting PCs a week early; can be purchased through publisher's digital store or on Steam for $15.
Ubisoft's postapocalyptic action game hitting Windows machines next month through company's digital store, Steam for $15; includes exclusive Easy and Replay modes.
Be sure to rest as you climb up the elevator shaft of a destroyed building in I Am Alive.
Some startled citizens decide you are in the wrong place at the right time before being kicked into the fire.
Use the ladder on the side of a precariously perched fire truck to get across the bridge.
I Am Alive is now available on PSN.
This week in new releases we check out Blacklight: Retribution, Kinect Star Wars, I Am Alive, Skullgirls, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Shoot Many Robots.
The Vocabularium is back with a term for all you Duke Nukem fans: development hell!
Ubisoft Shanghai's postapocalyptic action game hits North American PlayStation 3 virtual storefront early next month, European release pegged for April 4.
We talk to the composer who recently scored the new survival action title I Am Alive.
This week we see MotorStorm RC and Lego Harry Potter for the Vita along with Red Alert 3 on XBL and Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. for the PSN.
Watch out for other survivors who may be dangerous in this clip from I Am Alive.
Taking on more than one person can be tricky with only one bullet in this clip from I Am Alive.
Rescue the little girl that reminds you of your daughter in this clip from I Am Alive.
Tom searches for survivors in this review for I Am Alive.
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By DANNY P. SMITH
email@example.com [1]
It didn't take long for Mississippi State coach Sharon Fanning-Otis to find out where things went wrong on Wednesday night.
When the Lady Bulldogs lost a 69-61 decision to Louisiana Tech, Fanning-Otis noticed negative points with assists to turnover ratio and opponent shooting percentage.
MSU only had nine assists and 16 turnovers, while allowing the Lady Techsters to shoot 44 percent from the field.
Those are areas where Fanning-Otis says must improve as the Lady Bulldogs move forward.
"We are not going to win games if we are going to do that," Fanning-Otis said. "We've got to be tougher. We have to continue to teach and get ready for a new game."
MSU gets that opportunity today when it hosts North Texas at Humphrey Coliseum. The tip is set for 1 p.m.
The Lady Bulldogs (3-2) look to get back on the winning track after things went sour in the second half against Louisiana Tech.
After having a 23-20 lead at halftime, MSU was out-scored by Tech 49-38 in the final 20 minutes.
Junior guard Diamber Johnson said the Lady Bulldogs lost their composure against the Lady Techsters and was anxious to get some things fixed prior to today's contest.
"We did a lot of things that we don't do in practice and we have to work on in the future," Johnson said.
Johnson will start at one guard spot for MSU, while junior Porsha Porter and senior Mary Kathryn Govero were the other starters at guard against Tech. Govero suffered a badly turned ankle on Wednesday, but is expected to play against North Texas. It is not clear if she will start.
Juniors Ashley Brown and Judith Tabala should start on the front line for the Lady Bulldogs.
In the first four games of the season, MSU had held opponents to only 47.2 points per game and was tops in the Southeastern Conference. Louisiana Tech exposed some weaknesses for the Lady Bulldogs with its near 70-point effort.
Fanning-Otis said MSU just didn't do a good enough job defensively against Tech.
"We can't lose focus and we must be tougher from now on," Fanning-Otis said. "I have told this team that their toughness will define them. We know how good this team is, but it's depending on if they mature and get tougher."
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