Joan Sutherland (1926 – 2010) is considered by many to be one of the greatest female opera singers of all time (if not the greatest). She was a true diva – from the Italian for “goddess”; the very embodiment of a prima donna – a “leading lady”. Yet Sutherland “was the most self-effacing of primaRead… Read more »
Recently I sat in on a meeting between a group of IT developers (contractors) and Federal program managers. Just a routine project review. As I looked around, it struck me that we were really quite a diverse crowd. In the room were people from China, Viet Nam, India, Russia, Somalia, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Iran,Read… Read more »
As we approach the 151 anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address[1], certainly one of the most significant orations ever delivered, we do well to remember the closing; the very end of the last of the ten simple and deeply moving sentences that make up the Address. In these few, memorable words, a war-weary Lincoln charges allRead… Read more »
Suppose you are called into a meeting and asked to help with some quick planning estimates for a new IT system that is being proposed in response to an important and urgent White House initiative. The system will be used to collect and analyze massive amounts of real-time sensor data. Your boss says “we needRead… Read more »
We all understand how important it is to maintain frequent, open, and direct communications among IT project team members. In fact, one of the biggest challenges that managers face is in establishing and keeping these lines open. Challenges often arise because, it seems, many IT professionals tend to be introverted – shy about speaking up,Read… Read more »
Let’s assume that, as an IT leader and decision maker, you understand the importance of clear and efficient communications. Whether with superiors, subordinates, peers, vendors, or customers, good communications are a key ingredient to your success. And you’ve probably read or heard somewhere that 93% or some similar percentage of interpersonal communications are non-verbal; thatRead… Read more »
Suppose you are an IT decision-maker (and who in IT doesn’t have to make decisions regularly?). For that matter, forget the “IT”. What drives your decision-making? Let’s assume that you would like to consistently make decisions so as to have the maximum positive (or least negative) impact on your own personal well-being. Does this soundRead… Read more »