Are there similarities between a career in IT and playing for the National Football League? American football coach Pete Carroll has won both professional and collegiate championships. In his book Win Forever: Live, Work, and Play Like a Champion, Coach Carroll writes about his directives known as the Three Rules. They are: Always Protect the […]
From the NFL to IT: Coach Carroll’s Three Rules (Teambuilding) Read More »
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe Now Apple Podcasts | RSS
Earlier this fall, an assisted living home in California was shut down by its owners leaving many of its elderly residents with nowhere to go. The staff members left when they learned they weren’t being paid, except for the cook, Maurice Rowland, and the janitor, Miguel Alvarez. Rowland and Alvarez decided on their own to
Compassion Test: What Would I Do? Read More »
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe Now Apple Podcasts | RSS
In the United States, every November on the fourth Thursday of the month, we celebrate Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday because it’s a time when we get together with family, we enjoy a huge meal, and we express our thanks for our blessings. Oh, and we also watch a lot of American football. Thanksgiving is
Gratitude: How to be More Grateful Read More »
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe Now Apple Podcasts | RSS
In a previous blog post, I mentioned my experience in the Sultanate of Oman, a country on the Sea of Oman, bordering Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman is a wonderful country of some 4,000,000 people with a rich history and beautiful architecture, filled with very warm and gracious people and I
Reputation Management: The Power of One Read More »
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe Now Apple Podcasts | RSS
The landmark business book In Search of Excellence, written by Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr., was first published in 1982. It sold more than 3,000,000 copies worldwide and became something of a bible for 20th century business people. Much of its content is relevant today and even applies to us in information systems
IT Management by Wandering Around Read More »
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe Now Apple Podcasts | RSS
In an earlier video, I talked about the four traits of the customer service masters. They are compassion, empathy, good listening skills, and an ability to treat all people with respect. Within every organization, there are certain people who seem to have an intuitive ability to treat their customers well, using the four traits of
End Users and Customers Are People First Read More »
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe Now Apple Podcasts | RSS
One of the worst feelings in the world is the sense that you’re all alone and there’s no one who can or will help you. That’s close to how some people feel when they approach one of us in IT with a problem. They may be embarrassed or feel ignorant because of the type of
The Problem with “Not My Problem”: How Teamwork Solves Problems Read More »