I have recently become very interested in what a person's app selection says about them personally. In the spirit of full disclosure I will now outline what I think my app selection for my iPhone says about me:
Food-
Starbucks
McDonalds
Conclusion- Caffeine fueled, fast food junkie, or just merely a parent who travels and needs to know where to go to satisfy the "little one"
Gadgets-
FaceTime (included on the phone and turns out to be a great tool)
Maps
My Cast Weather
Facebook (not by my choice but..... I had to)
UberSocial (twitter app)
LinkedIn
DC Metro
DUAT
Priceline
iHandy Level (you figure that one out)
GIST- bandwidth tool
AOPA Airports (airport directory)
Conclusion- Flying Geek who travels a lot
Mixed bag
Bank account access
Verizon Account Access
efax
Priceline
expedia
Marriott
University applications
Conclusion- Parent that travels a lot
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Anniversary
I have celebrated many anniversaries in the past but clearly I will not be celebrating this one.
I have worked with a small business for just over 10 years, mostly for free, with the expectation that I would have access to its resources for which I am licensed to have. I have done this at no expense to the organization and in fact have taken a loss nearly every year for my efforts.
I was happy to do this with the understanding that I could bring in new business and help them solve issues when they arose. Very recently I was removed from the roles as a leader in the organization having pre-dated the current ownership and most of the current staff.
So why be upset by this? Quite simply, they removed me without telling me why. Realizing that I am not as accessible as I used to be given that I work full time outside of what any normal human being would consider a reasonable distance from home. That said, I am not out of touch or unreachable by any measure and would still try my best to be helpful. Instead, the situation turned contentious unnecessarily.
Maybe the best advice is to "get over it" but this one really hurts. Maybe it is "not personal, just business" but I do not subscribe to that theory at all. Never have.
I have worked with a small business for just over 10 years, mostly for free, with the expectation that I would have access to its resources for which I am licensed to have. I have done this at no expense to the organization and in fact have taken a loss nearly every year for my efforts.
I was happy to do this with the understanding that I could bring in new business and help them solve issues when they arose. Very recently I was removed from the roles as a leader in the organization having pre-dated the current ownership and most of the current staff.
So why be upset by this? Quite simply, they removed me without telling me why. Realizing that I am not as accessible as I used to be given that I work full time outside of what any normal human being would consider a reasonable distance from home. That said, I am not out of touch or unreachable by any measure and would still try my best to be helpful. Instead, the situation turned contentious unnecessarily.
Maybe the best advice is to "get over it" but this one really hurts. Maybe it is "not personal, just business" but I do not subscribe to that theory at all. Never have.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Elections and Voting
Two years ago this week I was at our polling place by 5:30AM. Not this year. There seems to be no rush this time around. The outcome of this election has been forecast and talked about so much it seems to be a forgone conclusion. But I will still be going.
Two years ago I was the first car in the parking lot at the polling place. Not this year. Two years ago as I sat in my car to stay warm I wound up second in line outside the door to the polling place. The man in front of me seemed nice enough, holding a text book and reading while we waited. I started a conversation with him and found out that he was unemployed and going back to school to learn to be a carpenter. He was going to one of those for-profit schools that the current President seems to have some trouble with. The man was twice as likely to be unemployed as I was at the time and his number had come up at the worst possible time, and yet he was not yielding to the conditions. He was fighting back in the best way he knew how, by educating himself. He was twice as likely to be unemployed only because of his race, he is black.
Two years ago I was enjoying voting in a historic election, having yielded my coveted “first in line” position to a black man trying to make ends meet without a job. I believe he walked to the polling place as I did not see any car in the parking lot other than mine.
Two years later the tables have turned and I find myself voting in an election where everyone is blaming the incumbent party for our economic conditions, caused by eight years of abuse by the other guys. Are we all that ignorant? Misinformed? Lazy? I hope my new friend in line two years ago has found a job by now and that he is happy. Two years ago I was half as likely to be unemployed as he was then, but my number came up too, two years later.
In spite of my “spin of the wheel” I am convinced we did the right thing two years ago, and that we should be giving a bit more leeway to those we elected back then. Our economic life was hanging over the cliff then, but now that we have been pulled back from the edge we want to blame those with their hands on the rope for the scare that was induced. This is wrong and we should say so with our votes.
Two years ago I was the first car in the parking lot at the polling place. Not this year. Two years ago as I sat in my car to stay warm I wound up second in line outside the door to the polling place. The man in front of me seemed nice enough, holding a text book and reading while we waited. I started a conversation with him and found out that he was unemployed and going back to school to learn to be a carpenter. He was going to one of those for-profit schools that the current President seems to have some trouble with. The man was twice as likely to be unemployed as I was at the time and his number had come up at the worst possible time, and yet he was not yielding to the conditions. He was fighting back in the best way he knew how, by educating himself. He was twice as likely to be unemployed only because of his race, he is black.
Two years ago I was enjoying voting in a historic election, having yielded my coveted “first in line” position to a black man trying to make ends meet without a job. I believe he walked to the polling place as I did not see any car in the parking lot other than mine.
Two years later the tables have turned and I find myself voting in an election where everyone is blaming the incumbent party for our economic conditions, caused by eight years of abuse by the other guys. Are we all that ignorant? Misinformed? Lazy? I hope my new friend in line two years ago has found a job by now and that he is happy. Two years ago I was half as likely to be unemployed as he was then, but my number came up too, two years later.
In spite of my “spin of the wheel” I am convinced we did the right thing two years ago, and that we should be giving a bit more leeway to those we elected back then. Our economic life was hanging over the cliff then, but now that we have been pulled back from the edge we want to blame those with their hands on the rope for the scare that was induced. This is wrong and we should say so with our votes.
Friday, October 15, 2010
CTO vs. CIO
I ran across a question raised on the CIO forum last night that I found to be very interesting for a few reasons. First off it seemed to be a genuine question about how to explain the difference between a CTO and a CIO in an enterprise. Second, there seem to be respondents saying that the person asking the question should know the difference without asking the group at-large. Third, when I thought about my answer it took me a few minutes but I came up with a response that made sense to me. The big question is am I right?
I intended to respond like this "a CTO is a tool maker, a CIO is a tool user." Seems simple enough to me. An enterprise CTO can be working on creating tools in the abstract, such as an architecture decision to support their internal operation, or in the absolute such as creating software to support a product the enterprise would sell. Take the android operating system as a good example. Google created the android software as a project to create a tool that could be used by suppliers of mobile devices. Their own mobile device has not done well in the marketplace but Motorola and HTC have created a product around the andriod software. The CIO of the enterprise would not necessarily create andriod but could put the tool to good use for an enterprise application or business process that creates value. Software reporting tools, data mining tools, business intelligence tool all fall in the category of things the CIO would use to help their enterprise create value.
There are some organizations that look to the CIO as a tool maker as well as a user. That is all fine and good but it takes a really deep technical person to pull that one off. There are some around but not many. There are CTOs out there that are great tool makers but can not apply them for business purposes as well as a true CIO might.
Seems a simple enough question but there sure was some confusion out there among senior executive types as to how to answer it. Or am I over simplifying it?
I intended to respond like this "a CTO is a tool maker, a CIO is a tool user." Seems simple enough to me. An enterprise CTO can be working on creating tools in the abstract, such as an architecture decision to support their internal operation, or in the absolute such as creating software to support a product the enterprise would sell. Take the android operating system as a good example. Google created the android software as a project to create a tool that could be used by suppliers of mobile devices. Their own mobile device has not done well in the marketplace but Motorola and HTC have created a product around the andriod software. The CIO of the enterprise would not necessarily create andriod but could put the tool to good use for an enterprise application or business process that creates value. Software reporting tools, data mining tools, business intelligence tool all fall in the category of things the CIO would use to help their enterprise create value.
There are some organizations that look to the CIO as a tool maker as well as a user. That is all fine and good but it takes a really deep technical person to pull that one off. There are some around but not many. There are CTOs out there that are great tool makers but can not apply them for business purposes as well as a true CIO might.
Seems a simple enough question but there sure was some confusion out there among senior executive types as to how to answer it. Or am I over simplifying it?
Sunday, October 3, 2010
First Flights
Today was one of those days that was perfect in lots of ways, not the least of which was the weather. After having nearly 10 inches of rain in the past few days we woke to perfect weather for flying. Luckily my wife had auctioned me off (she prides herself in trying to rid herself of me a piece at a time) for a charity sightseeing flight and today was the day. Perfect. The flight went flawlessly and the "winner" of the auction appreciated having a chance to see the fall colors from the air.
The days activity reminded me of the opportunity I have had to introduce some new college graduates and interns as well as some current students to interesting aspects of IT projects. I am not one to use anything but real life projects and case studies as much as possible. I have spoken to some other IT managers recently who have agreed with me but I know there are some who provide "busy work" to interns, depriving them of the opportunity to prove themselves along with making a contribution at the same time. This is clearly the wrong approach and should be avoided at nearly all costs.
While fall colors come at a predictable time of the year you never know when a younger employee or intern will be able to show their true colors if they do not have the opportunity.
The days activity reminded me of the opportunity I have had to introduce some new college graduates and interns as well as some current students to interesting aspects of IT projects. I am not one to use anything but real life projects and case studies as much as possible. I have spoken to some other IT managers recently who have agreed with me but I know there are some who provide "busy work" to interns, depriving them of the opportunity to prove themselves along with making a contribution at the same time. This is clearly the wrong approach and should be avoided at nearly all costs.
While fall colors come at a predictable time of the year you never know when a younger employee or intern will be able to show their true colors if they do not have the opportunity.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Health Care
Today was the day that some of the new health care legislation provisions went into effect, mostly for kids and young adults. It took a while to find a news outlet that carried the story. Finally I came across a good summary put together by the good folks at the Baltimore Sun.
The highlights go something like this (not a complete list):
The highlights go something like this (not a complete list):
- Insurers can no longer deny coverage to children based on pre-existing conditions
- Annual limits will be banned on new plans (and all plans in 2014)
- Consumers will be able to appeal claims decisions through an external review process
- Up to 4 million small businesses become eligible for tax credits to provide insurance
- An estimated 4 million seniors will begin to receive $250 checks for prescription coverage gaps
- New resources will be used to crack down on health care fraud and waste
- New state or federal pools will offer coverage for adults with pre-existing conditions*
- Incentives such as scholarships and loan repayments will be offered to build up primary care
- States requiring insurers to justify premium increases could win grants and ban insurers from exchanges
- Extra payments will be available to rural health care providers in under-served areas
Above all, full time students can be carried on a parent's insurance plan until they turn 24 years of age.
Now we hear that there is a move afoot to repeal some or all of the reforms. This has become a political football based not in facts but ideology. Someone has decided that it would be cheaper to go back to the old way of doing business rather than getting what we are doing right, while at the same time helping others. What they do not realize is that it is in the best interest of the country from a security standpoint to take care of our own as best we can. Citizens that are unhappy with the basic needs they receive are more likely to create problems.
Most of all it is the kids that are going to be paying for the mistakes of those who have come before them. Doesn't it make sense to have them live longer in order to pay more of our way?
The complete Baltimore Sun article can be found at http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/health-care/bs-hs-health-insurance-for-young-20100920,0,1703938,full.story
Friday, September 17, 2010
Turning Your Back
Nearly seven years ago I was called to the home office of some friends of ours after a phone call my wife took. The friend complained that her husband was about to throw out his PC because of poor performance, putting their business at risk. My wife asked me to go over and help them, which I did.
I provided them six years of technical service and advice on how to advance their business using technology to achieve sales growth. Their business more than doubled without requiring any additional people. They were put on the web for the first time, provided with reliable email, fax to email conversion, server based storage and application delivery, mobile devices that worked, and a PC that did not need to be punted from the 50 yard line. Then one day they decided to move to an office.
The move was going to be complicated for them but I had offered a plan that would do it without service interruption. Being a small business I was sensitive to their need to watch costs but they were making the right investments. They failed to inform me of the move until we were right on top of the date they wanted all the work done on. I was working full time for another firm but achieved most of the move without incident, until we suffered a death in my family. I tried to explain how this occurrence would impact my ability to get the project done on time. What I got was "oh well, you have to die sometime". Immediately after that I was informed that my services were no longer required and that they were transitioning to a "real" company.
Ordinarily I would have said that this was "not personal, just business" but a weird thing happend recently that indicated otherwise. It is my daughter's senior year in high school and we have always gone to parent night to meet her teachers. In the last year since the above "transition" the business owner's daughter has transferred to the same high school. Walking down the hall last night in between classes we encountered the couple walking the other way. In the middle of the hallway they both turned their backs to me as I walked passed them in the opposite direction. As of that moment I realized their decision was not a business decision but rather a personal one.
Now that their business is growing strong they have elected not to share or give any credit to others for enabling their success. It just got personal. I do not turn my back to anyone and would like to think I deserve the same courtesy. One thing is for sure, they were the ones that showed their asses last night, not me.
I provided them six years of technical service and advice on how to advance their business using technology to achieve sales growth. Their business more than doubled without requiring any additional people. They were put on the web for the first time, provided with reliable email, fax to email conversion, server based storage and application delivery, mobile devices that worked, and a PC that did not need to be punted from the 50 yard line. Then one day they decided to move to an office.
The move was going to be complicated for them but I had offered a plan that would do it without service interruption. Being a small business I was sensitive to their need to watch costs but they were making the right investments. They failed to inform me of the move until we were right on top of the date they wanted all the work done on. I was working full time for another firm but achieved most of the move without incident, until we suffered a death in my family. I tried to explain how this occurrence would impact my ability to get the project done on time. What I got was "oh well, you have to die sometime". Immediately after that I was informed that my services were no longer required and that they were transitioning to a "real" company.
Ordinarily I would have said that this was "not personal, just business" but a weird thing happend recently that indicated otherwise. It is my daughter's senior year in high school and we have always gone to parent night to meet her teachers. In the last year since the above "transition" the business owner's daughter has transferred to the same high school. Walking down the hall last night in between classes we encountered the couple walking the other way. In the middle of the hallway they both turned their backs to me as I walked passed them in the opposite direction. As of that moment I realized their decision was not a business decision but rather a personal one.
Now that their business is growing strong they have elected not to share or give any credit to others for enabling their success. It just got personal. I do not turn my back to anyone and would like to think I deserve the same courtesy. One thing is for sure, they were the ones that showed their asses last night, not me.
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