Mètis — “practical intelligence, using conjectural and oblique knowledge, which anticipates, modifies and influences the fate of events in adversity and ambiguity” according to Baumbard — has reminded me of something that I read some time back. This led me to see some connections between knowledge management, Elliott Jaques’s Requisite Organization and wisdom. (And thanks to jmmj for conversation on …
De-escalation of Commitment to Projects
There is a large body of work dealing with the escalation of commitment in IT projects, how managers continue to throw good money after bad, increasing their commitment to a project that has little chance of succeeding. For example, Gustavo Dimello has an interesting summary (“To Pull or Not To Pull the Plug: When Managers Commit Themselves to Failure”) of …
It’s About Persons, Stupid!
This week I am coaching a small IT consulting company in how to network and make cold calls to get more business. As a result, I’ve been reading a bit on networking and business relationships. And reading for business always leads me to think about the church. Here’s this week’s Big Truth: It’s about persons, stupid. You can try to …
Latest issue of COMPUTER actually useful
Wouldn’t you know it? The last issue that I have coming to me before I was going to end my IEEE Computer Society membership and it had to be interesting. I’ve been reading Computer for several years now and I’ve gotten to the point where I just pass it on to some other IT schmuck without actually opening it. I …
On Hierarchies and Requisite Organization
What have we lost in our rejection of hierarchy?
The Oral Culture of the Professional Intellectuals: How Consultants Can Learn
If professionals have this higher form of knowledge, how it is best transmitted? Most firms want training — “how to” lessons. But what growing professionals need is learning opportunities. My wife used to be a professor (before retiring early) and we still hang with young professors. We were at one’s house yesterday for lunch (roast chick with fresh bread: mmmmmm!) …
Business Consultants vs Professors: Death Cage Match!
Business Consultants and Professors do mix a bit: you get professors becoming consultants or doing consulting in the 20%. (You have to do 80% of your time dedicated to the university, I’ve been told, but you can use the other 20% to do what you want.) And consultants often teach a class or end up just professoring after making their …
Power of Mediocrity: Being Great Takes Risk
You’re never going to burn bright when your goal is to not get your fingers burnt.
Student Evaluations Are Useless In Professional Training
It’s much like asking a happy, satisfied and content married couple why they are happy: they discover that there is no reason at all and it all falls in.
Yes, Virginia: IT Doesn’t Matter
It’s not a question of whether to spend or not spend.
It’s about what really matters.
It’s the people, people.
I’ve never agreed with anyone who says that “People are our greatest resource” because: 1) if you have to remind us it probably isn’t true and 2) I resent being the equivalent of a printer.