As everybody knows, 2013 was a year in which I put a strong emphasis on developing the skills of the managers. I am always eager to get people to specialize and to become ever more expert in whatever area they are working. For managers in particular, I want them to be continually invested in adding […]
Last month, I attended an Internet2 conference called Identity Week for members of InCommon. There were discussions and presentations about all the thorny and fascinating issues we confront every day in the world of identity management – data governance, federation, how to handle sponsored accounts, dealing with vendors, etc. And of course, lots of chatter […]
It was around 5:00 p.m. on December 5 when I received a phone call from my wife. She said “Nelson Mandela died” and began to cry. Although impending, the news was nonetheless heartbreaking. Both my wife and I were born in South Africa and grew up during the Apartheid era. We spent many years of […]
Introverted or extraverted…which are you? Take a reflective minute to ask yourself which of the following descriptions seems more natural and comfortable for you? Extraversion I like getting my energy from active involvement in events and having a lot of different activities. I’m excited when I’m around people and I like to energize other people. […]
Change is inevitable. I’m reminded of Sam Cooke’s classic song which says, “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Oh yes, it will. As managers, our role is crucial in times of change because of the relationship we have with the employees on our team. We are the closest to the employees who must adopt the new […]
Pushes and pulls are the basis for moving data on the internet but how about as a metaphor within our own division? I have been thinking a lot lately about about how we push and pull various ideas within UTS and throughout the enterprise. Here are two examples of what I mean. I am excited about […]
How can we, as IT Professionals, be better at what we do? How can we keep an increasingly complicated environment available and useful to a wide range of customers with different levels of interest in the technical details? My answer? Use Quantitative Analysis (QA) to help us understand what’s happening in our environment on a […]