Stories by Bob Lewis

Run IT as a business - why that's a train wreck waiting to happen

"If you board the wrong train, it's no use running along the corridor in the other direction," said famed World War II German resistance fighter Dietrich Bonhoeffer. We in IT boarded the wrong train a long time ago. It's the "standard model" of information technology organizations - the familiar litany that says CIOs should run IT as a business, meeting the requirements of its internal customers. This refrain has been endorsed by our holy trinity, too: analyst firms, most consultancies and ITIL.

IT careers: It's not just about the title

One of the bigger barriers companies face when developing IT professionals is tradition -- the one that says employees have to climb a career ladder.

Getting to the first rung

I have been managing UNIX systems, from the times when people used to ask "what is unix?". Due to, first geographical disadvantages, I was only able to do contract jobs. Once I assumed I established a career path, by accepting a permanent employment, the downturn in the economy, deprived me from that position. Then I found myself again in the ranks of contract employees.

Attitude tells whether you're an asset or option

I keep hearing loud, angry people complain that our problems are the result of people refusing to take personal responsibility. Which is to say, they’re all someone else’s fault.

Paradigm shift

Thomas Kuhn published The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1962, redefining the dialog about how science progresses, changing it from a purely philosophical prescription to incorporate the sociology of how real scientists actually behave.

Mission impossible

MANAGEMENTSPEAK: This merger will result in a synergy between our two companies which fully utilizes our combined infrastructure and strategic planning. TRANSLATION: All of you are out of jobs, but I don't care because I have a golden parachute.

News you can use

Bad news doesn't improve with age, or so I learned in a leadership training program I attended some years ago.

Talking turkey

MANAGEMENT SPEAK: Check your titles at the door. TRANSLATION: We want to find out who the troublemakers are. Why do you have two ears but only one mouth? Not, as the cliche would have it, so you'll listen twice as much as you talk. It's so you can experience Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in stereo, of course.

Opinion: No service, with a smile

MANAGEMENTSPEAK: Thanks for clarifying that point. TRANSLATION: Now we're confused at a higher level.

Eliminate the customer

You'd think CRM vendors would get customer relationship management right, wouldn't you? Not always. Some practice CEM (customer elimination management), CRM's evil twin, instead, as when a sales representative from one well known CRM vendor refused to talk about the subject with an interested prospect.

Relationships matter

Which is more important - skills or manners?

Explaining fuzzy logic

MANAGEMENTSPEAK: We have re-organised to focus on our core competencies. TRANSLATION: The things we focused on in our last re-organisation turned out to be some of our core incompetencies.

Web services a savior?

What is "Web services?" The core concept is that you'll be able to build applications out of prebuilt components scattered about the Web using standard protocols that enable run-time binding. According to its advocates, the result(s) will be dramatic reductions in development time and orders-of-magnitude improvements in quality. Unfortunately, Web services contains huge, fundamental flaws.

IS Survival Guide: Words for the Wise

TRANSLATION: I can't support this with any logic, and I sure don't want you to question it.

Careers - Despite the labour shortage, some can't find work

Sell yourself as an independent contractor