March 2013 Archives

Today, I hosted several discussions on "Building a Better Email," about how to make your emails better. So much of our work is done via email, we need to be careful that our messages are clear. Our discussions today focused on email "netiquette" such as providing context in emails, avoiding ALL CAPS (it's considered shouting), and limiting the use of "smileys." We also reviewed a few things we can do in U of M Gmail to make our email more manageable.

Along the same topic, Time Management Ninja writes about a problem we all have experienced: the too-long email. Like many others, I have trouble reading them. Who wants to read a small "book" just to glean a few key points? I'd rather you kept the email "short and sweet." Get to the topic at hand, share only the necessary details, or ask your question. Then, get on with it.

These seem like simple guidelines, but why do emails often get so wordy? The Ninja lists ten reasons people tend to write overly long emails, although I've tried to consolidate them into similar topics. Take note, and avoid these mis-steps:

1. The author doesn't know what he or she is trying to say / doesn't know the topic / doesn't edit. And rather than getting it straight before sending the email, the author sort of "works through the problem" while composing the message. Instead, take a few moments before sending to go through your communication to make sure your points are clearly stated and that you have everything in order. Don't make the recipient figure it out.
2. Huge "signatures" on emails. Gone are the days when people looked at your email signature as a personal touch. In years gone by, when we used text terminals to check email on servers, the email signature was a way to express individuality. And we looked on signatures as such; some email signatures were quite long and sometimes clever or cute. Today, we don't want to look at your long email signature; many email programs (including Gmail) will omit the signature anyway. Just your name, title, and organization should be enough.
3. You are writing a "book" / spamming / rambling. As a general rule, if your email is too long, I assume you have less to say than if you kept the message short. Longer does not equal "more." If you are asking a simple question, it's okay for your email to only have a few lines to set the context, then ask the question.
4. You are forwarding a mess. Be careful when sending long email threads to someone else. Do they really need to see everything in that discussion, or only a small part of it? Again, this comes down to editing. Take a few moments before sending to go through your email to remove unnecessary details. Less really is more.
5. It shouldn't be an email / multiple emails. Remember the ten levels of communication. Is your message best delivered via an email, or would an in-person discussion be better? Perhaps this topic would be a good discussion topic in a larger meeting, or a brief phone call with a single person. For those items that are truly "For your information," consider sharing via Google+ or Facebook or Twitter, rather than sending your email to a large group.

We all know that a major initiative at the University of Minnesota is Operational Excellence. This is a priority from President Kaler, challenging all areas of the University to reduce costs. As IT Leaders at our first IT Leadership Community of Practice meeting in 2012, President Kaler emphasized the need for delivering IT at the lowest possible cost.

President Kaler describes Operational Excellence this way: "Operational Excellence is a long-term commitment to working smarter, reducing costs, enhancing services, and increasing revenues throughout the University." Outside the University, Operational Excellence is a term used throughout business as one area where organizations can focus. Typically, organizations would focus their business in one of three areas:

1. Product Leadership
2. Customer Intimacy
3. Operational Excellence

The key word here is focus. While companies certainly need to be good enough in the other areas, successful organizations focus on one. This may be made clearer by discussing a few examples of well-known companies:

So by placing the focus on Operational Excellence, we are saying that we need to provide reliable products at competitive prices, delivered with minimal difficulty. In the IT frame of reference, that means we need to provide IT services and functions at the lowest price. I like to quote one of our faculty on this point: "Technology should be like a rock. It should be that simple to use." At the same time, we need to make those services and functions easily available to our customers. We need to be the "Amazon" of IT in higher ed.

Those of you on the Morris campus probably saw the University Register article discussing last week's TechFee deliberations. If you aren't familiar with Morris, TechFee is part of our culture of strong campus governance. In 1997, our students felt so strongly about improving the level of technology on campus that they voted to introduce a new student fee: the "Technology Fee" or "TechFee." Since then, the Morris Campus Student Association has opened an annual request for units to request special funding to support new technology that benefits our students. The TechFee process includes two days of presentations, and one very long special session to deliberate and determine allocations. In practice, the TechFee process is not very different from State legislature deliberation. As the IT Director for the Morris campus, I sit on the TechFee process as an adviser, although only the students vote for the allocations.

This year, our IT unit made several requests for TechFee funding, including expanding the wireless network, updating computer labs, and introducing new lab features. The TechFee process provided excellent feedback on the student governance prioritization of our projects. While we are working with MCSA to create an ongoing IT advisory board, which will inform us with continual feedback and prioritization, this year's deliberation provided a suitable opportunity to seek input from student governance.

If you remember when we completed the replacement of our campus network in August, we shared our next steps:

1. First, complete the network update at the soccer field. (We completed this work in August last year, and marked the end of "Phase 1")
2. Next, enhance the wireless network in the residence halls. We want to make sure all rooms can get onto the wireless network. ("Phase 2")
3. Then we will look at other areas on campus where we need to extend our wireless coverage. This will include enhancing our existing wireless, plus adding new wireless in spaces that do not currently have wireless networks. ("Phase 3")

The student governance this year provided prioritization of our wireless upgrade. During TechFee deliberation on our network upgrade project funding request, MCSA representatives shared their feedback with us. For example, MCSA identified that wireless in the residence halls is not a top need for students, that residential campus wireless is "good enough" for now. MCSA also helped prioritize the wireless coverage in the academic buildings. We are thankful for their input, and with that consultation we have decided to table further work on expanding the wireless coverage in the residential spaces.

Our to-do list for the next year is now:

Network upgrade

We will continue with the network upgrade, focusing on Science and HFA.

Computing labs

Our computer lab updates will continue this summer. Also, we are very excited to add a new feature to the Imholte computer lab. In consultation with faculty (and special thanks to Barbara Burke) we plan to add new software in Imholte that will allow instructors to take the lab computers offline. For example, instructors might use the lab to give in-class essay examinations, typing their essay into Microsoft Word, without having to unplug each lab computer.

Student printing

We worked with the Student Affairs committee this semester to investigate a growing need for printing in the residence halls. Thanks to Tamir on MCSA and Student Affairs, we plan to expand printing in these areas for students.

We very much appreciate the input provided by MCSA and the student governance process. And we are looking forward to a very busy and productive summer where we hope to raise the level of technology for our students and faculty! We are already planning the next steps so we will be ready for our work in summer.

This week's post is co-authored by Rex Wheeler II, my partner in the Office of Information Technology at the Twin Cities campus.

An important part of leadership is building your relationship network. Relationships are currency—you sometimes need to use your relationships to make deals, smooth over conflicts, and generally just get things done. Do not overlook this part of your leadership development.

Think about your social network. I like to imagine it like a bullseye target, where the closer you are to the center, the "closer" your relationship to me. The center circle is the "circle of trust," the people you might go to for completely confidential advice. These are the people you might ask for help if you were looking for a new job. The next circle contains those people who would help you with a favor. Outside that is the "parking orbit," people who are not very close to you, but with whom you are friendly; you might see them in the hallway or by the elevator, but not interact with them very much. And if you aren't in any of those circles, I call them "potential new friends," people I haven't met yet.

You can arrange your social network even further. Think of who are your personal friends, versus your friends at work. Who are your mentors, the people you look to for inspiration? And who are your peers, people with whom you interact but who are neither "personal" nor "work" friends?

Take a few moments to map out your social network. How "close" would you rate your relationships at work? Consider who you look to if you had a problem, or needed a favor, or simply had a question. Do you have relationships that are so strong you could rely on confidential advice? Do have other relationships where you might only be able to ask for a favor? Who is in your personal "parking orbit," that need a stronger relationship to you? Is there anyone out there that you wish you knew better and who in your personal shares a relationship, and might introduce you to them?

Relationships are currency, and you can use them when you need help or advice. Making friends and building relationships is an important facet of leadership, but it is often a very difficult skill. Many of us in technology are introverts. My educational background is in physics, and a physicist friend of mine often shares this joke that applies here: "What's the difference between an introverted physicist and an extroverted one? The extrovert will look at your shoes."

Let me share leadership lessons on this topic, borrowed from an unexpected place. At the risk of doing yet another leadership post post from this source, I think it actually fits well here. Because what is the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic about, if it's not about how to make friends and build relationships. That's probably one reason that the show is so popular outside its target demographic—sometimes we all just need a refresher on how to introduce ourselves to others and form that initial relationship.

There are four steps to building a relationship with someone new. These are sometimes called the "4 I's" of relationships:

1. Initiate
2. Inquire
3. Invest
4. Inspire

Here's a brief clip showing a borderline-extroverted person meeting a definitely introverted person, overcoming an initial awkwardness to introduce herself and start a relationship. (They become great friends in the show.)

Twilight Sparkle uses the first two steps to form a bond:

1. Initiate: "I'm Twilight Sparkle."
2. Inquire: "What's your name?" She also asks follow-up questions to get to know the other person. Despite Fluttershy's introverted tendencies, Twilight Sparkle reaches out to get to know the new pony, making sure she heard the name right, and commenting on Fluttershy's birds in the tree.

In this case, Twilight Sparkle only has time for the first two steps. The third step, Invest, will happen over time as Twilight Sparkle continues to renew her friendship with Fluttershy through activities, adventures … or even just a discussion on a sunny afternoon. Over time, Twilight Sparkle can rely on that relationship to inspire Fluttershy to do great things.

You can use the same method of Initiate, Inquire, Invest, Inspire to build your own relationship networks. The more people you know, the better you can navigate your organization and get things done. But don't let your relationships grow stale; fins opportunities to renew your friendships. If you call from someone in your relationship network, take a few moments to catch up before getting down to the task at hand. Or simply call or visit that other person, just to say hi and see what's up. These short moments help to build up your relationship currency.

Just a quick note to share GCN's prediction of 6 IT trends to watch on campus in 2013. Here are the trends, quoted directly from the article:

1. Big data beyond the basics. Big data will help institutions build model student profiles that can be used to target for admission those students most likely to be successful.
2. Faster course corrections. Universities will use big data to assess course feedback and quickly make curricula changes.
3. Pressure from BYOD. As students bring an ever increasing number and variety of wireless devices to campus, Wi-Fi networks, tools and support will quickly evolve to meet increased demand.
4. Platform-independent computing gains ground. IT departments will soon support all devices and platforms. Look for virtual desktop environments will allow students run any software, regardless of location or device.
5. Mobile apps are a go. Moving away from broadcast publishing, more schools will develop mobile apps that let users access only the information they need.
6. Growth of educational social media. Social media like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ will be integrated into the curriculum for the real-time, real-world collaboration they enable.

I'd be interested in going back to this list at the end of the year to see how well GCN fared in their predictions. I certainly agree with their list, although I'm somewhat hesitant about how quickly institutions can implement "Faster course corrections" based on big data feedback. To be clear, I don't doubt it's possible to have this feedback loop, but I question if faculty will be ready to accept it as readily as GCN seems to suggest.

Around this time of year, students begin applying for internships during the summer. And as we get closer to graduation in Spring, seniors will start sending out resumes, looking for their first jobs. Over the years, I've provided resume, cover letter, and interview coaching for many students—I started doing this career coaching during my role as adviser to Triangle Fraternity and ΑΣΚ Sorority, but I've also enjoyed helping students at Morris take that next big step. It's one more way I can serve the campus. A few weeks ago, I shared some advice on writing resumes. I'd like to follow up with a few tips on how to do a successful interview.

I recommend you start by reflecting on your leadership journey, about your career highlights. If you are a student, you might instead consider your education journey: what have you learned during your time at university. What projects or assignments worked well for you, and which projects or assignments were more challenging? I find it's most helpful to focus on the peaks and valleys on the timeline: the moments that seemed to be turning points. You may prefer to highlight other points that are similar to each other, and that's okay too. By reflecting on your journey, you will be better prepared to recall them during your interview.

When you reference these milestones on your journey, try to tell a story around them. Don't just say what the project or assignment did; also describe what the project was about and why it was important. This provides a grounding for your audience and helps to "hook" them on your leadership/education moment.

Practice doing interviews with a friend or colleague. Remember that there are really only three basic interview questions: Can you do the job? Do you want the job? Will we want to work with you? Most interviewers will ask open-ended questions, designed to understand how you work:

• Tell me about a project that went particularly well for you.
• Can you describe a team personality that was difficult to work with, and how you accommodated that person.
• Tell us about a project that was challenging, and what you learned from it.

These are great interview questions, as they really put the spotlight on you and allow you to share something about yourself. You can leverage your experiences from your leadership/education journey to tell a story in your answer.

Also, don't forget the opening question: Please tell us a little about yourself. This is a basic interview question, and is usually at the start of the interview to give you an opportunity to get settled into the interview, but also to shine a light on yourself. It's great to talk about your education, your work history, your professional background. It's good to discuss a few of your side interests, such as hobbies or even sports participation. This can help to make a connection with your interviewers; maybe you share the same interests. Don't get too personal; I'd avoid talking about what your children are up to or highlights from your recent vacations. That's just distracting and rarely interesting.

At the same time, be aware that a few interviewers may not know how to ask questions in an open-ended way. They may ask yes/no questions:

• Do you know Java/SQL/Linux/…?
• Have you ever worked with someone with a difficult personality?
• Did you ever have a project or assignment that didn't go well?

These are more challenging questions. Don't fall for the temptation to answer with a simple "yes" or "no." You certainly should lead with "yes" or "no," but immediately follow it with "and let me share an example" or "and here's a great example of that." That lets you jump right into a story, which (again) you can draw from your leadership/education journey.

That gets you through the main part of the interview. But think about what questions you would ask them. At the end of the interview, most interviewers will take some time to answer any questions you might have. When I've interviewed new people for positions, how they answer this question either underscores or undermines their strength as a candidate. Please, for the sake of all that is good, don't ask basic questions that you could have looked up on their website. If you ask "what does your unit do?" then you have basically thrown the interview away, and you may as well go home.

Most candidates ask typically bland questions, such as "What's the salary?" or "When do you expect to make a decision?" or something about the benefits. To be sure, these are important and you should include them. But they don't really make a candidate stand apart. As an interviewer, I've always been more interested in the candidates who ask unexpected questions that show they are thinking about the organization and how they will fit in.

According to Jeff Haden at Inc.com, great candidates typically ask five questions:

1. What do you expect/need me to accomplish in the first 60–90 days?
2. What are the common attributes of your top performers?
3. What are a few things that really drive results in this company?
4. What do your employees usually do in their spare time?
5. How do you plan to deal with …?

Haden analyzes the questions in his article, but I think these questions show engagement, and consideration for fitting into the "culture".

Finally, I ask that you consider how you will appear at your interview. Show up about 5 minutes early for the interview. If you are worried about getting there on time, get there early then sit in your car in the parking lot until it's time to "show up." And wear something nice. It's important to make a good first impression. Depending on the position you are applying for, a suit and tie (or equivalent) may be the most appropriate interview apparel. For other positions, it might be more suitable to "dress down." If you aren't sure, a good rule of thumb is: if you'd wear that outfit to church, or a funeral, or to court, then it's probably okay to wear that outfit to an interview.