ITLP Tuesday Readings

The January 25, 2008 issue of BusinessWeek had a delightful article "Deliver a Presentation like Steve Jobs" that I thought you would enjoy. There, Carmine Gallo, the article's author, notes a 10-part framework that you might find useful when you are called upon to give an inspiring presentation:

1. Set the theme.

2. Demonstrate enthusiasm.

3. Provide an outline.

4. Make numbers meaningful.

5. Try for an unforgetable moment.

6. Create visual slides.

7. Give 'em a show.

8. Don't sweat the small stuff.

9. Sell the benefit.

10. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.

Good points for each of us to keep in mind when we put that important presentation together.

Posted by Jim Hall at 9:39 AM | Permalink

Although focused on the CEO - CIO relationship, today's reading "What CEOs Want from CIOs" by Thomas Wailgum contains lots of insight not only about what a CEO might expect from a CIO but just as valid for what CIOs might expect from their Directors, what Directors might expect from their Managers, etc. I think you'll find the ten issues summarized there to be very insightful. They are:

1 Everything works all the time.

2 They think, talk and behave like they're running a P&L.

3 I know they'll tell it to me straight, always.

4 They're proactive about ways to apply IT.

5 They don't whine about reporting relationships.

6 Their objectives seem to be in synch with the needs of the business.

7 They manage my expectations.

8 They've built a strong team that's competent, customer-friendly and seems energized.

9 I can depend on them to be honest about necessary investments and timelines.

10 They give me confidence about business continuation.

As Wailgum notes, these originate with Jack Groban http://www.jackgroban.com/ head of an executive search firm with more than 25 years of experience working on executive searches, many of them for CIOs.

Posted by Jim Hall at 9:36 AM | Permalink

Dan and Chip Heath, who wrote "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die," are two of my favorite authors. Recently, they wrote a column titled "Make Goals, Not Resolutions" which appeared in the February 2008 issue of Fast Company.

The Heaths note that we often make resolutions; like New Year's resolutions, like the resolution to eat more healthy food, to exercise more, as well as resolutions relating to our work. These resolutions make us feel good, but lack accountability. Even when there is a significant reward for being accountable, the failure rate for accomplishing these resolutions is very high. It's high because fulfilling resolutions requires a change in personal behavior which can begin by changing your mental environment.

So, instead of making resolutions, get in the practice of being concrete. Visualize what success looks like and the steps you need to take to get there. And, keep in mind that you decide what's normal behavior -- e.g., setting goals, holding yourself and your staff for reaching them, and actually reaching them -- by looking at what's going on around you. "Indifference is contagious!"

Posted by Jim Hall at 9:35 AM | Permalink

Too often, we take people for granted. In this week's Tuesday Reading "Staff Retention: The Power of Appreciation at Work", Mike Robbins quotes the U.S. Department of Labor as noting that 64% of Americans who leave their jobs say they do so because they don't feel appreciated. And, Gallup reports that 70% of people in the U.S. say they received no praise or recognition in the workplace.

Robbins asks the question what if we stopped obsessing over what needs to be fixed, changed, or enhanced and started paying more attention to the good stuff. To get you started, he states five principles:

1. Be grateful. Take inventory of the good stuff around you.

2. Choose positive thoughts and feelings. Personal thoughts and feelings impact our attitudes which impact our actions.

3. Use positive words.

4. Acknowledge others. You empower people be letting them know what you appreciate about them.

5. Appreciate yourself.

Don't operate in a "Praise Free Zone." Set a goal to talk about the good stuff, to say thank you, to acknowledge people's good work publically.

Posted by Jim Hall at 9:34 AM | Permalink

I think that everyone who reads a lot today asks, Where did the well-written, to-the-point memos go? In "The Key to Better Communication: Shorter Memos", Chuck Martin, writing in CIO, argues that many memos (and other forms of documents) are too long, and lacking in quality. He concludes "The reality is that written communication is an art, and learning to do it well can help a person in his or her career."

In this regard, I often remember a quote that I thought was Mark Twain's: "I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time." The actual quote is "Je n'ai fait cette lettre-ci plus longue que parce que je n'ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte" (literally, "I made this longer letter only because I did not have the leisure to make it shorter.") and is from Blaise Pascal. Shorter is more difficult and takes longer but your readers will praise your effort.

Posted by Jim Hall at 9:33 AM | Permalink