With six shopping days left until Christmas here are six things I can think of talking with CIOs over the past few months. These are things that they cannot give themselves, like a new organization or new metrics, but rather things that others can give to them.  They are in no particular order.

• A business relationship focused on benefits realization rather than budget expenditure.  Business and IT relationships are a perennial issue in IT and one where we have tried specialized people (BRM’s), specialized processes (IT strategy) and specialized power (governance) with limited results.  Putting everyone on a management path around benefits realization appears to be a way to bring people together into a positive relationship.
• Contractual service levels from cloud providers.  Many CIOs are interested in adopting cloud technologies but they run up against the barrier that often cloud providers will not, or cannot provide service guarantees and service levels with contractual recourse.
• Security in just about every sense.  Security in information, access, technology etc., but also security in terms of the knowledge that high performing IT organizations will get the recognition that they have earned and that resources flow with recognition – they do in other parts of the business so they should in IT.
• An executive team that understands the economics of technology and how it’s funding and pricing actually work.  Technology, predominantly the infrastructure, is a source of speed, scale and choice for an enterprise.  Speed in terms of executing change, scale in terms of unit cost efficiencies that are saving money even though they appear to cost more, and choice in creating future options for the enterprise, products and services.  There is more to technology economics than Moore’s Law, matching supply and demand and cost accounting.  Executives do not need to be ‘technoconomists’ but they should recognize the connection between technology, price, operational budget and service level.
• A hunting permit for legacy applications would enable the CIO to weed the applications garden to reduce complexity, cost, and resources consumed on long tail – low use legacy apps.  Economic reality and legacy realities are colliding in new ways that require some radical approaches.  Consolidation, simplification and elimination are some of the hardest and least glamorous work, but the most important in staying responsive and responsible.  If you could not see the floor through the stuff in your teenager’s room you would eventually force them to clean up.  Well I doubt many of us have seen the floor of the data center in years.
• Last, and most importantly – good people on their team.  It cannot be stressed enough that great people make for great technology, business value, agility and the like. If there is one thing a CIO needs year round it’s good people on their team, a stream of good people stepping up and a team of good people challenging each other in a positive way.

You will notice that budget is not on the list for two reasons. First its obvious that the CIO needs resources to be successful and that many have had significant cuts in the past few years.  I am unsure that simply restoring those cuts is more important than the things on the list above.  Second, resources often mask real issues inside an enterprise and the challenges CIOs face are real and cannot be solved and their solutions sustained by just papering them over with money.

What is on your CIO gift list?  With only six days there is still a chance to make a start this holiday season.  It is better to start now rather than wind up next Friday lunchtime standing in line at the convenience store looking to buy that that last minute gift.

Welcome your thoughts and ideas.

Happy Holidays.

Enjoy and have a good weekend and final few weeks of the summer.

Mark

Thoughts to get you through almost any crisis

1. Indecision is the key to flexibility
2. You cannot tell which way the train went by looking at the track
3. There is absolutely no substitute for a genuine lack of preparation
4. Happiness is really the remission of pain
5. Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be
6. Sometimes too much drink is not enough
7. The facts, although interesting, are irrelevant
8. The careful application of fear is also a form of communication
9. Someone who thinks logically is a nice contrast to the real world
10. Things are more like they are today than we have ever been before
11. Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for
12. Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler
13. Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate
14. I have seen the truth and it makes no sense
15. All things being equal, big people use more soap
16. If you can smile when things go wrong, you have to have someone mind to blame
17. One-seventh of your life is spent on Monday
18. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends
19. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious
20. The more you run over a dead cat, the flatter it gets
21. There are always one more imbecile than you counted on
22. This is as bad as it gets, don’t bet on it
23. Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it
24. The trouble with life is, your halfway through it before you realize it’s a “do it yourself” thing
25. Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to your level and beat you with experience

Today Gartner, a research and advisory company also known for being a small Midwestern publishing company announced publication of a new magic quadrant.  “We are pleased to be able to announce, with this magic quadrant, that Gartner is bringing its cutting edge and deep market analysis to new areas,” announced a senior executive.  The new magic quadrant has enhanced features and focuses on new markets.

“Today’s environment of social media, cloud computing, mobile technology makes the world seem a magical place, particularly when you think about how clunky technology was even 20 years ago.” Said one executive announcing the new product.  “Arthur C. Clarke said that technology should be indistinguishable from magic, so since Gartner is the world’s leader in technology research and advice we now seek to become the world’s leader in magic research and advice.”   With that fan fare the new magic quadrant for magic was announced.  See figure below

You can see from the diagram several new features to the ‘magic’ quadrant.  First, Gartner has kept the axis of vision and ability to execute and it has retained its broad focus on all types of magic – after all the magic in this quadrant is  just that – magic.  We also have enhanced the quadrant model, adding a fifth quadrant that recognizes magicians who have deep and lasting influence on culture.  “This is a new feature and something we are proud of as our new magic quadrants provide 20% more coverage than our old quadrants”

When asked if there was more magic to come in future magic quadrants all company executives could do was repeat a phrase they learned from hosting symposium at Walt Disney World in Orlando – have a magical day!

So here is an analogy for IT.

IT is like a cheeseburger.

A cheeseburger?

Yes, when you think about IT as having multiple layers, the bun. Infrastructure, the beef hardware and software, the lettuce, mustard and ketchup which are the portals and end user application. All of these things are different, created by different processes from baking to grilling to harvesting. The different things, the different processed used to create a cheeseburger are a definition of diversity

They all have to come together to be delicious.

We talk about IT as a cheeseburger because IT now had to deliver both the meat required to run the enterprise and the enhanced experiences associated with what my brother calls super foods. This is the cheese and in some cases the bacon. My brother calls these super foods because adding them to just about anything makes them taste better. For a business your super foods are your sources of competitive attraction and competitive advantage.

Super food technologies include: mobility, social media, Saas, context computing, etc. Just like adding cheese or bacon to a hamburger, adding these things are not particularly expensive, but they add a lot to the value and excitement of the solution. They also turn an ordinary burger into a bacon cheeseburger.

It important to not that these super foods or super technologies do not stand well alone, but rather they require the infrastructure of the hamburger or your corporate systems. Social media, web 2.0, mobility and the like make no sense without the scale of your transaction systems. That is difference between a interesting and fun solution the generates interest without leading to results.

Likening IT to a cheeseburger provides a metaphor that can help in 2011 planning and deploying those plans as part of your work will involve creating a better burger and other parts will involve adding the super foods. Should we make it a double cheeseburger?

Unnamed sources in the Administration confirmed that the U.S. Government is preparing a full-scale take-over of the nation’s high tech industry.  “We know they did not receive bail-out money, but after autos, financial services, healthcare and student loans we asked what would be next?”

U.S. Government officials, including Aneesh Chopra, CTO and Vivek Kundra, CIO, could not be reached for comment.  President Obama, who carries a one of a kind ‘blackberry’ type device, was also not available.

When informed that much of the high tech industry’s manufacturing, design and support is provided outside of the U.S.; Administration officials were not upset.  “They make cars in Canada and Mexico, how different is that from making PC’s in China.”

In an unexplained move Administration plans do not include companies whose companies or products are named after fruit.  “The agricultural lobby is pretty strong and we did not want to upset them,” commented one official who was texting away.

Apple had no comment on this aspect of the plan, but confirmed a large shipment of iPads to the greater DC area as well as announcing that the next generation iPhone due in June would be renamed the “o”Phone.  Blackberry manufacturer, Research in Motion, reminded investors that they are a Canadian company.

When asked for comment, prominent tech execs on the west coast were at a loss.  “We were strong supporters during the campaign.  I even went to Oprah’s fundraiser so I am not sure why this is happening.”  Prices for gently owned corporate jets are expected to crash following the formal announcement, despite the fact that it’s a four-hour flight from the west coast to Washington.  “The auto execs only had to fly about 55 minutes,” commented one high tech exec, “this seems kind of unfair.”  Washington insiders report that video conferencing will not be allowed for oversight hearings despite protests lodged by Cisco and Polycom.  “Telepresence is not television,” a lobbyist with prior experience in this area pointed out.

Government officials offered few reasons for the take-over, but one official commented that move was intended to close the loop as many multi-national companies are working to keep data outside of the U.S. due to provisions of the Patriot Act.  ”Were taking a page from China, own 51% of the industry and there’s no place to run.” commented on Congressional staffer.

When asked about government plans for the high tech sector, unnamed officials pointed to the expected $8 billion dollar windfall from the government’s sale of Citigroup stock.  “If we can get that for 25% of a troubled bank, imagine what we can get for the entire tech sector.  This should take a pretty big byte out of the deficit,” the official chuckled.

In related stories:

• The domain Foxnews.com has been nationalized and placed behind the great firewall in China in exchange for loosening restrictions on Google.
• European Union scientists have announced that selective breading has improved the aerodynamic lift capability of swine to the point where its debatable if they can sustain flight by gliding along on thermal updrafts.
• The Audubon Society and Warner Brothers Studios filed suite against Twitter in a Delaware court citing copyright infringement for the term “tweet.”
• Jon Stewart will finally replace Brian Williams on the NBC Nightly news after Stewart beat Williams in an arm wrestling match officiated by Stephen Colbert.

Happy April 1^st.

History judges Presidents and their performance, but on this President’s day I would like to ask – how would they do as a CIO?

It is a frivolous question, but that does not mean it could not be fun.

So pick a president and let us know in your comments to this post on how you think they would do as a CIO?

It will just be for a day or two, and I look forward to restarting the blog soon  I hope that you enjoy reading it.
Thanks
Mark

I will refer to them as killer bathtubs because its attention grabbing and it is easy to see how someone getting out of the bath could slip and fall sustaining serious injury or even death.  Ok it is more about grabbing your attention.

BTW on the last trip like this I noticed how all ‘Nordic’ based cultures – including the UK do hot water in the shower better than anyone else, so there is no deep meaning to these observations.

You think I am kidding about this.

But when I raised the issue to a CIO in London he said, “Your lucky because your tall.  Imagine what its like for someone who is not so tall.”  Another CIO, an Irishman true to form, told me that having this problem meant that the hotels I was staying in are way too high class for me.

First a description of the tub.

In many hotels the bathtub also holds the shower, which is no big deal.  The big deal comes in the dimensions of the tub.  The wall of the tub is about 3 feet higher than the bathroom flow so you have a pretty big edge to step over to get in the tub. See the picture below to get an idea.  Inconvenient yes but manageable.

Next the floor of the tub is not even with the floor of the bathroom.  In fact, it is an average 8 – 12 inches higher than the floor.  So, while you have to climb over the 3-foot edge, your foot only goes down two feet before you are in the tub.  Not so bad, in fact it makes climbing in the tub a little like climbing a stair.  Soon with the other foot over you are in the tub and ready to go.  The tub itself is narrow about 3 to 3.5 feet wide at the top that narrows to about 2 feet at the bottom of the tub.  The graphic below illustrates provides an edge on view.

In case you are wondering I am writing this on an airplane ride on a Sunday so it can be argued that I do not have anything else to do.

I am sure that makes for a great bath, but from a shower perspective it means that you have to keep your feet next to each other while showering – or at least I have to keep my size 13 feet together to have them fit in the tub.  So far, not bad a little cramped and the showerhead is sometimes too low for me, but hey it is Europe and you need to make adjustments.

Finishing your shower now means thinking about how are going to get out of the tub and this is where its true porcelain sinister nature arrives.

The tub is like a pitcher plant.  The pitcher plant traps insect by luring them into its bulb and then making it impossible for the insect to escape.

The tub has lured you in with the promise a good hot shower.  It has delivered that promise and now it has you trapped, feet firmly together, we, without your glasses (a big deal in my case) you have to get out.

Getting out is not as simple as getting in.

First you have to lift your foot up the two feet to get over the edge, but now it has to travel down three feet to the floor.

You are already off balance.

Your feet, which used to be pushed together, are now apart and your center of gravity is straddling over the three-foot high side of the tub.

Your one wet foot is standing on a marble floor at least a foot below you other wet foot which is still in the tub.

It’s a good thing there are not web cam in the bathroom, or at least I really hope there is not a web cam filming this transition.

Half in and half out, here is when you look around for hand holds to help you transfer your weight up, across and then down to the floor.  You see in the picture below that there are handholds, but more for getting in the tub than getting out.  The design of an effective trap, lots of help to get in, little to get out.

Needless to say, getting out the tub is not graceful.  It is usually punctuated with a brief thought of what you would do if you fell, how silly you would look and how much damage a fall would do.

You make it out.  It is a little awkward.  The transition gives you just the right amount of activity to get your pulse going in the morning.  You are out alive and ready to start the day.

You look back at the tub, not this time my friend. It is a new day and you start it knowing that there is another city coming and another tub waiting.

Hope you enjoyed the post.

Look at the web and you will see that the issue of electronic medical records is described as largely a technology problem.  Wikipedia’s entry reads like a software compatibility discussion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_medical_records While the technical challenges of electronic records are daunting, technology alone will not realize the value and benefits attributed to moving information from paper to disk.

Our family doctor has used electronic medical records since we started going to him more than five years ago.  It has been interesting to see how the presence of electronic information has changed the way they practice medicine and how they handle patients.  Their experience offers an example of how electronic medical record technology has evolved and how one practice is applying this technology to change patient service.

When we switched doctors back in 2004, we immediately noticed the lack of paper.  You signed in at the front desk, made your co-payment and were then taken to an examination room.  There were more exam rooms than normal and no central office space consumed with racks of records.  The office space layout was clear

In 2004, the practice used wireless devices as the primary input device for electronic medical records.  At the start the medical staff and doctors used handheld devices to input information.  Through a combination of handwriting recognition and stylus based data entry, the doctor captured our medical record. 

While the technology was interesting, the impact on patient care was not immediately evident.  However, over time the impact of electronic medical records started to become evident.  The impact came not from having electronic records, but rather incorporating information into the way the doctor’s office worked and the physician’s delivered care.

First was the scheduling accuracy of future appointments.  The office had a keen understanding of the available appointment slots as well as the doctor’s progress through the day.  I cannot recall having to wait for more than 10 minutes before seeing a doctor.  

At the same time, there was no redundant data entry.  Your identifying information of name and birth date gave the office access to all of your information.  Insurance claim filing was electronic and handled by the office.  When we needed to see a specialist, information was transmitted electronically without the need to redefine ourselves to the other doctor.

Increased office efficiency can be expected from turning paper-based information into electronic files.  This office did more than capture information they integrated information into their office processes from records management to scheduling to billing. 

Second, electronic records have changed the way the doctor interacted with us as patients.  Electronic records enabled the doctor to keep track of our vital signs over time.  He sees the data in control chart form and can readily comment about the overall trends.  This gives him the ability to offer preventative advice based on my personal condition rather than generalities.

The electronic record enable him to ask about myself, recent activities and even ask about my family.  The records do not violate their privacy.  He used the record to know what college the kids were at and how they were doing.  The doctor used this information to make the visit personal, memorable and more encouragement to follow the course of recommended treatment.

Effective medical care requires more than automating medical records or transforming paper files into networked information.  Medical processes, procedures and structures will need to move beyond their current manufacturing based models to serve individual patents as the t group outcomes they represent.

As I attend conferences a few patterns emerge.  One is that on the last day of a multi-day event the conference planners inevitably serve Fajitas to the attendees, particularly in the U.S.  Its quick, its easy, and it gives you something to do with the roast and chicken served at the inevitable gala banquet the night before.  This has given rise to the term “fajita day” at least in my mind.  It is kind of like the fat lady singing, but updated to our multi-cultural world with no malice to gender, or weight condition but with a memorable focus on food.

Fajita day as it reminds me I will be having dinner at home that night.  Fajita day is a way the world has of telling you that something is coming to an end and that its time to move on.

So what is on your fajita day list? 

What are the things where the time has come to stop?

What are the things that you need to start?