• Choice Computing
• Social Media
• BigData
• Cloud Computing

My intention is to keep these post short and to the point.  The question today is can you see how these 4 topics inter-releate?

Just a note here before we get started, I was asked the question “what is Choice Computing”?  It occurred to me that perhaps while i find some of this self evident other do not.  So before we begin, Lets define some termonology.

• Choice Computing

Choice Computing centers on the axiom that consumers are no longer bound to the PC.  That they can access their assets through any devices that they choose.  This is also becoming known as the post PC era, as other devices are squeezing out the traditional PC experience for more dynamic and light weight application.  Most of these application are being used by consumers, and are just now infiltrating the corporate scene.  Examples of choice computing include (PC, Tablet, Phone, integrated interfaces)

• Social Media (wikipedia)

The term social media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.”^[1] Social media are media for social interaction, as a superset beyond social communication, but mainly still communicating just interactively using ubiquitously accessible and scalable communication techniques.

• BigData (Wikipedia)

Big data^[1] are datasets that grow so large that they become awkward to work with using on-hand database management tools. Difficulties include capture, storage,^[2] search, sharing, analytics,^[3] and visualizing. This trend continues because of the benefits of working with larger and larger datasets allowing analysts to “spot business trends, prevent diseases, combat crime.”^[4] Though a moving target, current limits are on the order of terabytes, exabytes and zettabytes of data.^[5] Scientists regularly encounter this problem in meteorology, genomics^[6] ,connectomics, complex physics simulations ^[7], biological and environmental research ^[8], Internet search, finance and business informatics. Data sets also grow in size because they are increasingly being gathered by ubiquitous information-sensing mobile devices, aerial sensory technologies (remote sensing)”software logs, cameras, microphones, RFID readers, wireless sensor networks and so on.”^[9][10]

• Cloud Computing (Wikipedia)

Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.^[1]

Social Media

First Social Media, arguable the oldest of these, this has changed how we think about leveraging our own information; it has altered fundamentally how we use the internet, and how we communicate with one another.  This has changed the paradigm from from a files to people interaction , and made it about people to people communication as the primary mechanism for using a “computer”

This social media phenomena has created and or necessitated the need for more dynamic devices, (iphone, ipad, blackberry, etc etc etc)  This has been one of the  pivotal forces that is driving Choice Computing. It was necessitated by the need to continually update our social media outlets.  ( I feel that there is also a social inflection point, but I’ll digress into that topic later)

The social media paradigm has changed the world, no question about it, but we are just entering a transformative phase.  Just look at the introduction of google+ and the next Microsoft Bing offering.  I know it, and they know it.  They also realize that it is not just social media, but the combination with the other 4. I know I know I’m getting there.

Bigdata

Companies like Hadoop are off the charts with their analytical capabilities, Apple announced their cloud solution, for their ipads, iphones, and computers further giving users options for their choice computing needs. Bing and Google+ are in their infancy, and surely will have an evolutionary impact to these topics.

This inflection point system is like an IT supercharger.  Successful companies can see this ecosystem, even if they don’t understand the complexly they are already embracing parts of the ecosystem with the hopes of figuring it out on the fly. Other companies are in denial thinking that this is all a fad.

My recommendation, watch the companies that are at a minimum trying to innovate in any of these areas.  Much of our history has been made up of  companies that invested / innovated, or had any ability to foresee the changes are still here today. Those that didn’t are no longer here.  Those that can invest and innovate leveaging this inflection system will be well served.

TF

Let us start the discussion on defining an inflection point. An inflection point is data point on a curve that changes the direction of the curve, (at least that is the mathematical explanation) What people fail to realize is that that point could cause the trend to ramp up, or ramp down. (Insert graphs)

Outside of the mathematical context we look at inflection points as those events that change the very nature of the world an industry or possibly a product. When we look back through history we can pick out several inflection points that have changed the course of our history. Not all inflection points are good.

Positive Inflection points
• Civil Rights Movement with MLK
• America Declaring its Independence
• Discovery of gunpowder

Negative Inflection Points
• Hitler
• Enron Scandal

Through out history there have been critical junctures, but those inflection points that have created the largest change were due to multiple points that change the curve. It are those inflection systems that have created the most change.

Inflection Point System: An Example
Take the industrial revolution, this didn’t occur based on one inflection point, it was a combination of inflection points.

• Ability to Leverage Fossil Fuels
• Mechanized assemble lines (thanks Mr. Ford)
• Various Wars

There are more but the industrial revolution is best left for another discussion. The simple fact is, that the industrial revolution came to be based on several inter-related inflection points. Or what I’ll term an inflection system.

Having been a student of history, we can take what we know and apply it to the realm of technology. I’ll be so bold as to say that there are a variety of events that are converging to create a new “inflection system” that will revolutionize the field of information technology. We are at the convergence of several inflection points.

If we look at more modern times we must look for inflection points so that we can to the best of our ability prepare for the future.

What makes this time fascinating is both the speed, and complexity of these inflection points.
For the moment lets simplify and identify what those inflection points are:
• Choice Computing
• Social Media
• BigData
• Cloud Computing

While any one of these could be transformative, the convergence of these inflection points into an inflection system will revolutionize our world.

In this series I will focus on three topics:
1. How all of these inflection points are interrelated
2. Potential impacts
3. How do you prepare your business.

I should note that some of these inflection points are not new, and that some of these concepts have been around for a couple of years. However that isn’t the argument. What I see is that over the next 12 -36months we will be living in a transformative world. A world where we are just scratching the surface of the transformation.

TF

The conversation ebbed and flowed through the conceptual similarities of our jobs,  He being a rep for the best cycling brand in the land, and myself leading a Strategic Consulting group for EMC.

Lets set the stage right.

1. We both work out of our homes

2. We both travel extensivly

3. We both are continually plugged in.

The Epiphany is that in these types of jobs there is no such thing as a 40 hour work week.  “How do you figure late night support calls from dealers in to the typical week”, or the fact that your traveling in “off hours”

To be clear this wasn’t a bitch fest, and we weren’t complaining.  More comparing today’s work paradigm to the bygone era of our forefathers.

My experience with a bygone Era:

I grew up with my father working your typical 8-5 job at Big Blue.  It was pretty regimented, he got up the same time every day, spent 20 minutes looking for his keys, wallet, and badge then headed into work, and was generally home by 5:30 or 6:00pm.

Even when i had the pleasure of working at York International, it was a similar routine, but there was still quite a bit of travel, late nights, and weekends, that you probably wouldn’t have found 30 years ago.

What has changed

I feel the fundemental shift has come through these factors:

1. Technology:

Everything from cell phones, email, twitter, even the new FaceBook video keeps us connected.  It is so easy to check your email late in the evening and get embroiled into a conversation, or looking up facts to support the quarterly numbers, or …. that we find ourselves extending the work day past the kids bed time.

2. Globalization:

I know for myself and other in my organization this is a huge factor.  Just taking evening calls to support the West Coast sometimes puts one in a grumpy mood, but that is a convenience when your talking about APJ.   I have colleagues in EMEA, who’s global roles require them to support the world as well. So Double shifts, and awaking at stupid hours of the night to take a call are not uncommon.

3. Organizational Expectation

I’ve worked for bosses who demanded you work the weekend, or called at will at 10pm just to see if they could get things from you.  Organizational cultures have and do play a huge factor in this area.  If your boss is a workaholic be careful that your not going to be called upon to work unreasonable hours.

My advice:

1. Love what you do.  Working this much you need to be fully wedded to your profession or job.  If not misery will surely set in.

2. Define boundaries. Your company won’t do this for you.  So you have to do it for yourself.  As an example. I rarely go in my home office after dinner.  That is time set aside for the family, dinner, bed time stories, time with the wife.  I’ve also made working through those times the rare exception.

3. Unplug during vacations: Myself, I generally boat or camp, when on vacation, the most convenient thing about those two activities is generally the fact that there is no internet, and no cellular coverage.  I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to unplug even if for only a couple of days.

The fact is, unless you manage your own time, and set your own boundaries, no one else will.  Do yourself a favor and make some changes to keep you sane!

Finally if you feel that you can’t and doing anything along these lines would jeopardize your job, then perhaps it is time to find another one.

@stickboybike thanks for the Frappe, next time it is on me!

Tim

Oh sure your going to say that isn’t true, but the reality of the situation is that we can’t, but we can “time slice” rather efficiently.

Lets take an example,  how about that sales lady that tells you she is listening to you while she pounds away on her blackberry. If you (or I) felt for a second humans were born with the innate ability to multitask you wouldn’t feel the slightest offense of her not providing you with her full attention.  I know we have all had the experience where after she tells you she is listening while pounding out an urgent email, upon finishing she struggles to pick up the conversation you were trying to have.  Slyly asking questions, where in the end you have to start over from the beginning.

The reality of the situation is that as human beings we only have the ability to focus singularly on any task at hand.  It is why it is so important when dealing with people face to face, in meetings, dinner engagements that you focus on the person across the table.

Any Covey, Allen or other self-help book, will make this point, that when interacting with others give them you full attention.  This goes for both business and social.

So lets take this post to focus on the typical business meeting setting.

In the business meeting setting here are a couple of tips. (note these tips can also apply to the diner table as well)

Meeting Etiquette – Participant:

1. Turn off you phone: This will prevent you from looking at it every 30 seconds during a meeting (which is very rude) It will also disable any sounds the phone will make alerting you to a new message. That new message tone is like dangling crack in-front of a crack addict
2. Close the computer.  Sure I know, Ihear it all the time “I’m taking notes” Sure you are. that is why your head is buried into screen as you not so slyly hit reply and send with the intent goal of cleaning out you in box.
3. Stay engaged in the discussion Regardless of the technological distractions the fundamental principle should be to stay engaged in the conversation.
4. Excuse yourself, If you do have to take a call (i.e. your girlfriend is in labor with your love child)  Just get up and leave the room, if you know your expecting that call position yourself close to the door.  But most importantly when you rejoin the meeting shut your mouth and listen.  Don’t start asking questions to be brought up to speed immediately.  Relax, listen to the meeting, and if you were paying attention in the first place you should be able to get back into the discussion naturally.

So that is great, but meeting etiquette isn’t always about the person enduring the meeting it is also about the presenter or facilitator.

Meeting Etiquette – Facilitator:

1. Be Prepared : If your not prepared it shows.  You’ll fumble through the content, it will be disjointed, and you’ll loose people immediately.
   • Prepare and Agenda – People want to know that the meeting isn’t wasting their time.
   • Prepare the content of the meeting: slides, handouts, etc
   • Get to the room 5 minutes early to connect to the AV Equipment
2. Don’t kill people with PowerPoint.  If you are just going to read the slides what is the point of the meeting?  Use the slides as supplemental to your meeting (graphs, pictures, illustrations)  Stay away from slides filled with words your gonna read.
3. Don’t take an hour to make a 10 minute point. If all you need in your meeting is 10 or 15 minutes don’t try and spread the content to fill an entire hour.  Be clear and concise and give people their time back

As the presenter or facilitator have your stuff together.  Don’t waste people’s time that is worse than the participant checking their email and twittering about how bad the meeting is.

Be respectful and focus on the people first.

TF

For the past several months I have been traveling more than usual to build a new team her in the us. We have relaunched our strategic business team and I have done what most people have to do in such a position. That is build the demand. While doing this I have had another moment of enlightenment.

As i look at my peers in these roles I find success for some have been fleeting, others have built fine reputations and few have done enough things well enough to be considered successful.

Most of the time I see Individuals do the same thing over and over and over. After all that is what you would expect as humans are creatures of habits. And at the end of the day you want to hire people with habits that will allow your company to be successful. But you also see people do the same things over and over in the same job or different jobs expecting the same results. They just soldier on.

As I look forward perhaps it is time to look at things through a different lens and let go of the comfort zone.

As I read the daily news today I noted on twitter that alaska airlines has adopted the iPad in favor of 25 lb paper manuals. Hummm choice computing intersects with classic document management. How soon will it be before companies are doing this with out a second thought.

How many company CEO’s are thinking about the ramifications of twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets. How about the concept that email is starting to look very long in the tooth.

These are just some of the future glimpses we have of how the IT world is advancing and not just for the sake of technology but because it is how people want to Interface with information and other people.

It is time to lock and load on a vision for your company.

Tim

It frustrates me when people come and are continually in the mode “see what I’ve done”  or “I’ve got this degree”  or i was ….

The reality into todays business is about how you apply that capacity to your current and future tasks.  How can you take your talents and apply them to move your existing situation forward. That is the real challenge today.

So many times i find people that cling to their past.  It is apparent that this impedes their chances of moving forward in their current position, or within their organizations.

Then there are the people that have the confidence in what they do, their skills, and their ability to think on their feet and solve today’s and tomorrow’s problems.

look at the people around your organization.   The assumption is that those who are in management, or moving up the corporate ladder are those that looking forward.  Sure there are those who suck up, and such.

For your own career, think about how you look forward.  If you find yourself talking about the past, think about how you should solve today’s problems instead

T

Tip 1: Travel Light

If you don’t use something that you’ve packed, make sure you remove it for the next time you travel.

This comes from my days backpacking,  Keep it light.  If i didn’t use something even if i thought it was essential when I packed it, then apparently it wasn’t all that essential.  Thus when I would get home from a camping trip I would remove it from the pack.

The same is true for business travel.  If you don’t use something in your briefcase, remove it and leave it at home.  Not only will your back thank you, but it also makes it easier to maneuver your cases into small spaces.

Tip 2:  Consolidation.

This goes hand in hand with tip 1, but consolidate devices.  I’ve had the pleasure to travel with the foremost authority on xCP for our Asia training, and the first trip to India, he had brought several external hard drives, hubs, cables etc.  (all of which had been used), however in subsequent trips he consolidated the content on the hard drives to thumb drives. He also set up a server that people could remotely connect to so that he doesn’t have to carry the hub and cables.

This also goes to those who have e-readers, ipods, etc.  Maybe it is time to invest in a tablet such as an iPad.  One device vs. seveal is always better.  And hey, i just gave you a way to justify the purchase of a new gadget with your significant other.

Tip 3: Stop feeling entitled.

Why this is mostly physiological, it is the biggest thing you can do to lower your travel stress.  I travel a lot, and before each trip I spend a few minutes getting myself mentally prepared for the travel, the hassle, and the TSA groping sessions.  I think about what to expect, think ahead about what to do if I’m delayed, or if i don’t get my upgrade.  I expect to be in coach, i expect that i’m going to have to deal with problems, and i try not to feel like I’m entitled to services.

It amazes me how many people feel that they are entitled to to business class, as soon as they get to silver preferred on their airline.  I just would love to say, “listen rookie, shut your cake hole and suck it up.  you need to pay your dues.”  While my company won’t pay for business class tickets even on long haul flights to Asia, it is a great convenience to be upgraded, but it doesn’t always happen.  That is the reality, they don’t buy business class, if i decided that is to much for me to bear, i’ll find a different job, but i try not to complain, as everyone knows that sucks.  Bottom line, i don’t and your fellow travelers don’t want to hear you complain about your situation.  If you don’t like your situation then fix it yourself.

Tip 4:  Be Prepared

Always have a contingency plan.  I have just about every airport either bookmarked, or on speed dial (Hilton at o’hare), I try and fly into airports, where if i can’t make a connection, i would be able to drive. (mostly on the East Coast).  Many times i’ve gotten into Washington and or Philly and my connection was cancelled and found myself behind the wheel of a rental (also on speed dial).

In those cases, it is my own personal SOP.  If i can’t make the connection, I’m going to get dinner and crash at the hotel, and start again in the morning.  Sure there are cases where I have to call the priority number for united to get a seat on the next flight to make a meeting, but  in general having a plan or SOP will lower your stress, and allow you to just adjust and adapt.

If you have any other tips, please post a comment, and let us know, I always enjoy finding out new tricks.

Tim

“We judge others on their action(s), but judge ourselves on our intentions”

Think about that for the moment……

A couple of thoughts:

Think about that double standard, we don’t hold ourselves to the same standard we hold others too?

How many conversations have you had with some one who said:

• I meant to follow up
• I meant to run that report
• I meant to send out the notes
• I meant to attend that meeting.
• I had every intention of seeing them one last time.

The reality of the fact is that we need to hold ourselves to the same standards we hold others too.  If someone doesn’t show up to a meeting even though they meant too be there, the reality is they weren’t at the meeting.  The same goes for us.  We must stop using our good intentions as excuses.

It is pervasive in our culture today that intention = action, and that just isn’t the case…  You don’t read about intentions in the history books.

Winston Churchill didn’t intend on defending England in WWII he acted, and we read about those actions in history.

You never hear or read or give a second thought to anyone who intends on doing something, yet that is how we judge ourselves.

Bottom line… Intentions don’t add up to anything more than ones own self delusion.

So how can you get out of this bad habit?

I think it is pretty simple.

1. Start with a list of actions that need to get done.
2. Check them off as you complete them
3. Catch yourself you use any of the phrases

• I meant to
• I should
• maybe

Take responsibility for your own actions,  I’m not saying that you need to do everything, you need to adjust do the things you need to , and want to, and say no to those things you don’t.

Finally remember that the road to hell is paved with “good” intentions.

T

Yes it is true it is 2011 in case you’ve missed it.  As I’m back to work like most,  I took time to ponder this holiday on what was important.  Sure Religion (God), Family, Friends, and my apple tv, topped my important list.  However there was one other item that seemed should be on that list as well.  Relevance… What? why?  think about it for a second we all want to be relevant.  We all want our opinions to not only be heard but also be relevant to the situation.   We want to impact the business we are in, and we want to be relevant for our families.

Professionally this year I pondered the ups and downs of the year.  When I felt that I was adding the most value to the company (relevance) things seemed to be going well, when things seemed to slip a bit, i felt disconnected from the mother ship, (less relevant).    While much of this is my own perception, I think one needs to be astute on how connected they are to their job.

But the real question is how can you become more connected?  Well sure hard work and results is part of it, but that does not insure a sense of connectedness and only leads to temporary relevance.  The key to relevance is the ability to understand people, and the only way to understand people is through relationships.  One of the themes i noticed over 2010 is that people lacked the vision of our organization, that they felt that they didn’t know where the company was going.  This lead to rumors and much in terms of false information.  They also blame the leadership team on not communicating.  However there were quite a few people that knew exactly what was going on and what was being done.

The few that knew, got the communication from the leadership team, but also more context through their relationships.  This gave them a sense of ease so that they could focus on their job and not waste cycles speculating.

There are a couple of parts to becoming Relevant:

1. Relationships
2. Performance
3. Fortitude

The simple fact is that you need to have all three things to become relevant. First and foremost you must develop relationships.  This doesn’t just mean connecting to people on facebook and linkedin (not that you shouldn’t do that). Relationships focus on real tangible interactions.

• Take a colleague out for lunch or a beer.
• Take time out at a seminar to meet with subject matter experts
• When traveling don’t eat alone.

Note that not all of these activities center around your own company.  It is better to focus on relationships in a broader sense, you never know when someone you network with will have your next golden opportunity.

Performance is simple.  You have to be a solid performer.  It adds to your credibility, and people will spend time investing in you if they think you have potential.  You can not have relevance in your job if you don’t perform..

Fortitude,  you have to want to be relevant.  You can’t just say hey look at me i’m a performer i should be relevant.. You must go out and seek it, you need to put energy into your relationships and your work while continuing to grow. People won’t invest in you only you can invest in you.

T

The whole conversation revolved around his deep conviction that their technology was at the for front of their industry.  He seemed to able to articulate the value of the architecture, how well it could be integrated etc. etc. He went on and on about the technical value proposition.

Once he got his lack of sales off of his mind, i asked a simple question.  It thought he was going to reach across the table and slap me.  But I ask “so what makes your software relevant” .. He said, “God Damn if Fives I just spent 20 minutes telling you”   Fortunate  for me I have an infectious laugh, ( and i agreed to pick up the tab) that he didn’t get pummel me.  After he calmed I said maybe the fact that your software is technical superior to everything else is irrelevant.  Perhaps you should focus on the business value your solution produces for your clients.

There was a long pause..

It would seem that a lot of technologist that get to run / or market their solutions, get so wrapped up in the technology they forget the value it really brings to bear.

We spent the rest of the lunch developing a new markets pitch and strategy.

Even within my own eco-system i find it frustrating when people talk about business strategy, or business in general, the mean the opposite of technology.

For example I am looking for business consultants for a venture i am working on, and a colleague was like we have them already, perhaps i said, but do you mean we have people with business consulting backgrounds, or people that just aren’t techies?  Just because some isn’t technical doesn’t automatically mean that they have a high business acumen.