The Cultural Victory

As the dominant software company across the industry, Microsoft has done both good and bad. In the past, they've been investigated for anti-competitive practices. There are times when the Microsoft Way seems to be "steal it, or buy the company and own it...or steal it then buy it if they sue".

Lately I'm beginning to think that Microsoft isn't trying to succeed by putting down its competition: it seems to be succeeding simply by building a better product. If you can trace how technologies like SQL Server 2008 and SharePoint have grown, you start to get part of a bigger picture for them that more resembles the American Dream: ideas, innovation, and energy.

On the other hand, Microsoft's Hall of Shame probably won't have a Vista wing that's as large as, say, the Aisle of Windows Me or the Microsoft Bob Exhibit. The biggest mistakes with Vista were, in my opinion:

1) taking 7 years to build the product, and still having it be so buggy and incompatible on launch; and
2) vendors having 7 years to learn how to write good drivers, and failing to do so.

Both are more shameful if you believe in the "Microsoft was just copying the Mac OS" philosophy: copying someone else's idea means a chance to outdo the competition by learning from their mistakes.

At the end of the day, if you're a company as far-reaching as Microsoft, impacting as many people as you do, youre best-case scenario is to celebrate your successes, own your failures, and learn from both.

Regardless, I'm now hopeful that hope Windows 7 will be less "Copy the Mac" and more "Build a better product."

Computerworld magazine columnist Paul Glen posted an article about how passionate employees aren't a good thing ("Hip-hip hooray for the Passionless", Aug. 10, 2009). In it, he states that employees who are passionate about their jobs can be bad: they wax and wane and that makes their productivity inconsistent and their passion unpredictable. He also suggests that talk of "Passionate employees" is usually the work of managers trying to brag about their leadership skills.

It's easy to peg "passion" as bipolar when you're using a sliding scale. Humans have good and bad days, productive and not-so-productive ones. That doesn't make them dispassionate.
If you define passion as, "Enjoying what you do," it's a lot easier to recognize that passion in the workplace is not about going above and beyond: it's about enjoying what you do, just enough to care about what you do.

The last thing you're going to want in the technology game is passionless drones. They seem to accomplish consistently, but the truth is they barely get by. In IT, it's dangerous for your shop to have people who would be no more excited creating code or helping others than they would be throwing newspapers or mopping floors. I'm seeing that problem now, and morale and productivity are in the tank because of it.

The Computerworld article:

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/341344/Two_Cheers_for_the_Passionless

The Wheelbarrow of Cash

Cost Analysis does not turn anyone's crank. The word itself is dry and flat.

Most people don't realize that Cost Analysis is not only a necessary evil, but it's also seldom done correctly.

The best justification for an expenditure is that it sits smack in the middle of the needs pyramid: it's cheap, it can be done fast, and it can be done right.

The worst justification for an expenditure is the phrase, "Because we've always done it this way."

Either way, the most important question to ask yourself is, "Do we really need it?"

If you're renewing licenses that don't help you, or you're paying contracts that barely meet your needs, it's time to look elsewhere. The looking costs time and money too, but in the end, cost analysis is all about ROI. And ROI is never a one-time snapshot: it's an ongoing look at what you're getting back for your commitment.

Climbing Aboard the Starship Enterprise

If you are a large organization, you breathe a huge sigh of relief when you adopt technology.

Then the headaches kick in.

A new version comes out. One upgrade broke another system...until you bought that upgrade too. Now your employees need new machines: the old ones are just so slow.

By the way, the good news is, there's a new Operating System to buy. The bad news is, it's full of bugs and security holes.

Uh-oh--security! I bet you didn't give IT Security a second thought when you put all this together back in the '90s. You slapped McAfee on everything and called it a day, right? Oh, dear--you need firewalls. And countermeasures. Hrm...but you also need to make sure the guards don't punish the peasants: let the right people pass in and out of the gates, and keep the wrong people out. Don't forget to keep an eye on everyone so no one's sneaking your goods through the gates: your enemy pays a high price for your intellectual gold.

What to do with all this growth? "Go Enterprise", they say. The word "Enterprise" signifies a bold business venture. It's both Star Trek and an aircraft carrier--sounds pretty robust.
Enterprise IT is robust. The simplest explanation is this: it manages big systems, in a big way, by thinking big.

And requires you to chuck everything out the window and start over. Really, when IT scales to the Enterprise, it's a good idea to build out the entire infrastructure for an Enterprise scale of operations, and it's a bad idea to try to get there by just bolting on pieces-parts to an existing system.

This is when you start to realize that the NASCAR way is not your way: you don't need a ton of stickers on your Formula One, you just want a couple. No, I don't need Microsoft, SAP, HP/Compaq, Cisco, Symantec, IBM, and some third-party vendors to wander around tinkering with things: just Dell and Microsoft will do. Maybe some Cisco to tie it all together.

Time for another huge sigh of relief: the system is done. It's out there for everybody--Intranet, Internet, Extranet.

So now what? Time to sit back, and reflect. No, really--reflection is good for the soul. Amidst that hive of activity, there are a lot of busy bees bumping heads. You need to turn your gaze inwards. Work that Enterprise system to build a better Enterprise. Use Reporting to tell you what everyone's doing, and how it's working out. Use Analytics to uncover how they're doing it, and see if maybe they could be doing it better.

Are you ready for the challenge? Because the last thing you want to do is outsource it. Vendors will line up at your door if you say you need Business Process Reengineering, and they'll eagerly drop all those buzzwords that got you into IT in the first place: "out of the box", "robust", "turnkey", "integrated" and of course, the twins: "zero configuration" and "high ROI".

At the end of the day, nobody cares about your company like you do. Care enough to find good people who'll commit to the Enterprise. Bring them in, put them to work, and treat them well. You'll find that everything you do isn't as disposable as it once seemed. You'll see that there's a price for dumping developers back in the ocean and fishing around for more. It costs time and money to jettison Project Managers and have the new one rebuild political bridges. And no one knows your systems like your Analysts do. They're the ones who understand your users, and figure out how your IT can serve them.

More headaches? Well, yes and no. More of a brief aftershock, followed by an epiphany. You'll know that an Enterprise-level company deserves a system to match. And you'll see that everyone being on the same page will always serve the Emperor better than a land of fiefdoms.

Another Man's Shoes, Soon to be Empty

As tough as things were, I was surprised at my new job to find someone who had it tougher. This was a place of job security, of easy, relaxed complacency: nobody scream, you'll get things done, just do your best and take your time.



It's never a perfect world. No bunnies or unicorns bringing you candy and carrying you off to dreamland. He stood there at the team-building event, where he was asked to talk about himself, and talked about other people. About how grateful he was that he had their help, and that they'd helped him cope with his personal battles, even though this was a workplace, and these things aren't supposed to be aired in a "professional" environment.



He'd spent the past year dying. He still came to work. Even when he had to be driven home. Even when his boss finally said, "Go home and get well, so you can come back to us sooner." All of us knowing that wasn't going to be what happened.



He has 6 weeks to live. Maybe. And he's still sending thank-yous down the grapevine, for all the cards and the well-wishes.



Thank you, my friend. For being positive. For knowing that that's truly the only way to make the most of your time.

The Crisis of the Mind

In the whirlwind of economic failures, IT has become a shitstorm. The field was cruel and greedy enough before the sudden purges.

What is important to remember is this: it's not you. You're in this field because you're willing to stand strong. No matter how hard it gets, know that at some point you're going to look back on these times and be pleased that they're gone. And remember how you got through them all right.

Stand strong. You wouldn't have a resume if you didn't have something to sell.

If it ain't broke...we can't sell it?

I don't understand why Microsoft completely revamped IIS 7.0, changing the security model from the ground up.

I think it's the old saw about "Job Security": everyone having to start over once in a while keeps them from being able to say, "We don't need to upgrade--it's the same old, same old...".

Plus it sells more books.