IT careers

President Obama’s back-to-school speech tells students to pursue technology. What’s your advice?

President Obama’s back-to-school speech has stirred up a bit of controversy even before he’s given it (it’s set for noon EST today), but the transcript (see below) has him sticking to the fundamentals: Work hard, stay in school, wash your hands, he will admonish the nation’s schoolchildren. At least, the ones whose schools participate.

He also urges students to forget making their millions by “rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star,” and instead focus on more practical pursuits, including careers in technology. “Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other,” he is set to say. “Come up with the next iPhone.”

So if America’s going to have a new generation of technophile careerists, what’s it going to take to make it on top? What’s your advice for the next generation, particularly if they want to make a career in a technology field? Let me know at Michael@ITKnowledgeExchange.com or join the discussion below.

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How do you cut through the crap to get work done?

An article on Harvard Business Review tackled a very real problem today: Cutting through the inevitable corporate cruft to simplify your work day and get your job done. But the recipe the article’s author, Ron Ashkenas, has cooked up sounds like one designed to create more conflict than anything else:

How many times have you gone to a meeting that lacked an agenda or a clear set of objects — and didn’t do anything about it? How often have you received unnecessary email or reports — but didn’t let the senders know that they were clogging up your inbox? How often have you sat through a presentation with too many slides, unclear points, and too much data — but didn’t provide any feedback to the presenter? And how often have you been the perpetrator of these complexity-causing behaviors without anyone pushing back on you?

We all allow these things to happen. Often, we’re guilty of doing them. But since most people dislike confrontation, we let things slide. It’s an unspoken conspiracy: “I won’t challenge you if you won’t challenge me.” The net result is that we unwittingly create a culture of complexity.

Ok, boring presentations are a waste of time, but isn’t finger pointing and clique building (The second piece of advice: Build an informal “simplicity support group” of like-minded peers) what wastes the most corporate time in the first place? Tell your boss he’s clogging up your inbox or berate a subordinate for making “unclear points” and using “too much data,” and you’re pretty much guaranteed to violate the No Asshole Rule, and employees will spend more time grumbling than getting things done.

Fortunately, there’s a lot of solid productivity advice out there, and ITKnowledgeExchange and its sister TechTarget sites have a number of tips to give you a Conan the Barbarian-like focus on the task at hand. I’ve culled through the archives plus some reader suggestions to get you started:

1. Trust your subordinates. As Yusuf Salwati reminds us, just because you can do everything doesn’t mean you should. He advises executives hire a skilled personal assistant to screen e-mails and phone calls, make travel arrangements and keep you organized. But even if you don’t have the money or position for a personal assistant, it’s important to trust others to do their job, even if they’re doing it differently than you would.
2. Collaborate smarter. Karen Guglielmo noted that not finding information costs companies $3,300 per year per employee! The problem isn’t too much data, it’s not having the right data in the right place at the right time. And if you don’t believe IDC’s data, Eric Golden, CEO of Equipios, said his company has saved $65,000 savings in recurring costs by better tapping into collaborative tools.
3. Results first. Don’t forget what you, or your company, are there for. As Caroline Hunter reported, last year’s Usenix conference attendees were in an uproar over shoddily thought-out “productivity” tools. One worker complained he “had to take five hours to complete a report, then include those five hours in the report,” Hunter wrote.
4. It’s about time. Peter Radizeski suggested a timer, a simple tool Google uses to keep meetings on track. Jonathan Lieberman and Yaw Etse had similar thoughts, suggesting reading The Four-Hour Work Week for advice on cutting out pointless meetings and mindless distractions while pursuing your goals — without annoying the rest of your company. Julie Geng had similar thoughts, suggesting users unplug from the Internet to stay focused. Meanwhile, Eric Anderson suggests shifting your work to the most productive hours (in his case, the evening).

So, workaday warrior, what are your tips for hacking through red tape and, against your company’s best efforts, being truly productive? Share in the ITKE forums or e-mail me your productivity horror stories and triumphs. I’d love to hear and share them.

Manage enterprise data, boost your IT career or let loose an IT rant

Introducing three new community blogs on IT Knowledge Exchange. If you’re involved in enterprise data management, looking to boost your IT career with certification or additional education or would simply like to share an IT rant — then these blogs have you covered.

Please join me in welcoming our newest bloggers…

Enterprise Data Management, by Wynand van Zyl
Data is a corporate asset and there is a need in most companies to better understand, protect and exploit it for business benefits. This blog journals my thoughts on data management and information management, data architecture development and how to align them to your business strategy.

IT Career JumpStart, by Ed Tittel
Do you feel like your IT career is stalled or bogging down? There’s a lot you can do for yourself to improve your work situation and long-term prospects. Learn about skills development plus training and learning opportunities to improve your knowledge base and skill set. Dig into the pros, cons, and costs of college degrees and IT certifications at all levels. Share your comments, questions, and concerns with long-time IT Certification and Career Development expert Ed Tittel, creator of the Exam Cram series of cert prep texts, and a contributor to over 100 IT certification books, plus countless Web and print articles in this subject area.

The ranting of an IT Professional, by Jason Tramer
An IT consultant’s critical (and often caustic) look into the problem’s he faces on a daily basis. This will cover not only hardware and software related issues, but issues involving the vendors and clients he deals with.

If you haven’t been browsing our community blogs, then you’re missing out. You’ll find some gems of wisdom from members just like you. We do have to be selective but if you’ve got what it takes, drop me a line by filling out this short online form to request a blog of your own. We’ll help you get started and build up a readership. Thanks.

Community Manager