MDE News
Technology Awareness Series (TAS)  -  valuable insight

I attended the week long TAS conference hosted by ACTS, Inc. on Hilton Head Island a few weeks ago and it was very enlightening. I made the trip at a time when I really couldn't afford to be away from my office due to everything I have going on, but I decided that it was important for me to stay informed on key enterprise technology issues of the day.

Needless to say, The TAS session was very informative and actually filled in some gaps of understanding I had of certain technology issues. Each day was a separate agenda so participants had the ability to attend what they wanted. Most participated in the entire session. Learn more about the TAS conference agenda and objectives.

Bill Carico, the President of ACTS presents several parts of the class and has guest speakers come in for other sessions. All were very knowledgeable in their areas of expertise and provided excellent insight into the technologies they discussed.

I've never seen anything with a comparable breadth of topics covering IT trends, candid insights to vendor strategies, and the latest on storage, servers, operating systems, applications, e-business, outsourcing, and what's coming in the future. In addition, the insight into Linux and Open Source was extremely beneficial and gave me a practical assessment of potential applications of each versus all the theory you hear and read about.

TAS is presented twice a year and is modified as technology changes. Bill and his company have been delivering the class for sixteen years. One great deal is that past participants get a 50% discount on future classes.

Bill has asked me to join his "teach team" to discuss my "40 Technology Cost Saving Opportunities" so I plan to attend his session every year. It is one of the best investments I have seen to help you stay current with technology changes.

The next TAS conference is going to be held at the Meadowlakes Country Club in Marble Falls, Texas on October 20-24. Details at http://www.actscorp.com/tasmain.htm .
Mention you discovered the program from Mike Sisco and get a 10% discount.

Seats still available for the first IT Manager Development Institute
Prerequisite packages are being distributed and time is running out to get into the first IT Manager Development Institute. There is no other program like this one and great effort has gone into creating a comprehensive program with the support structure to ensure every participant recoups their investment in the program quickly upon returning to his/her company.

This first Institute is very special to me because it is something I have worked toward for more than two years. Ask the "early buyers" of my IT Manager Development Series what I mean by "special". They have received many special offers plus a 40% discount on any of the IT management products or services I offer --- forever. It's my way of repaying them for their early purchase before I had the entire series written.

My first Institute participants will receive extra benefits as well as I will do everything possible to "over-deliver" both now and after the program is completed to ensure they receive far more than what they expected. There will only be one "first group".

The Institute is limited to 20 people so if you are interested, you need to register quickly before I have to close it down for new registrations. Here is a brief summary of what's included:
  -  The most comprehensive and practical IT management training you will find
         (real world insight from someone that has been on the "front lines")
  -  Customized 30-Day Action Plan for each participant. The effort starts as soon as you
       register.
  -  Top 20 Technology Cost Savings Opportunities. (This session guarantees you will
        identify cost saving opportunities that more than recoup your program expenses
        within 90 days upon returning to your company. There are actually over 40 areas.)
  -  Weekly follow-up from me to counsel you on your 30-Day Action Plan progress
  -  90 days of free access to me via phone or email for coaching/mentoring support
  -  Every module includes the tools and "know-how" I have used to be effective

Use the discount code "newsletter" for a 20% discount. More information on the Institute including online registration and cost justification is available at www.mde.net/institute . The dates are June 23-27 at the Embassy Suites in Nashville, Tennessee.

This first group will continue to receive my appreciation for years to come in tangible ways that aren't even defined yet just as the first 102 "early buyers" of my full series are still getting new benefits and incentives.   There will only be one "first group".

IT Tidbits Corner
Internet consumer stats

-  60% of Americans have
      Internet access
-  80% of Internet users
      expect information on
      shopping and news
-  63% of all Americans
      expect a business to
      have a web site
-  69% expect reliable, up
      to date news online
-  67% expect to find
      reliable health care
       information on the web
-  31% expect to find
      reliable information
      about someone online
-  There is abundant
      evidence that the
      Internet is the primary
      means by which many
      people get key
      information

Source:
PEW Research Center   12/2002


Does your company have an E-commerce strategy?

If a store provides product information online, even if it doesn't sell products at its web site, nearly half of all Americans (46%) said this would make them more likely to go to the physical store.

Practical IT Manager Tips 
Managers earn respect; it doesn't come with title

How many times have you heard a manager tell someone they have to do something because "I'm the Manager."? I learned early on as a young Marine that I can give an order and the troops will carry it out but when they respect you, it's done with a whole lot more enthusiasm and quality.

Title gives you nothing more than to say you have a responsibility for something. Employees, especially bright technical employees don't just "sit up and speak" when asked to because you are the "manager". They take their cues and make their moves based upon how their leader motivates them to. Often that motivation is unnoticed by the manager or an unintentional act that has a significant impact on a staff member or the entire staff.

Little things like showing respect for people, taking the "hit" when the organization or someone in it fails, stepping up to a difficult employee situation, and giving the team and individual staff members credit for successes are all subtle things that leaders do. It's what makes people want to follow and go the extra mile for you.

Managers lead by example ever day of the week. Never forget that eyes are watching you to determine how they should react to situations and they are learning from you all the time, , , even when you don't expect it.

I had a former employee share an event with me many years after he had worked for me. The event had to do with something I did in a staff meeting that I couldn't even recall, but it had a profound impact on him and became something that he incorporated into his own management style years later.

They are watching, learning, and replicating your actions and behavior into their own approaches. Managers earn respect by action, not words or foolish things called titles.

You owe it to every member of your staff to set the right tone and example in work ethic, treatment of others, and teamwork. It will repay you many times over.

IT Management Models
Invest in yourself

Managers need to constantly learn and improve just like all the rest. Big things can happen when you learn new concepts and techniques that improve your performance.

Some of the best lessons I have learned have been insights gained from watching and observing others. I have also gained a considerable amount of skill by attending formal classes. One of the quickest ways to improve your skill set is to get the "abridged" or condensed version from those that have walked in the shoes you are walking in now.

The first time down any path can be confusing, vague, difficult, and especially challenging. How many times have you listened to someone explain an issue to you and the "light goes on"? There are all types of educational resources available to you if you take advantage of them.

Invest in yourself each year and you will see that the results of your efforts improve considerably over time.

And don't underestimate the value of having a solid mentor. Having access to a good coach can save you considerable time and frustration on any number of topics and situations. They are literally worth their weight in gold due to the differences they can make in your productivity and effectiveness simply because they have already traveled the path you are seeing for the first time.

Take the knowledgeable path with a mentor; you will have fewer bruises.

Letters from the Field
"How do you pay the salaries required to keep your best people?"

The short answer is, "I don't." The misconception is that money is the primary driver for employee satisfaction and it truly is not. If it were you would see much more turnover than occurs in the technology world today.

Every study you will find lists money well down the priority list of issues that are important for employees to remain with their company. This doesn't mean that compensation is not important. Certainly, your compensation packages need to be competitive in the local and regional market you are in. But competitive doesn't mean "over paid".

Motivating an IT staff is somewhat an art in that "how you go about" your actions can be just as important as "what you do". Employees pick up on sincerity (or insincere actions) very quickly. Try to introduce a motivational action and not be sincere about it and it can make things worse.

Key things employees want from their manager and their company and what motivates them to work hard and stay with you include:
  -  Training and education  Technical employees have a
      big need to keep learning and to stay current)
  -  A challenge  Motivated employees are busy and want
      to feel challenged
  -  Seeing accomplishment  Everyone needs to have
      successes. The more you can show the results of the
      work and how important it means to the company the
      more you have your staff wanting to do more.
  -  Confidence in their manager and company  People
      want to run with winners, both managers and
      companies.
  -  Feeling trusted  Empower them to do their job and give
      the flexibility, tools, and support to get it done and watch
      the results. It might amaze you.

A good mentor is worth his weight in gold.

"War Story" Lessons
The "value" of delegating

One of the most difficult things I had to learn was to "let go" and give the work to someone else to do  - to "delegate".

In one of my first IT management roles with a small company the lesson was "clear as a bell". I had just left IBM where I enjoyed the "hands on" work associated with the newer systems and what they could do at the time.

I wanted to make a hit with my new boss, the CEO of our small company so I took it upon myself to develop a series of management reports he and I discussed to improve our turnkey software system we licensed to companies in the US.

It was a late Friday night around midnight when he stopped into the office to pick up his mail after returning from a business trip.

He sees me in the Computer Room so he stops in to say 'Hello'. Initially, I think he was impressed that I was so committed. After asking me what I was working on and hearing my answer, I'll never forget his next words.

"Mike, where are all your people? "

The next week we had more conversation and he helped me understand that as the manager, it's not so important what you personally can do for the company, it is more important as to what you can get your team to do.

A hard lesson for me to learn but very important.

Later, I've learned that it's not just about productivity either. By doing the work myself and taking credit, I was actually setting the wrong example and demoralizing some of my team because they knew they should be doing the work. It's all right to participate, but you give the credit to your team. That was a very valuable lesson that I was fortunate enough to learn early in my management career.

Product & Services Review
Canon PowerShot G3 Digital Camera

I just replaced my Kodak digital camera that has served me well since 1997 with a new Canon PowerShot G3 digital camera. The prices have come way down and the features continue to improve. This little camera is the top of the line in Canon's "point and shoot" series and thus far it has been great.

One of the issues I had with the Kodak is that I put quite a few of my shots onto the Internet and in publications. The 1 megapixel Kodak I had did a good job for the most part but whenever I needed to make a large photo, I lost a lot of the resolution so I had to compromise my efforts with the limitations imposed by the technology.

The Canon G3 is 4 megapixels and gives me the flexibility to take pictures in autofocus mode which is great for most of what I do or I can manually adjust the F-stops and aperture just like I could on my old 35mm camera. It includes 12 shooting modes which gives me more control than I will probably ever need unless I find the time to do some real experimenting. The nice thing about digital is you can see the results immediately and there is no film cost.

The zoom capability is 4X optical and 3.6X digital giving you a combined zoom of 14X. Very handy with some of the projects I do.

The G3 comes standard with a 32MB Flash Type II memory card but  my deal came with a 128MB card. It also supports the IBM Microdrives that hold up to 10GB. You can save a lot of pictures on those.

You can take image sizes in 2272x1704, 1600x1200, 1024x768 and 640x480. It has 13 image quality adjustments including 3 JPEG compression modes (Super Fine, Fine, and Normal) at any resolution.

Let's see, a few more noteworthy features include the ability to use it for short video clips (up to 3 minutes). The ability to replace the lens with a wide angle or more powerful zoom gives this camera an advantage over many others. The flip out display screen is very flexible and adjustable to 360 degrees as needed. Download time to your PC  is a snap and painless, something I really like. All in all it has been an excellent investment and will be a great camera for me for years to come. I expect to shoot several thousand pictures with this one; you may even see a few in the newsletter from time to time such as the one below. Work is a breeze with the "right tools".

Until next time, I hope the little bit of information provided in this newsletter is helpful to you. Feel free to pass it along to other IT managers you know. Work hard and take time to smell the roses along the way.

                                            Mike Sisco