thecapacity

Working as an Enterprise Architect, you will frequently hear how technology must support a business need. It’s a cliché, yet accurate, reminder that technologists often deploy something that doesn’t best satisfy the problem.

Although play and creativity has a place, even in business, no IT environment can long survive without supplying the business with the means to meet its objectives. There is surly no better route to bankruptcy then wasting time and money, which is what happens when IT divorces itself from the business.

However, often overlooked is the reciprocal need for the business to support IT.

This doesn’t happen when a CIO or CTO is relegated to the back office and denied a seat at the executive table and the effects are more insidious though no less disastrous in the end. Or imagine being asked to run a massive IT department with the wrong skills, or responding to a mandate for change without the ability to make the proper investments.

For any organization to succeed it’s important to realize that all offices must be imbued with the same driving passion and resources for success.

This post is for anyone interested in any of the Government Transparency inituatives. If you’ve been following this topic then you’re probably aware that Vivek Kundra sees a dashboard as a way of accelerating the transparency and transformation of the Government.

After watching groups like the Sunlight Foundation and Change Congress work their magic, I’ve now begun seeing much of this transformation from the inside due to my new job.

However, I still endeavor to participate externally as well and so I wanted to do some analysis on the public data.

In order to start, I wanted to import the USASpending.gov information into Google spreadsheets, since I can kill two buzzwords at once by leveraging Cloud Computing services for Transparency!

For a while, I fought with the easiest way to import the data and wanted to share what eventually worked for me.

First, create an new spreadsheet and name your tab appropriately. Then go to the USASpending Feeds page to select the specific data you want. I suggest starting with the Exhibit 300 information since it’s typically a smaller dataset and my Exhibit 53 tab with more than 1200 rows has proven to be very slow.

Next pick, and I highly suggest reordering, the data fields you want you must then pick which Agency or Agencies you’d like info on. Again, considering that lots of data will be pretty slow.

Finally, select the CSV icon which should open the download prompt for your browser. It’s unfortunate that the implementers didn’t use a dynamic tag here because you can’t simply copy the URL. Instead I had to first download the file itself and then copy the originating URL into my clipboard (I was using Chrome so how to do this will depend on your browser).

The URL should look like a much longer version of this:

http://it.usaspending.gov/customcode/build_feed.php?extype=300&select1=agencyName&columns%5B%5D=bureauName…

Now that we’ve got the URL we can import everything into our spreadsheet by selecting the A1 cell and entering:

=ImportData("<url>")

Where “<url>” is of course the long URL you copied earlier.

After a quick few seconds your data should be automajically imported!

For the Exhibit 300, things worked just great but for the Exhibit 53 data I ended up with each cell of Column A holding the full data for each entry. So in B1 I simply entered: =SPLIT(A1, “,”) (note thre’s a bug with Google where the quotes ave to be double quotes not single) and then things auto populated left to right.

Unfortunatley, the “SPLIT()” didn’t auto-populate downwards as well and dragging the function down the full B column is very very painful.

Happy Data Hacking!

I’ve been using ING for quite some time now and have always enjoyed them. Easy to open accounts, prompt service, people on the other end of the phone and nearly nonexistant hold times have always made them a great company to do business with. Oh, and semi-decent rates aren’t bad either.

Of course I suppose it can’t all be sunflowers and daffodils…

I was born a southern boy, and although you can take the boy out of the south, you can’t take the south out of the boy. Like so many other Southerners I know, I have three names… first, middle and last. That may not sound all that astounding to those of you who also have three names, but I’ve noticed southerners seem committed to utilize as many boxes as possible when filling in our names for standardized tests.

It’s not actually length which seems to set our measure (as opposed to so many other contests) but rather a particular pride in actually utilizing those names in daily life. How many of you know your friend’s middle names or rarely use your own?

I typically go by my middle name although I’m actually quite proud of all my names. My middle name is shorter, more personal and less prone than my first to being butchered by people who don’t know me well enough to be beyond such liberties.

I go by;

• First Middle Last (official documents like my passport),
• First Last sometimes including First M. Last (random semi-official stuff which tend to believe you really only need the two)
• Middle Last (more personal but no less official relationships)

It’s never caused problems, perhaps a few misrouted professional emails, but certainly in my personal life the fact that all three representations are for a single individual have never encited more then a few friendly conversations about how I like to be addressed.

Of course until now… Apparently ING is unable to accept checks for deposit that are made out to anything but the full name on the account.

I can’t tell how how mad and frustrated I am about this stupid constraint. I actually called back a second time to confirm with a manager. I understand it’s not sny particular individual’s fault but all rational I received were simplistic justifications to ignore something that by the manager’s admission it “happens on a number of occasions”.

Even when my wife changed her last name our local bank was able to accept checks with an entirely different last name. However, even though I have all the names on my account ING felt like they weren’t able to make this concession because “they didn’t know me” … as though my local teller could pick me out of a lineup!

After more then a few decades of being myself it’s not the first time I’ve had to tell a company they will be losing my business, though this is the first time my name has been the reason.

However, this is one of the first time’s I’ve meant such a statement with such sadness.

As I wrote yesterday I love TED Talks… oh yea and I did also mention a growing sense of disenfranchisement.

I try not to take the information I gather for granted, and one of the joys I experience is in sharing with others. Of course, I am aware that sometimes it can be overwhelming and I try to limit the deluge. I feel I can filter for friends because I know them so well and I hope that they realize that often, I simply want them to know something “exists” even if they don’t need to know “about” it in depth. That is to say; sometimes reading headlines is enough.

I don’t I believe I’m the single source of information, nor would I really want that for people. The second greatest joy is when people in turn filter for me. It represents both a dialog as well as a foil to view other people’s perceptions. I also hold as fact that anyone worth knowing doesn’t leave their education in the hands of others.

People with a natural curiosity and the intellect to satiate that appetite are an amazing combination. So go forth and learn, but for a moment allow me to direct your attention.

TED recently released their Top 10 TED Talks although I would have probably chosen a different segment, I assume people will check out the list in their leisure time, but I realize not everyone has the same time frames that I do.

There’s one video which combines the flavor of yesterday’s commentary with the sense of “information obligation” (both to search and to share) that I hope each of you embodies.

In “Do schools today kill creativity?” Ken Robinson presents wonderfully and suggests that the education principals of today won’t serve the needs of the future.

Arguing over the word “killing” can result in semantic discussions of “intent” and many negative connotations so I think it’s important to suggest a premise that the creative needs of society change over time.

So whether malicious or not, in business and society, implications are that we can not rely on the exact same set of traits over time.

There are still some whether; ethics & integrity, curiosity & problem solving, which are “oldies but goodies” and are foundational, but in today’s age, you must commit to learn and practice your skills new and old with the help of other individuals, for none can do it all alone.

I’m finally getting “settled” in my new role working from home and part of that means getting a chance to get through some podcasts. Actually, although I love TED Talks, I’m not actually a big fan of podcasts.

Imagine taking all the rambling and inherent pauses of conversation and couple those with ear piercing music, relative to the volume of human speech. Now add in sickeningly upbeat scores, which last too long but are too hard to fast forward through. Then sandwich content between mirrored intros and fade-outs so that back-to-back episodes sometimes yield 2-4 minutes (end of one and the intro of another) of worthless music…

Well, it shouldn’t be hard to see why a constantly information starved individual like myself would have a hard time listening. It’s almost a shame because some, like “Managerial Tools“, have great content but feel like a waste of time, when the “nuggets” can be gleaned much faster by reading articles.

However, I do have a soft spot in my soul for two true podcasts… I’ve really enjoyed the Stanford “Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders” sessions due to their diverse treatment of all things “innovative” and “entrepreneurial” and the NotHans Podcast (which I really think should be called a “NotCast”) because of its quick humor and varying overt and subtle shades of joviality. I’d recommend both many times over for people who like those sorts of things.

However, I am rapidly gaining another favorite on my list which is the “Harvard Business IdeaCast“. I’ve worked my way through eight episodes, so I’m still withholding judgment, and today in Episode 95, I found even more gold.

In this episode, or the accompanying Business Week article, Tammy Erickson tackles one of the biggest challenges facing corporations in the next 10 years, one I wrote about recently.

We’ve heard of developing future leaders, from Professor Linda A. Hill, but Tammy makes us aware that the roles being “prepared” may not align with the ones being desired by those leaders.

She writes about it in Top 10 Talent-Management Challenges and I hope there are a lot of people reading and acting on her insights. From the dangers of “extreme jobs” beginning to normalize our performance expectations and we’re in danger of forming a corporate environment that Gen-Yers (and some Gen-Xers) simply don’t want to join.

I don’t know if that’s how he spells his name, but just now… I think I broke his heart…

If the records are correct, unbeknownst to me, Oogle and I have apparently had a close knit relationship. Oh, and there’s Ivan too… who was much happier to learn about my existence, “3 years!” he exclaimed. But, ultimately, it was Oogle who had to bear the brunt of the bad news.

It probably seems a strange post, but you see I feel the need to represent Oogle just a little bit. Perhaps it’s because we’ve been such old friends. Or maybe it’s to cover the remorse I feel for having to call it off after so long.

You see today, I canceled my Vonage phone number. I was expecting some horror stories, but for me it was a mostly non-painful process.

I logged into my Vonage account and couldn’t find a way to cancel (or even a contact number) so of course I did the next best thing… I googled it! What I found was more then a few dire warnings, but I managed to find a phone number to call and screwed up my courage as well.

Someone posted a number so I gave it a go and was promptly greeted by an automated message telling me the number was out of service and that I should call “1-Vonage-Help”… Now of course I’m hoping you all are as puzzled as I was, by why they didn’t simply redirect me, but remember Ivan…

Once I dialed the proper number there was a nice set of prompts asking me my phone # and what I wanted to do. I said “cancel my account” and the system was quite happy to have understood me correctly and sent me, without a significant delay to Ivan.

Apparently, Ivan works in the Billing Department and after expressing his dismay at losing such a long valued customer (“3 years! Why would you want to cancel?”) he informed me I needed to talk with someone from Account Management and happily transfered me over (honestly, he was quite pleasant to talk to).

That’s when I met Oogle… Imagine stopping by the southeast corner of the Hundred Acre Wood and having to tell the resident the sad sad news… Oogle offered me a discounted package but was shocked when I told him I had no highspeed internet at home. “I get enough of it at work” I told him, though I believe my wit, as usual, was underappreciated.

After assuring him I had no immediate plans to change my connectivity situation, he inquired as to whether or not I would transfer my number to someone else… That was an interesting twist, but I assured him that everyone I could think of already had phones and even though he made on last inquisition if there was any suggestion I had that would make me stay he asked a few questions (with long pauses in between) and graciously closed me account.

I know Vonage has had issues as a company but things might be looking up for them. They’ve been exactly what I needed (i.e. not much) from a home phone service and apparently they’ve learned that not all relationships are built to last, even ones with guys like Ivan and Oogle…

Working at a large technology company I’m familiar with the “graying” of IT. While often public perspective on “technology” is skewed by the Kevin Rose’s of the world in enterprise situations it’s often much different.

It’s not uncommon to start a job as the only “new hire” around, surrounded by people who’ve been working in their respective fields for 20-30 years. It’s an intimidating position to be in, necessitating a certain type of individual, and I’ve seen many people make that transition (or transition out).

I’ve heard that you can live a thousand lifetimes through books, but I’ve lived at least that many years through the stories of my colleagues. My first officemate could disassemble HEX in his head faster then I could look up mnemonics and I’ve learned about life, as well as IT, from him and many since.

The phrase “There’s a lot of history here” has a particular place in my field and those who don’t learn from the history of others are doomed to repeat it.

However, I have felt at times that the “oldsters” could afford to let some of us “young’ens” have a chance. I don’t mean to imply they should “step aside”, simply provide better opportunities for “us” to learn and try. Learning involves making mistakes but often there’s not enough of a “penalty free” environment in day to day office politics. Slate has a business perspective on this situation though their view of age-ism is the inverse of mine.

I sometimes worry we’re creating a void, where those “too young” won’t be qualified (i.e. have the same opportunities and experience of their predecessors) to take over from those who will be retired in 5-10 years. I think the rise of the “still going” businessperson is probably one of the factors driving the shifts in innovation and entrepreneurship we’re seeing today.

A few weeks ago, during dinner, I expressed this feeling to a colleague who’s been in the business a long time, predominantly on the sales side. What I got was one of those tidbits of history and insight that makes me appreciate the wisdom of the years. He looked at me and in effect said “you’ll be fine” but what convinced me the most was what he said next;

We’ve had some rough years and back when it got really rough and all the talent had left, they threw us green guys out in the field. And you know what? You learn, you learn real fast.

Sink or swim, trial by fire… sometimes I wish life didn’t have to be so binary, but the reminder that no true opportunity can every really be cushioned is priceless.

Every so often, an article on “the elevator pitch” comes along where you’re supposed to present your product in 30 seconds or less… five sentences or less… two eye blinks or less….

I don’t want to add specific examples, because I don’t want to single out any one example, but you’ve certainly seen this advice multiple times for multiple scenarios… resumes, product pitches, confessional booths, marriage proposals…

I’m sure when I first heard the suggestion my brain did something like;

Hmm… that’s a neat idea…

Well, yea I can really see the befit to being succinct…. and I know I hate it when people “broadcast only”

I really learn by getting a chance to ask questions…

So, I guess once they’ve gotten a good summary they’re smart enough to see the value on their own..

Then they’re hooked and will want to learn more!!

Although I’m a planner by profession and have a consumer nature, I’m naturally a “less talk more do” kinda person. So this aligns with the “optimization” and slight east coast mentality that I have.

So the faith in this advice has permeated my career for many years now. I’ve practiced giving succinct status statements (I also know rambling can get you in trouble) and I’m usually able to answer technical questions with something succinct and satisfactory like “yes, I’ll make that happen”.

Thus today’s revelation has come as a bit of a shock when I realized the advice I’ve been following all these years is very misleading and often downright wrong!

In such an information dense dialog what should be a rapid give and take has, in retrospect, degenerated into “take and move on” with you losing out. Often I’ve delivered such a fantastically succinct statement that it’s apparently left the exec, customer, or finance speechless.

It’s a clear alternative for you to consider my possible ineptitude and I admit to not being a natural sales man, often expecting facts and my passion to speak for itself. So think back to a time where you’ve epitomized this approach and how often the person on the other end was left speechless, uncertain where to continue.

I’m sure there was one of those pauses where you were expecting them to ask a question or say something. You had the next reply ready, only the chance never came and you were forced to continue as though you’d only meant to take that awkward break.

My experience has shown me that too often the person on the other end is scared looking stupid, and that without something for them to “grasp” in the verbal discourse they resort to Mark Twain’s old advice that keeping silent is the wisest thing to do. As another counter example consider meetings, where it’s often the person who talks the most who’s given credit for being the expert.

I saw this illustrated clearly while working at a tradeshow last week. My instinct was to give a quick pitch and then answer questions to help explore their understanding. However, the recipient of my “wisdom” wasn’t certain how to continue the conversation and had I not continued with “trivialities” they would have left with no continued interest beyond a “thanks”.

I’m certainly not advocating a dialog of dysentery, however I believe there’s a bit of human psychology that’s at play here which people “elevator presenters” overlook;

• People are far more likely to forgive you for telling them something they know then for making them feel like idiots.
• There’s also a level of repetition required for people to intuit and internalize information. Repeating information through variation is a powerful tactic shunned in the 60 second pitch.
• Even if the person on the other end has already been told “this is fast” saying “the obvious” is a chance for them to judge your passion and authenticity.

That’s just a start, but I think there’s many reasons why you should take as long as you’ve got, to say as much as you can. Just as Web 2.0 focuses on being “feature stingy” rather then “feature rich” the new 2.0 way to pitch your plan is in through a conversation, not a soundbight.

You clearly need to think out how to say what you want to say, this is no excuse to not prepare. However, thin-slicing aside, no matter what power tie you’re wearing, there’s too much competition for you to expect people to get hooked by 60 seconds of information.

No, this has nothing to do with strange anthropological experiences it’s even more fascinating…

I watched a great video from iTunes U (my new favorite pastime) and it made two (of many) interesting points;

1. Wal*Mart, which would be China’s 8th largest trading partner if it were a country and is the United State’s largest business, doesn’t make a single thing. Instead, their success is due to their logistical knowledge and expertise.
2. UPS doesn’t just “deliver things” they’re also “in-sourced” to perform operations for companies, for example Toshiba. When you mail a laptop out for service, it gets picked up by UPS, taken to one of their facilities, repaired by UPS and mailed back to, all without ever touching Toshiba’s hands.

In that many ways the world wide economy is turning into a “knowledge based economy”where the ability to conceive of an idea dictates success, not specifically the ability to build or deploy that idea, those proficiencies can be contracted.

There is certainly value for operational excellence a la Wal*Mart, Starbucks, UPS and today I think we get to add one more to that list, Amazon.

They’ve announced a “Fulfillment Web service (FWS)” which allows you to leverage Amazon’s existing distribution network to store and ship your products.

In addition to offering warehousing and shipping, in true Amazon tradition, they’ve coupled this capability with a programmatic webservices interface. I think this may be a pretty key differentiator. It’s not that Wal*Mart doesn’t have a business to business (B2B) interface, but EDI can be complex and costly to implement.

Wal*Mart attempts to server “the common man” but it seems clear that Amazon’s focused on “the common business”.

One last question and thought; Why has this taken so long? We can be pedantic about definitions or dissect the statement that innovation can truly not exist without invention. Semantics aside, I believe Amazon’s practice and “inventions” in the webservices technologies has afforded them the “innovation” required to bridge this gap.

PS, if you have the opportunity check out iTunes U, specifically the presentations by Thomas L. Friedman at MIT; “The World is Flat” and “The World is Flat 3.0″.

If you’ve read my earlier posts you know I spend a bit of time following Amazon, both from a business perspective as well as my interest in the energy they’ve invested in webservice (SaaS) technologies.

I recently gave a presentation to discuss their offerings and wanted to make that available to anyone interested.

I build presentations that can also act as “guidebooks” once the discussion is over, i.e. the presentation interests someone in the topic, but the charts should also be useful as a starting point for their own experience. Thus I’ve included links and citations for the various sections. It may seem a little overwhelming when you’re just paging through but it seems to work well for my presentation style and my typical audience.

I always find it interesting to compare and contrast my experience with a presentation given verbally vs. paging through the deck later. In an engaging conversation, some of the more interesting and thought provoking dialogs revolve around a single bullet point. However, when paging through a deck you’re often drawn to “examples” which are really for a reference or to substantiate a divergent discussion.

I’m most interested in the “implications and extrapolation” phase of a presentation as opposed to ones that review the “what and why” of an activity.

I hope you’ll find this interesting and helpful and if there’s any parts I can help elaborate on please let me know.