Oct
26
2011
The way to reduce unemployment is to hire unemployed people. This is a simple concept which appears to not be understood by our political and business elites. Instead, we hear a myriad of excuses about taxes, education, and government programs. Well, conventional wisdom is wrong – it isn’t working. Really, we can solve this quite simply if each business hires a few unemployed people.
So you may say:
- I need to see more customers first
- I can’t find qualified people
- They need to be trained
- They don’t have current skills
- They are just going to leave when they get a better offer
- They are too old or young
Well lets look at these, shall we:
- When you hire an unemployed person, you indirectly create more customers. They now have money to spend and will spend it out in the general economy. This will cause other businesses to hire more and they in turn will create more customers for your business.
- If you can’t find qualified people, you are obviously looking in the wrong place. There are plenty of people out there willing to work hard for you and make you a profit. The employment system is broken. Your screening systems aren’t working for you. Empower your managers to hire and get your systems out of the way. Why do you think recruiters do so well? Because you are hiring wrong. Try walking into a local job search group with a request and interview a few people there. You will not be bombarded with thousands of resumes and you will find good people.
- You say that people need to be retrained. Why are you waiting for government to do it? Hire some people with potential and train them already. You are your own worst enemy if you are waiting for someone else to train them. It is becoming quite tiresome to hear companies say they can’t find trained people. Train them, start an apprenticeship or other programs, and stop waiting for someone else to do it for you.
- If you are hiring for current skills, you are hiring for the past. If you are only hiring already employed people, you are part of the problem and you are losing customers. Your business will not be doing what it is doing today in the future. Get over it. What you need are problem solvers and people that can think. Skills will come with experience. You will find that you will jump ahead of the pack. Besides, people that have been out of work for a while have a better network than you or anyone in your company. They have had time to cultivate it and develop it. This will be an asset to you and will bring you more business.
- Everyone is going to leave eventually, including your present employees. So get over it. We no longer live in a world of long-term employment. Everyone is their own agent. Give your people a good working environment, fair compensation and support and they will make you money.
- Your mix of people should be multi-generational. Don’t discount people because they are too young or too old. You need people that understand customers on many levels. Don’t discount experience. Find thinkers and doers. You will probably find a Philosophy major trumps a Business major. Their brain is trained to think.
So you may say, well this all sounds too easy. And who is this guy anyway? Well it is that easy. Business has to solve this. The solutions on the left and the right are not working and they are just talking past each other. We need a strong middle. Me, I am just a guy, an American, looking for his next gig, that is fed up with excuses by businesses and government. I have been employed and unemployed. I have hired and been hired. I like simple, elegant solutions. I solve tough business problems.
We can solve this unemployment dilemma. Go out and do it yourself; that is why you were successful in the first place. You and your business need to take the first steps to solve this problem. Hire the unemployed and unemployment will go down. Simple.
May
15
2011
Why doesn’t IT get any respect? Why don’t they like us? Doesn’t the rest of the business know that they can’t exist without us? How about some appreciation here?
Sound familiar? There is a trend today to not respect your IT folks. Why might this be? IT is put in an impossible position to protect the store, keep the lights on, always be up and available as well as lead innovation in the enterprise. At the same time budgets are cut and everyone wants the next thing.
I have had the opportunity to come in and turn around projects, programs and departments that were floundering or in great need of a success. What is needed to make this happen? Well the easiest answer is to step back, and view everything in a new light. Usually a new perspective can work wonders. The most frequent thing I find is that there is a distinct lack of clear communications between the technical and non-technical people. Often, the non-technical areas of the business don’t know how to communicate with technical people. Usually, everyone is operating under enormous strain.
One technique that I have found works very well is to embed IT folks in the various business units. These are often experienced technical project managers that work well with their non-technical counterparts. They become immersed in the business and help shepherd the business through the intricacies of an IT project. This also facilitates the communication both ways. These are unique individuals that have the ability to speak business and technical and to translate successfully between the two.
You might want to try this technique. This will not only smooth the communications between the various stakeholders, but lead to more successful outcomes. Remember, the most important part of technology is the people.
Mar
6
2011
Conventional wisdom in today’s market works against the long-term unemployed. There is a stigma that the long-term unemployed have been sitting around, that their skills are out of date or that they really don’t want to work. There is the perception that if they take a job perceived at below the level of their last job, that they will leave as soon as they find a higher paying one. Some companies even discriminate by telling unemployed people not to apply.
Conventional wisdom is wrong. In fact, the long-term unemployed are actually your best hires. There are many reasons; here are a few:
- They are eager to work and to work hard for you. Nobody will work harder.
- Their network is better than yours. They have been building it up for an extended period of time and this can only benefit your business.
- Your current workforce has been going full tilt for a very long time. They are burned out and over tasked. In many places they are either under motivated or running scared, or both. This is the reality of many workplaces today.
- Someone coming on after an extended layoff will be fresher, have new ideas and have a deeper understanding of what is really going on in the marketplace and the world outside your company.
- They have been actively and repeatedly updating their skills which are probably fresher than your current staff.
- They are in a better position to learn new things quickly and more open to innovations that benefit your business.
- They know how to do more with less with no end in site.
- It is better for the economy. You are adding another person to the payroll, not just moving someone into another slot. There is one more person out there to buy your products or services.
So, you are looking for a particular skill set. Is this skill set more of what you already have or are you hiring for the future? Most postings ask for skills that are already being used. This will not help you innovate. Perhaps you think that someone out of work for a while is not current. What does current mean? Have you defined it? Or is it out of date before they get in the door? A long-term unemployed person is probably more current than anyone you can steal from another company. They have been working hard to get in a position to make you money.
Now you say you would rather have someone that is currently working. Well let’s take a look at that. So you successfully pull someone from another company. You are probably pretty proud of that accomplishment. Will they stay? If they were willing to come to you because of a ‘better deal’, then what makes you think they won’t do this to you? It is like the person who has an affair with a married person, then marries that person and is surprised when they stray once again. The person that has been out of work for awhile has much more incentive to make this succeed and stay. They will be much more loyal.
We do not have a talent shortage in this country. We have a deficiency in the way we hire. Hire the long-term unemployed. Not only is it the right thing to do for America, it will leapfrog you ahead of your competition.
Jan
19
2011
Wouldn’t you like to turnaround and solve difficult business technology problems and put a smile on the CEO’s face.
It is important to be a trusted partner that gives a critical eye into your business IT. Technology needs to work in synergy with the company itself. Bringing a new perspective that allows for a successful conclusion where it was missing before, refreshes the IT-Business relationship
In order to do this we need to bridge the communications between the technical and the non-technical business. This takes the willingness to see what others don’t and bring to the business is a unique and independent perspective. To be successful at this you need to be able to simultaneously see the 10 foot and 35,000 foot view of your IT, while understanding how it affects the business and how to better the bottom line.
While business cannot exist without IT, IT cannot exist in a vacuum. It is an integral part of the business. This needs to be recognized by both IT and the rest of the business. It is important to create simple elegant solutions that turn problems into opportunities that insure your decision makers get the trusted information necessary for good decision making. By continually working on this synergy, we can put that smile back on your CEO’s face.
Tags: business, CEO, CFO, CIO, consulting, COO, dashboards, IT choreographer, opportunities, process, progress, reorganize, turnaround | 
Comments (0)
Comments (0) Jan
19
2011
So you are happily looking for work. You prepare your documents, LinkedIn, etc. and go after the companies you are interested in. You are qualified, things are going well and you are the top candidate. Then the company asked a third party or their HR to do a check on your online life.
However, you have not been a hermit. Unbeknown to you, you picture is tagged by someone else in the social media universe. The picture that they posted is you at a party you attended. And, oh no, you are in the picture with a drink in your hand and actually looking like you are enjoying yourself. In addition, while doing some community volunteer work, you expressed your political opinion and someone posted it on a blog referencing you. Imagine that, actually using your right to free speech, and in public no less.
The upshot of this is that the company rejects the ‘perfect candidate’, you get a generic email or nothing at all and you continue your search never knowing why you didn’t get the gig.
This all because someone thought it was acceptable to do an in-depth exam of your personal life and judge you on it. None of which is pertinent to the job. It is as if you came to an interview with a scrap book from the last party you attended.
So what has this company gained by this intrusive search? Well, they didn’t get a good employee. They will have to settle for someone less talented, because they are more pure, plain vanilla, boring, never express their opinion in public. and don’t have any fun. Not the way most people wish to live their lives.
Innovation doesn’t come from vanilla people, it comes from creative, active people that take some chances out there and have a passion. By delving into private matters, that used to be considered personal and off limits, companies only short change themselves by excluding potentially their most dynamic hires. This is not only wrong but it is ultimately bad for your business. Do we really want a country that creates a fear of using your freedom of speech and the right to express yourself in public?
So, there is definitely an up side to all of this. While your company is excluding people on frivolous personal concerns that have nothing to do with the job you are hiring them for, people like me will be hiring them and creating a more creative, dynamic and innovative company that will eat your company’s lunch.
Tags: business, CIO, ethics, facebook, freedom of speech, Management, online, policy, process, speech, stakeholders, talent shortage, transition, turnaround, workers |
Comments (0)
Comments (0) Dec
5
2010
How does your company’s technology look from the business side? We seem to have lost track of the people side of IT. In our rush to measure, analyze, cut, outsource, standardize and certify, the person element is getting lost. Without people, there is no IT. Without people their is no business-driven IT. The creation, maintenance, management, function, and continuity of IT has always been an art, not a science.
We can measure many things, but can over rely on our measurements. What makes up your numbers? Are you sure that the data going in is relevant and valid? How is measured and massaged. Who interprets it? Do you rely too much on measurements? Are you relying on outside sources for your information?
IT is no longer has the luxury of being a separate entity. It is an integral part of the business. This must be recognized not just from the IT side, but also the traditional ‘business’ side. And what makes up your business? People. This is the same for IT and this is where we should concentrate our efforts.
What will drive you forward is your people. The technology will flow from this. So how do you go about this? Well for starters, you need to look at how your staff is composed. Have you overloaded on an outsourced solution? Are your veterans all gone? Is there a mechanism to retain your brain trust and mentor your newer players? What happened to all of your experienced people? Are you integrating them with new blood? Or are you relying solely on outside entities for your solutions. How is your quality control? Do you even have QA? Do you have control of your own environment? Is there a clear communication path between IT and the other business units and customers? Or are you just keeping the lights on?
Your relationship management between people, customers and your technology must be realized and integrated. Looking at IT as people rather than just technology will go a long way in helping you solve the fundamental problems going forward. Your staff and how you treat them will either enable or disable creativity, problem solving, more efficient systems and better, more profitable business.
Oct
18
2010
There is an alternative approach that should be considered when trying to “fix” your organization. While it good to find what is not working, my concentration is on how to find what IS working and then do more of that. This is a very different way of looking at things. Generally we like to rush in and fix everything. Companies usually can sell this internally because many see things that are wrong. They tend to stand out. If everything was working, no one would notice.
This is counter-intuitive to how people really change. In general, people are resistant to change. They are also wary of the latest trend. We all like to expound on how important change is, but resistance will prevail in most organizations. This is normal.
If you are looking for lasting change, it is better to study what is working withing the organization than just what is wrong. Examine and understand how you do things well. Understand how these interactions, formulas, procedures and systems are working for you. Once the intricacies of how you do things well is understood, you can utilize this knowledge to progress. It becomes a matter of doing more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
When I work with clients, I find this is a better approach for longer lasting change and easier adaptation. Most organizations have something they do well. Many have multiple things they do well. Start from the positive to move your organization forward.
Tags: business, CIO, cloud computing, consulting, ethics, IT choreographer, Management, process, progress, recovery, reorganize, turnaround, workers |
Comments (0)
Comments (0) Sep
21
2010
Companies and the people that populate them often became enamored with “process”. This can start out innocuously, such as requesting status updates and reports. First you may be required to provide a monthly assessment. Then it becomes weekly. Soon it is “on demand”, usually at the end of the day and couched in terms as “an emergency”. Then these status updates become the fodder of various critiques and reviews. You and your workers are constantly second-guessed. Your decisions are constantly evaluated and soon become suspect. Everyone gets in to a mode of covering themselves. All energy is drained from progress to feed the process beast. Soon, no real work is getting done. You spend more and more of your time justifying yourself to others and caught up in the process machine.
Meetings are rampant. Everyone is ‘too busy’. Repeatedly, a martyr complex ensues. Bureaucratic requirements supersede real delivering of results. The process-control leaders soon have the upper hand. People learn that the incentives reward them by doing process as opposed to accomplishing any progress. You jump through hoops. There is an implicit assumption that process is more important than real progress. The road becomes the destination.
Of course at this juncture, companies sense that this is not working. However, there usually is a push to “fix the process” rather than see it as the core problem. Experts are brought in. Various upheavals, new processes, and reporting structures are layered on. We try various big name systematizations and variants thereof. When one doesn’t work, we add another. Frequently, the previous one is not purged and a strange hybrid emerges. People become evangelists of one or the other. Camps form within your organization and progress stalls. Constant meetings, assessments and reports are done on “what is wrong with the system”. Especially in these tough economic times, we cocoon ourselves in these processes and structures and create a bunker mentality. Meanwhile, more agile firms sail by us and continue to eat up market share. The information that the executive management relies on for decision making no longer represents any true picture of the company.
Process can be important. Internal and external evaluations of your work accomplishments can be a healthy thing. Knowing what positively affects the bottom line is critical. However, when process begins to become more important that real progress, bureaucracy has subsumed your organization. You should reassess in order to make sure that you are not hijacked by the process-control junkies. Focusing on process may be more comfortable but can supplant any real results.
Process fixes take the approach of trying to fix what is wrong. I work from the other end. We look for what is working and how to do more of that. By building on what works, we create buy in and reward actual progress, not bureaucracy. Is process eating up your company? Or are you progress oriented?
Tags: agile, business, cloud computing, CMMI, consulting, CRM, ERP, ethics, IT choreographer, Lean Six Sigma, Management, policies, process, progress, reorganize, Six Sigma, specialist, talent shortage, workers |
Comments (0)
Comments (0) Aug
30
2010
In IT you need to hire people that can solve problems. Technology changes too fast for anything else to matter. Don’t hire to the past. You need to implement simple, elegant solutions. If your people cannot think on their feet and find creative solutions to problems, their so-called credentials won’t mean a thing.
Jun
28
2010
Much of the misunderstanding about IT comes from not knowing how to properly work with IT. Your IT department is tasked with protecting the store and keeping a lid on security. This can sometimes put a damper on innovation. The dichotomy of the situation is that your IT would like to be at the forefront of innovation, but must exert control at the same time.
So how do you work within this paradigm? Most business units do not know how to properly work an initiative through IT. Frequently, IT is viewed as a problem instead of an asset. It is imperative to smooth the workings between IT and the rest of the business.
In this regard, IT can help. It is helpful to set up proper relationship management so that the business remains fully integrated in the process. It should go without saying, but must, however be said, that there must be buy in from both sides.
IT should embed relationship managers in the other aspects of the business, to help them walk through the process of working with IT. The relationship manager also becomes an advocate for both the project and the division sponsoring the work.
IT Choreographer- The Way to Reduce Unemployment is to Hire Unemployed People
- IT Embedded in the Business
- Why You Should Hire the Long-term Unemployed
- Is Your CEO Smiling Yet?
- Do You Give Up Your Freedom of Speech While Looking for Work?
- IT is People!
- Find What IS Working
- Process vs. Progress
- Hire to Solve Problems
- How Does Your Business Talk to and Work with IT?