Archive for April, 2010
knowledge is no substitute for hard work
image by sarahkim, flickr artist
i wrote not too long ago about the keys to an effective presentation. it’s strange how sometimes you don’t listen to your own advice, though, john… seriously.
guilty as charged.
i found myself this week in a situation where i had three briefs to deliver to three different audiences all within the span of a few short hours. it’s hard to ‘get up’ for those kinds of meetings, have a short break in between, and then recapture that tough mental focus again. (oh, and then repeat that once more for the last brief of the day) i was feeling confident, however (i usually do), especially since i was closing it out with the same marketing brief i had given dozens upon dozens of times already. but i should have known better than to take things lightly.
the difference between participation and adoption
image by dharmabumx, flickr artist
i was listening in on a social media community of practice presentation today that a colleague of mine was giving about social media in the enterprise and individual performance.
while i feel that my colleague has done some great work — and really took a rather large bite to create a conceptual model for promoting participation in online networks which is itself valiant — i think it’s important to make the distinction between participation, and adoption. it’s a distinction that i feel is greatly overlooked.
mike’s model talked about awareness, self-efficacy, organizational trust, and this notion of perceived improvement potential all being drivers of participation. and i think that’s wrong. in fact, i think it’s exactly backwards.
you might think that i’m splitting hairs right now; toe-may-toe, toe-mah-to, right? but participation and adoption do have rather different connotations despite the fact that often times you’ll hear those two words used interchangeably. i think, however, that you’ll find one is far more desirable (and much harder to come by) than the other. in fact, one leads to the other.
a challenge to all those in enterprise security
i’m tired.
i mean it. i’m really fed up.
i can make bank transfers, and pay bills, and shop online from my cell phone. why then can’t i access a file stored on a sharepoint installation from that same device? why can’t i access the latest updates from members of my team on our project from an enterprise 2.0 solution? why can’t i do it all pain free — just as i do my online banking (or my shopping at express)? don’t tell me there are security concerns about accessing proprietary information outside of the corporate firewall. i don’t want to hear it; it’s just an excuse.
i need knowledge when i need it — not where or when you want to allow me access to it. i’m interfacing with clients all the time — hardly ever at my office — and i need to have the right information available to me so that i can help them make informed decisions. i can’t be bothered to jump through hoops just to get that information.
i walk around with an iphone in my pocket all day, and i can hardly use it for more than pulling up a lightsaber, finding waldo, and making fart noises. it’s unacceptable.
if you work in enterprise security, i’m holding you personally accountable. for far too long you have lagged behind the curve when it comes to the rest of the technology world.
it’s time that you finally catch up.
i’m doing good
image from mypartyshirt.com
with some recent events in my life, i’m reminded of the final lesson that mr. feeny taught me growing up. he said,
mr. feeny: “believe in yourselves. dream. try. do good.”
topanga: “don’t you mean ‘do well?’”
mr. feeny: “no, i mean do good.”
life never plays out the way you want it to — but the best that we can do is to do good, no matter what the situation. we might lose our jobs, our loved ones, our marriages, or we might just find ourselves in a town or place we no longer want to be in. despite what ills may befall us, doing the right thing is something that we should always try to do. there really is no excuse for not doing good. there are always ways that we can help people — you just have to believe in yourself, dream, and try.
grandmom clara, grandmom theresa, pop-pop frank, pop-pop anthony .. uncle cholly, aunt rosie, aunt lena, uncle domenic..
i’m trying to live as best as i can. i want, when people see or hear my name — the name you gave me — to say, “you know, that scardino is a good guy.” i certainly hope that i’m making you proud. even though i know you’re looking down on me, i wanted you to know that i’m doing good.
i love and miss you all.
recent comments