One of the biggest challenges I see in the IT world today is the inability for techies/analysts/managers to be able to make meaningful change happen in their organization.  The typical story goes something like this, in a moment of brilliant insight; you come up with an idea to make a meaningful impact at your company. That idea could be anything from adding workforce management software in the contact center to simply hiring a developer.

How do you know whether to buy the most expensive cutting edge technology… or, less expensive, slightly outdated technology? Do you have answer for your organization?

A modern-day case study of disruptive change is happening in the legal field and it’s happening right now. And, the rest of the business world should be watching to see how the strong firms survive.

Admittedly, I get up at a ridiculously early hour of the morning…so early, that it’s always dark when I get up.  This morning, as I got out of bed, I noticed blinking lights.  It took me a minute, but I realized that my husband’s smartphone had a green light blinking on his nightstand, and mine had a red light blinking on my nightstand.  I almost laughed out loud as I looked at the two of us with cell phones next to our bed – blinking – demanding our attention (at 4:30 in the morning!).

Why vision isn’t a four-letter word BUT your most valuable tool for achieving IT success.

I was reading the book The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes & Posner the other evening and happened on a particular chapter that resonated with me, it was on vision.  Yes, vision.

Today’s technology has advanced to the degree that solutions you may be researching can provide a flavor of the same functionality…for example…Avaya, Siemens, Cisco, Interactive Intelligence, Hosted Products, can all provide…*IP Telephony, Unified Communications, Contact Center Applications (ACD, IVR, Recording)…. so the difference isn’t in the apples to apples functionality…the goal should be to find your orange?

This past February we’ve had record snow fall in the Midwest and with the recent news about the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti, conversations regarding disaster recovery have been on the rise. Will we likely see an 8.XX earthquake….hopefully not…but many of you might remember the “Hurricane” that blasted through the Midwest last spring. That event actually put businesses, out of business, for hours-even days…so nature i.e. wind, rain and snow can have a critical impact on your business if you’re not prepared.

So, you are most likely in a position of technological trust within your organization and have spent the better part of half a lifetime learning about technology… security, business process, technology management, reporting…. Seriously, Who cares? All that knowledge won’t mean a hill of beans if you can’t get the C-Suite to OWN your vision (believe me, I’ve tried walking down that road, it’s less painful having your coworker beat you up side the head with a two-by-four). Budgets are tight and executive face time is your opportunity to impact the future of your organization (not to mention yourself). You’ve likely got 10 – 20 minutes to sell your idea and that’s it.