Here is more amazing 3d sidewalk art, , , everything is done with chalk on a flat surface, , , simply amazing what this guy can do.
The lady sitting on top of the beer is real and so is he, , , the beer is chalk
Look close and you can see the sidewalk cracks
He likes to do swimming pool art
I was enlisted in the US Marine Corps for four years many, many years ago. It was my first experience in having an IT management responsibility.
First, I was the 3rd shift supervisor as an E4 Corporal in a small Data Processing platoon of some 20 Marines at Kaneohe Marine Base in Hawaii (someone had to do it 🙂 ). I became a 1st shift supervisor when I was promoted to Sergeant. In my last year, I transferred to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina where I became the Operations Chief of a slightly larger organization.
As Operations Chief, I had day-to-day operations management responsibility for the entire platoon, , , three shifts of some 30 Marines working in an IT Data Center.
The interesting thing about this is that the position they gave me responsibility for was an E8 level position, , , I was still a Sergeant E5 level, , , three levels below the rank that normally occupied this responsibility.
The experience was great, especially so early in my career. Some of the lessons learned were even better because one in particular helped mold my management approach that would help me immensely in later years.
The best lesson I learned
In the Marine Corps, you can give an order to your troops and they have to carry out the order. There is no such thing as, “I don’t feel like it.” or “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” If a senior Marine orders something to be done, we do it or face the consequences, , , and that could mean possible jail time.
Discipline is straightforward and simple, , , you obey orders.
Well, I learned this aspect very quickly, , , but the most valuable lesson I learned was that if you want your men to do a quality job and with enthusiasm, , , then you must explain why we are doing this, what’s in it for them, and what the benefit will be in doing this task. In other words, you need to persuade a bit and not just give orders. This is especially true with IT people.
I literally began changing my management style from an authoritative manager to a persuasive manager without realizing it. I made this change because I somehow understood the results were better when I discussed the reasons and explained why we needed to do certain things with my staff. Twenty years later, this work behavior dynamic is what helped me land the CIO role in one of the fastest growing companies in the US at that time.
I didn’t know or understand anything about employee work behavior tendencies until 20 years later. I’m convinced I began changing my normal personality from authoritative to persuasive in the Marine Corps, , , even though I never realized it was happening until many years later.
A challenge we have is that IT managers in large part are authoritative managers, , , it’s my natural profile as well. We are more comfortable giving orders. But to truly succeed, we need to empower our employees so they want to do these jobs, , , otherwise they resist.
When employees are empowered, understand the reasons for the work, and feel like it will benefit them, , , maybe even have some fun with it, , , they do a much better job. And that’s what we want, , , quality work and results.
My Marine Corps experience was great but the most valuable experience was starting to learn how to motivate and lead people.
Early in my management career I inherited a small IT support group of programmers and business analysts. It was a very bright and capable staff although they were pretty young.
We had a client who always had problems during their month-end process. I had heard about these problems before I joined the group. Sure enough, at the end of the very first month I’m the manager, the client had problems and I take a call from their CFO.
I asked several questions but did not receive any feedback that told me what the problem was. I discounted the issue and thought that maybe it was an anomaly. This would prove to be a mistake.
At the end of the 2nd month, guess what happened. Yes, , , they have problems again. This time I call the client and we decide to have a couple of people visit their office during the next month’s process.
I took two of my most capable people, , , a BA and a programmer to the client to observe the End of Month process during the 3rd month I was the support manager. Our mission, , , identify what the problem is and why it is happening. Once we know what the situation is, we can fix the problem.
The key problem was identified quickly. What was happening was that the client had to run several large detail reports prior to their month end backups every month. Because these reports were not completing in time, several people were kicking off the same report, , , in other words, the same report was being run three or four times simultaneously.
This level of systems activity was slowing the system down significantly, , , so much so that before the reports could finish they had to be cancelled so the client could run their month end backup processes.
We recommended the client put into place a “Month End Jobs Coordinator” to insure only one request of a job could be run at any given time. This improved systems performance and these large reports now had plenty of time to finish running in the months ahead. This simple management supervision corrected the problem completely.
This issue of the “right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing” can cause a lot of problems. Often, the pain is significant and the remedy is something that’s very simple.
Ninety per cent (90%) of us in IT are high detail people, , , that’s a good thing. However, what comes with being high detail is that we like to be accurate and correct, , , and we like to do things “our way”.
One of the downsides to all of this is that we don’t tend to deal with criticism very well, , , it bothers us, , , terribly!
It is very easy for high detail people like you, me, your employees, etc. to be defensive, become argumentative, , , even stubborn when someone tries to point out some of your weaknesses. It could be something to do with a project task, how you implement a software upgrade, even what kind of laptops you buy for users of the company.
Everyone has an opinion and many want to give it to you even if you don’t care to hear it.
Take a moment and consider something, , , really think about this question: How do you cope with criticism?
Do you try to justify your action?
Do you immediately begin to defend your position and what has happened?
Do you argue with clients?
If these things are happening, you might need to ease up a bit. Consider the source of the comment, , , often it’s not intended to be criticizing as much as simply a comment. Generally, people are not intending to make things personal so try not to take it personal.
Look for the insight in the comment that might be of help to you or your team, , , there may be some real value buried in someone’s critique.
Learn to look for the positive that comes with every negative, , , if you look hard enough, I can tell you it is there. I know, I know, , , it is hard to look for positives when someone is criticizing you or “beating up” your team. All I can say is, “Don’t let it get the best of you.”
Listen, be open minded and above all, , , stay positive. Your positive attitude can sway someone else’s negative demeanor to the positive side.
“Listen to the force, Luke.”
I’ll deliver the 46th IT Manager Institute in Columbia, TN on September 20-23, 2011. It is the only one planned for the remainder of the year.
Graymere Country Club – site of the 46th IT Manager Institute
I reduced my travel this year to focus on a couple of major projects and participants in this class will receive new products I plan to announce soon.
Reserve your seat now and join me in the most practical “how to” IT manager training in the industry. There is a simple reason we have 100% positive feedback from everyone who attends this class, , , it works!!
Details are at www.mde.net/institute
Read testimonials at www.mde.net/institute/page4.html
See photos at www.itlever.com/institute-photos
Are you a manager who is respected and appreciated by your clients and employees, , , or are you a manager who isn’t liked and lacks respect?
Obviously, we want to be a manager who is respected and appreciated, , , maybe even liked by others although this last part is not as important.
Let me draw a comparison between two professional golfers and you might be able to see some things that come to bear in your own situation.
First, there is Colin Montgomery from Scotland. He is one of the most successful Ryder Cup players in history, winner of dozens of European titles and their #1 player for many years. He was successful, yes, , , but he never gained real respect and appreciation in the US.
Why?
Three reasons:
Let’s take another professional, , ,Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland. He won the US Open today and not a negative word was said about him all week. Everyone, even Americans were pulling for him.
Why?
Again, three reasons:
Do your actions and how you carry yourself create positives with people around you or do they alienate them about how they feel about you.
In the end, we earn our supporters and “fans” or we don’t get them. It’s true for the two golfers in my story. Here is a case in point, , , this weekend 90%+ who watched the US Open were pulling for Rory. Had Monty been in the same situation, , , he would have had some of the Europeans pulling for him, but that’s all.
It makes a huge difference when you have support of others, , , start earning it.
Posted in IT Manager Tips
Golf is a model sport for all others. Don’t get me wrong, , , I’m a big baseball fan, love football and basketball. But golf is a model for all other sports and here is why:
Those are just a few issues why I believe golf is a model for other sports.
I watched thethird round of the 111th US Open today and it was great. A 22-year old Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland walked the fairways with fans applauding and pulling for him from all over the world. The reason is because of his character and how he handles himself, , , he is a model for young people to look up to.
Americans like “our Open” to be won by Americans so we usually pull against Europeans. In this one, we hope Rory wins because he has paid his dues by losing a heartbreaker at this years’ Masters, , , but he handled it like a gentleman and with maturity in every way. He didn’t blame everyone for his failure, he took responsibility like a man far beyond his years. How he handled the situation and how he goes about his business has won him millions of new fans, , , he is golf’s next superstar, , , but you know what, he will earn it, , , it won’t be given to him.
As an IT manager, are you building an organization that’s viewed as having a lot of character and ethics, , , or one that’s viewed as just collecting your pay? How you approach work every day and what you get accomplished tells volumes about who you and your organization are and influences how your clients deal with you.
The US Open golf tournament started today at Congressional Country Club in Washington, D.C. I’ll spend the next four days glued to the TV with my son, Eddie. Major golf tournaments are some of the best father-son times we have and the US Open is at the top.
In 1992 Eddie, Dorine, and I flew to California to attend the US Open held at Pebble Beach that year. It was six months before Eddie’s auto accident which changed all of our lives forever, , , but one thing has not changed, , , the fun we get in watching US Open golf together. It is one of the best Father’s Day gifts I receive every year.
The title of this post is, Why playing in the US Open is like managing an IT organization. You might think this parallel to be a bit strange, but if you read on you will understand why I think there are similarities.
First of all, , , I played competitive golf in high school, college, and in the Marine Corps, , , plus many tournaments since then. Lots of golf tournaments.
I was also a CIO and IT manager for over 20 years, , , and I have seen similar types of things occur in tournament golfer and CIO.
Here are a few things that will unfold at the US Open this week that are similar to what takes place with CIO’s.
This weekend I traded several email messages with an IT manager in Egypt who just completed our IT Manager Institute Self Study. He reworked his resume and asked me to review it and provide feedback.
Before I opened the PDF file I could have told you what the resume would look like. Over 90% of the IT manager resumes I have seen look pretty much the same:
Bottom line, , , most IT manager resumes are technical.
Most IT managers think that to get a technology manager job you need to provide lots of information about your competence in technology. Unfortunately, that’s not what senior managers are looking for, , , we need managers who can manage technology resources and get results. We aren’t looking for technology experts, , , this is handled by the staff.
What these resumes don’t do is stand out from all the other IT manager resumes you see. They provide a lot of “what” but not “why” a senior manager would want to interview you.
Put yourself in a senior manager’s situation. If he is looking for background in a specific technology, having this on your resume will hit his “hot button”. The problem is that this is a “hit or miss” and more of a “miss” than anything.
What you need is something on your resume that makes a senior manager want to learn more about you, , , makes him put you in his “top 3 candidates list” and truly want to interview you.
You need something that says “WHY”! You need to list specific results and benefits received from what you have accomplished.
IT managers almost always focus on “what” when they need to focus on “why”. It doesn’t matter if it is in a resume, part of an IT strategy document, or discussing the need to invest in upgrading your infrastructure.
“What” deals with technology, , , “why” deals with business perspective and justification.
Instead of just putting in your resume that you delivered a new scanning and imaging technology, , , add the results that were achieved, , , like “eliminated 50% of our paper and reduced handling and storage costs by $45,000 per year”.
Instead of just saying you delivered 80% of your projects successfully, add that it “improved client satisfaction by 30%”.
Instead of saying you delivered XYZ project, add that it “reduced the delivery time of a key service by two weeks”.
The point is you need to highlight the results you achieved in the points you make about former companies and experiences. Senior managers are looking for people who can make things happen and understand the importance in delivering business value.
It’s all about RESULTS.
Positive results achieved by your past actions create interest in learning more about you, , , and how you got your results. It says you are results oriented and realize the business purpose of your part in the company.
Senior managers don’t see a results oriented resume for a CIO or IT manager that often, , , they see the same old thing all the time, a resume with lots of information about the person’s technical knowledge but rarely anything about what the person accomplished. This is not what gets you an interview.
Another challenge IT managers have in writing their resume
Something else was immediately noticeable in the resume I reviewed this weekend. It was 6 pages long. This is not what I want to receive as a senior manager, , , it needs to be no longer than 2 pages.
Now, different countries and cultures have different preferences. Some countries place emphasis on listing all the training and education you have. In the US, we don’t tend to focus on an IT manager’s past technical training unless we are in the education industry.
What I can tell you is that I probably would not give a candidate an interview if he sent me a 6-page resume. In it will be lots of detail and very little, if any, reasons for me to want to interview and hire him. Almost guaranteed.
IT managers are high detail and we think we need to give people all kinds of detail describing all that we know about technology. Not so.
Senior managers don’t care what you know nearly as much as whether you can get results for their company. Don’ t provide all this detail unless it’s the common thing to do in your country or the industry you work in.
My advice – make your resume more results oriented and less technical oriented.
My student from Egypt, , , he condensed his resume into a 2-page summary. He now has a long detailed version and a short version. He also revised his resume to be much more results oriented, , , it’s a resume that describes someone I would want to interview if I was hiring an IT manager.
Another post reinforces this point – CLICK HERE
There are many times in your career when you will have a tough decision to make, , , one that causes a major internal conflict within you about what you should do.
I just had one of these issues occur in my personal life. I was asked to do something to help someone, a person who I’ve never been close to. We will never become close because I view this person as a “taker”, , , not a “giver”.
I try to align myself with “givers” and distance myself from “takers”.
Initially, my inclination was to simply decline the request, but I thought about it and discussed the issue with my wife and an uncle who I respect. Neither of them gave me the answer or advised me specifically on what to do, but they made comments and asked questions that were very helpful in me reaching a decision.
My final decision was to accept the request. The reason, it is the “right thing to do”. The other reason was the person was placing a lot of trust in me just by asking me to help him in this way, and he truly needed my help, , , something I take seriously.
It’s always more important to do “the right thing” than to “do things right”. Your internal compass should always point to doing “the right thing”.
I’ve had to do some unpleasant things in my career, but the guiding principle I always tried to use was to “do the right thing”. In the long run, you have to look yourself in the mirror and feel you have conducted yourself with character. Sometimes, this means you must put personal opinion and preferences aside.
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