Thinking(s)
We think (perhaps too much) about Organisations, the Functions they perform, the Information needed to execute those functions, and the Technologies used to implement them. We capture some of our thoughts in writing to share them, please choose a particular category from the menu above.
The three currencies of business
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- Created on 20 December 2010
- Written by Steve Burrows
The Cost of Disinformation
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- Created on 19 December 2010
- Written by Steve Burrows
As businesses we regularly publish information. This website gives information about our services and snippets of news about our business etc. The information we publish to the public is intended for the public and open to public scrutiny, so most responsible businesses try to publish honest, accurate information. If the information we ought to publish will cast us in a less than flattering light then we usually avoid publishing it, remaining silent being preferable to self-incrimination or deception.
There is no T in CIO
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- Created on 06 December 2010
- Written by Administrator
Information Technology - what does it do? What do people who work in IT do, and what do they think they do?
I'm a Chartered Information Technology Professional. I've been working with computers for three decades. I know what I do, but I increasingly have the perception that many in IT, perhaps even the IT industry as a whole, have lost their way.
Strategic IT
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- Created on 31 March 2010
- Written by Steve Burrows
Can IT be strategic? Is there such a thing as Strategic IT, and if so what is it?
Managed IT - What's Not To Like?
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- Created on 26 February 2010
- Written by Steve Burrows
Smaller businesses generally don't have internal IT teams or IT experts, it's hard to justify the cost of a dedicated IT specialist in a 20-person company. Yet we all need IT in our businesses, we depend on IT in so many ways, so what's the solution?
Choosing a Field Service Management System Vendor
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- Created on 14 January 2010
- Written by Steve Burrows
As published in .
Deciding which vendor to buy your field service system from is as important as the system you choose. What you buy now is probably not going to do what you need in the future, so supplier flexibility and alignment is crucial to a achieving enduring ROI.
Read more: Choosing a Field Service Management System Vendor
Tribal Warfare at Work
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- Created on 13 January 2010
- Written by Steve Burrows
When the Chairman emailed the board requesting performance improvement suggestions, my reply was simply two words - "Tribal Warfare". This captured his imagination, at the next board meeting he siezed on my words eagerly and to my horror, having entirely misinterpreted my meaning, outlined his ideas for inter-departmental competition within the business.
Leader, Manager, Servant?
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- Created on 16 December 2009
- Written by Steve Burrows
As published in Isle of Man Newspapers an article about leadership, developing leadership in management, and the role of Servant Leadership.
One of the enduring problems in business is that of promoting employees into "management" positions. Good workers expect to be recognised, rewarded, and progress up the rungs of the ladder in return for their commitment and contribution to the organisation. One day, if they're lucky, the next rung of the ladder is a management position in which they will be responsible for other workers who execute business process instead of doing all the grunt work themselves. Often we promote people who have delivered exceptional results as workers into the coveted management role, only to see them inexplicably fail.
Choosing a Field Service Management System
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- Created on 04 November 2009
- Written by Steve Burrows
As published in , an by Steve Burrows on the business considerations in selecting a Field Service Management Solution.
Making the right choice of field service management system
Deciding which computer system to buy for the organisation is the stuff of nightmares. Between the complexity of modern business processes and operations, the conflicting requirements of users and the grandiose claims made by some software suppliers, selecting a system is a very difficult and hazardous undertaking which often leads to disappointment and wasted capital expenditure.
The above statement is true for almost all strategic/enterprise computer systems – ERP, CRM, etc, even though the business processes and modus operandi surrounding the use of such systems are well understood and relatively standardised. Selecting a field service management (FSM) system is much more difficult.
Managing Social Media at Work
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- Created on 03 November 2009
- Written by Steve Burrows
Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, Bebo, Myspace etc.) has become one of the most popular uses of the Internet. It connects people and allows them to interact when they're apart; families, friends, ex-colleagues... Because it offers staff a distraction from work it is often seen by managers and business owners as a threat to productivity – so is it? and if it is, what can you do about it?
IT standards are failing SMEs
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- Created on 29 May 2009
- Written by Steve Burrows
As published in Computer Weekly, a short by SBA's Steve Burrows about how the UK standards "industry" is failing the huge majority of businesses.
Thinking(s)