Beyond Blinking Lights and Acronyms

Competency Based Performance Reviews

My good friend, Robin Kessler, has just completed her third book, Competency-based Performance Reviews: How to Perform Employee Evaluations the Fortune 500 Way.  It completes the cycle of writing your resume (Competency-Based Resumes: How To Bring Your Resume To The Top Of The Pile ) and getting the interview (Competency-Based Interviews: Master the Tough New Interview Style And Give Them the Answers That Will Win You the Job).  As you can tell from the similarity in titles they all have the common theme of knowing how to express your competencies to succeed in each phase.

Performance review are not very popular with anyone, neither the managers who give them nor the employees who receive them.  There are even some suggestions that we abandon the process as it exists today such as:

• Please throw out your performance review system by Kent Blumberg
• The Alternative to Performance Reviews  by Terence Seamon
• Performance reviews are a big fat waste of time by Alexander Kjerulf
• Performance Evaluations: Do They Do More Harm Than Good? by Bob Sutton

I suspect this is because they are rarely done well.  Fortunately Kessler's book can help in this area.  She lays out the process as most companies do it and shows through numerous example how to prepare for the review and how to do one properly.  A major theme is "Don't attack the person, attack the problem".  She shows how properly structuring competency reviews can do this.

Interviewed On Dice.com About Business Analysts Raising Their Profile

Back in April, Sonia Lelii from Dice.com, a recruiting and career development website for technology and engineering professionals, interviewed me as part of her story, Business Analysts Raise Their Profile in their Technology Today section.  Lelii also interviewed recruiter Christa Baker for her perspective.  Unfortunately, I had forgotten about this until Monday's post on hiring business analysts reminded me.

The article talks in detail about the need for people who can communicate between IT and business groups and what types of background and  skills they need.  Take a look, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

If this topic was of interest, you might also like these:

• Hiring the Right / Wrong IT People to Achieve Alignment
• Jonathon Babcock's post Business Analyst Job Description
• Let's Get Down to Business
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• Or the posts in the Business Analysts / Analysis category

Hiring the Right / Wrong IT People to Achieve Alignment

Dr. George E. Strouse had a great article recently on CIO.com entitled "Are You Hiring the Wrong IT Staff to Achieve Your Alignment Goals?"  Strouse contends that the major cause of business and IT mis-alignment is that IT is not hiring the right kind of people.   He states "The right people need strong backgrounds in both business and technology. Most IT hiring managers place too much emphasis on strong technology backgrounds."  Although I cannot comment on whether or not this is the major reason for the misalignment I wholeheartedly agree with his comment on the needed background nonetheless.

The most popular post I've made (accounting for about 20+% of site visits) is one that contains what I thought was a good business analyst job description.  While this job description does contains some technical requirements as you might expect it also contains skills that are not often found in traditionally trained IT folks.  These are the types of skills that are needed for an business analyst to understand business.

Dr. Strouse contends that the reason business can not get the right people is that we are asking for people with a Computer Science degree rather than an Information Systems degree.  As a professor of information systems at York College in Pennsylvania he is eminently qualified to layout the distinction and makes a strong case.  Now before anyone with a Computer Science degree gets upset please read his article carefully.  As he points out there is a need for both types of degrees but each is better suited for different functions.

The IT Career Builder's Toolkit

Matt Moran is one of my favorite bloggers.  I first ran across Matt at the ITToolBox with his Policy Parrot posts.  If you get a chance, read them.  They are classics in the realm of customer service, an area that should be near and dear to anyone in IT.  Matt brings a real-world practical approach to his writings and he's done it again with The IT Career Builder's Toolkit.  It is not only a job search guide but more importantly a career guide.  It is available on Amazon, Cisco Press or InformIT or you can read it for free online.

An example of this practicality is Chapter 3,  "Information Technology: A Great Career" where he addresses the issue of outsourcing and off-shoring head-on.  Complaining about off-shoring in particular is a favorite past time in IT with the refrain of "How can we compete with someone only paid a tenth of what we make?" As Matt points out "Outsourcing Is About Value, Not Costs"  and the key to having a successful IT career is to focus on providing value and not just being the lowest cost provider.

In another example of practicality Matt provides a list of "Actions & Ideas" at the end of each chapter to help you put the ideas of the chapter to use.  As Matt correctly states, "Looking for work, is work".  As such, you should manage your career and a job search in particular as a project.

Matt does provide useful job search tips in a number of chapters but if your focus is solely a job search you may want to supplement it with some other books that go into more detail on those specific areas.  The value of Matt's book is in building your career not just finding the next job. For example some of the chapters include:

• Chapter 16  On-the-Job Promotion
• Chapter 17  The Boundaries and Benefits of Working at Home
• Chapter 18  The Toolkit Approach to Consulting
• Chapter 19  The Move to Management

These are topics that you won't find a lot about in the other books but are a critical part of your career.

If you are thinking about your career (and you should be) take a look at Matt's book.  As a true technologist he's made it available online for free and if you like it you can purchase later.

Book Review: "I’m on Facebook – Now What???"

My good friend from Jibberjobber (a great site for you job seekers by the way), Jason Alba has done it again.  He's followed up his book I’m On LinkedIn - Now What??? by co-authoring another great book on social networking.  He and Jesse Stay have partnered up to write I'm on Facebook­Now What???' . [Update February 17, 2008 their book is now available on Amazon.]

By teaming up Jason and Jesse bring a unique perspective to this book.  The book's website describes Jason as a "career management Evangelist".  Having known Jason for a while that is a very accurate description.  He recognizes that a good career doesn't just happen, it has to be managed.  Through his website, and both of these books he helps you do this by providing you with the tools you need.  Jesse rounds this out with technical expertise and experience using Facebook having developed popular Facebook applications.

In the book's Introduction they describe what is about as "helping you figure out how to derive professional, business and career benefits from participating in Facebook", and they deliver on this.  We in IT often use the terms "instruction manual" and "user guide" interchangeably.  However Jason and Jesse have written a user guide in the truest sense of the word.  They not only talk about the "how" of using Facebook but the "why" in regard to using it.  Like I'm on LinkedIn - Now What??? this book is refreshingly honest about Facebook.  They describe what works well and what doesn't and what you should look out for.  This book is much more than a technical manual, it is a true guide for getting what you need from Facebook.

Are We Too Smart For Our Own Good?

There are a lot of smart people in IT.  In fact the stereotype of IT folks are the smart guys and gals that are good a computers, math and science but are horrible at social skills.  There is some truth, I believe, in this stereotype although the stereotype is greatly over exaggerated.  It isn't that IT people don't have social skill it is just that they often choose not to use them since after all the power of their logic and the strength of their reasoning and knowledge is more than sufficient isn't it?

A recent post by Penelope Trunk at the Brazen Careerist blog entitled "Stop thinking you'll get by on your high I.Q." would suggest otherwise.  She laments that we seem to value high IQ over social skills as if high IQ was all that mattered.  In reality it is a balance between the two.  But because we in IT are so comfortable with the technical side we tend to forget the people side.  We have to remember that success is just as dependent on the social aspects at it is the technical on ones - the old people, process and technology cliche.

As Trunk points out based on an article from the College Journal, recruiters of B-school graduates look for 5 traits:

1. Communication and interpersonal skills

2. Original and visionary thinking

3. Leadership potential

4. Ability to work well within a team

5. Analytical and problem-solving skills

Interestingly enough these traits or competencies are very similar to ones that I wrote about in regard to a Russell Reynolds (a large international executive recruiter) analysis of the competencies required for a CIO.

So why are these so important?

CIOs and Business Experience, the Career Impact

I recently did a 2 part post (Part 1, Part 2) talking about CIOs and their perception of their understanding of business.  In a bit of serendipitous timing I just ran across and article, "Salary Report: IT Execs With Business Experience on the Rise"  by Linda Tucci at SearchCIO.com.  It would seem that there is some strong evidence that career success lies beyond just being technology oriented.

The article notes, "The numbers reinforce mounting anecdotal evidence, as well as industry data, indicating that an increasing number of CIOs are gaining business experience, encouraging their employees to get business experience and training business employees in IT. "  While this is an interesting and probably not a  surprising trend it begs the question - how does having business experience affect my career?

Fortunately, Tucci provides some insight to this question.  The first is a comment by Gartner (an IT research and advisory firm) analyst Ellen Kitzis who "finds a correlation between a strong business and IT connection and company performance. Among companies where the CIO does not play a strategic role, 26% are less likely to achieve their financial objectives or open new markets, according to the Gartner research."  Well if IT is now being recognized as contributing to the company's growth and performance we would logically expect to be compensated accordingly, right?

“I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???” by Jason Alba

My good friend Jason Alba brings a very interesting perspective to managing your career.  Jason is the founder of the JibberJobber Career Toolset which is an excellent tool to help you manage and organize your career so that you can concentrate on your career rather than the organizational tasks.  The JibberJobber website and blog also provide some valuable information and advice.    What is interesting about all of this is that Jason didn't start JibberJobber as a "HR professional" or recruiter or career counselor.  He, like a lot of us found himself  "in transition" and seeing a need put his IT skills to work and started JibberJobber.  So unlike a lot of career advisors Jason has actually lived the career search travails and brings a real world perspective to his advice and to JibberJobber which is why I like it so much.

To add to this Jason has just published “I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???” that really helps you make the most of LinkedIn the social networking tool for your professional and career networking.  [Update February 17, 2008 - this is now on Amazon.] If you haven't joined LinkedIn to help manage your professional networking you need to (it's free although they do also offer additional services for a price) and you need to read Jason's book on how to best use use LinkedIn.

I like Jason's book for a number of reasons. Jason gives a refreshingly honest and balanced review of LinkedIn.  He'll tell you what is good about LinkedIn and what is not so good; how to use it and how it shouldn't be used.  Basically he not only tells you about what it is but also what it isn't.  He makes suggestions and supports them by telling you why he makes a particular recommendation.  I really appreciate that kind of information. 

Just as he does in JibberJobber Jason also provides a real world perspective of a person that actually uses the product to his book.  His tips are very logical and practical.  I especially like his suggestion on how to set up your profile.  I followed his straightforward instructions and it resulted in a more complete profile.  This book will really help you maximize the potential of LinkedIn by guiding you in how you set up your profile and how you use it.

Both JibberJobber and LinkedIn are useful tools for managing your career and now Jason has added a practical guide “I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???”.   These are 3 powerful tools - make the most of them.

If this topic was of interest, you might also like these:

• Dinner with Orville
• The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan
• Why I Blog: 10 Reasons to Blog To Establish Your Personal Brand
• Or the posts in the "Career Management" category

Debugging Your Information Technology Career

Update 8/23/07: The author has notified me of the following:

"Last we communicated, I told you that my Under Construction site had an expected "go live" date of August 24th. Because of a problem with my developer, I have chosen a new developer to finish the site.  Although I'm optimistic that my site will be functional next week,  I've changed the "go live" date to September 7th to give me some  leeway in case there are unforeseen issues. As soon as the site is  operational, I will let you know."

Update 8/6/07: The author has notified me that the site to purchase the book is currently under construction but should be available by August 24th if not sooner.  My apologies for any confusion. --- Mike

Janice Weinberg recently sent me a copy of her new book "Debugging Your Information Technology Career" (293 pages, available at www.elegantfixpress.com ).  The book's subtitle "A Compass to New and Rewarding Fields That Value Computer Knowledge" is your first clue that this isn't the run of the mill career / job search book.

The premise of the book is that you may want to leave the IT field and try a new career but don't want to start from scratch.  You've spent all this time making a career in IT why let that experience go to waste?  As Weinberg demonstrates you really can make the switch to fields where your previous experience in IT is an asset.

But IT is so much fun why would you ever want to leave?  As Weinberg points out, outsourcing and off-shoring are the new realities in IT.  As such there is the very real possibility that at some point in your career you may be affected by this.  I'd like to suggest another reason - to broaden your experience and get some real business experience.  Experience outside of IT is becoming a more valuable asset that hiring managers look for in Business Analysts and IT managers.  You may not always get the opportunity for career changes with your existing company and this book and help you make it on your own.

Weinberg gives 20 examples of careers where you can leverage your IT experience.  As part of each example she includes information on:

A Few Belated Birthday Wishes

I guess I've had my head in the sand the past month or so and missed a couple of important blog birthdays.  Oops!  Well better late than never.

On May 15th Jason Alba over at JibberJobber celebrated his first blog birthday.  JibberJobber for those of you who don't know is a great  job search tool that helps you organize your job search.  It allows you to organize your contacts, keep track of your appointments, follow-up on interviews and other useful stuff.  Much of the functionality is free and a there is also a very reasonably priced premium service.  Check it out.  Jason has done a great job in developing this tool and is constantly upgrading  its capability.  This a great tool for any job seeker (a perfect birthday present).  Jason also runs a very good blog with a lot of practical advice. 

On May 30th Kent Blumberg's blog also celebrated its first birthday.  Kent is the one that got me started blogging and also introduced me to Jason Alba.  Kent's blog is about leadership, strategy and performance and provide useful insight into succeeding in business as a leader.

Both Jason and Kent have become good friends and were instrumental keeping me sane during my job search.  They're the kind of friends you always hoped you'd have.  I wish I knew how to say it better but words fail me so I'll simply say - Thanks guys and happy birthday!

"Happy Birthday" photo by foobean01

Dinner with Orville

My good friend Gerry Fusco contacted me last week to let me know that Orville Pierson would be back in town.  Orville is Senior Vice President, Corporate Director of Program Design and Service Delivery at Career Transition / Outplacement firm of Lee Hecht Harrison and the author of The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search.  He was in town to talk to the folks at Between Jobs Ministry (BJM) about Job Search Work Teams (JSWTs).  Orville was kind enough to help get JSWTs started back in 2006 and came in to see how they were doing and help kick off additional training from more team leaders.

Since I've now landed a position I wasn't able to attend the BJM sessions.  Gerry reports that they were standing room only and very well received.  Fortunately I was able to join Orville and the original group of JSWT leader for dinner that night.  It was great to see Orville and the team again.  My landing a new position is due in large part to the effectiveness of JSWTs and I highly recommend Orville's book (and website) and the JSWT process.

Thinking of Working From Home?

I ran across a post "My flexible friend the office" by Tomas Mcinernery over at IT@Intel Blog.  Mcinernery does a good job of talking about some of the issues dealing with telecommuting.  He talks about the need to have a policy and working with Human Resources and the Legal departments to determine to what extent can people work from home with out breaching regulations or local work rules and laws.  He also mentions looking at the technical issues to make sure your employees come in via a secure connection.

While Mcinernery does discuss the issues such as employees feeling isolated, the complications of mentoring and developing junior staff I think a lot more needs to be said about the human factor in telecommuting.

Put me in, coach - I'm ready to play today

This past week my friend and career coach Kent Blumberg was in town and we had the opportunity for a quick ad hoc coaching session.  As luck would have it on the drive home that night I heard John Fogerty's classic song, Centerfield, with the refrain:

Oh, put me in, coach - I'm ready to play today
Put me in, coach - I'm ready to play today
Look at me, I can be center field

This got me thinking.  I'm fortunate to have a coach from outside the company that can provide some independent, objective suggestions.  Our employees usually are not as lucky.  They typically have to dependent on their managers and supervisors (gasp, gulp) -- us!

Revisiting the CIO Reporting to the CFO

Back in October I talked about the CIO reporting to the CFO.  A few days later I reported on a "State of the CIO" survey that Chris Koch discussed in his blog.  I suggested that the CIO really needed to report to the CEO rather than the CFO to be strategic.  Back then I said,

The difficulty is in the chicken or egg argument.  Does IT report to the CFO because it is tactical or is it tactical because it reports to the CFO?  But as Koch correctly reports, ". . . something is sure to crop up around the corner that could present an opportunity for a company that uses IT tactically to start using it strategically. Bury your CIO inside finance and you'll be sure to miss that opportunity."

Last week Brian Gillooly in his CIO Nation blog gives us a Sneak Peek at "Defining the CIO" Research.

You Can Learn A Lot From A Used Car Salesman: That's The Way We Dooz It

One of my favorite TV shows is King of Cars on A&E.  And it is not just because they have the greatest theme song since the Miami Vice TV show's theme song.  The show is about Towbin Dodge in Las Vegas that is the #1 used car dealer in the country.  It follows the daily activities of Josh "Chop" Towbin  a.k.a "The King of Cars" and his sales team.  Chop became famous for the unusual bi-weekly infomercial featuring his sales team as some rather strange characters to say the least.  Chop and his show have a very interesting story and although not everyone is a fan of his techniques you do have to say the show is entertaining.

However, this article isn't about selling used cars or about being entertaining.  It is about managing, developing, and motivating your employees.  Chop shows a rather unique management style and ability to develop and get the most from his employees.