Who Are You Going To Call

Leveraging technology to make a company run more efficiently, reduce cost or improve quality is simply not enough. A resume in which you offer to replicate this for any new company is going to be passed over by most. Today the head of technology is expected to be a full member of the

management team contributing to the development of new product and services, expanding the customer base, and opening new markets of all kinds.  The good news is we are empowered to do this with the affordable computing power, connectivity and data available.  Moreover, the world is finally in a state of readiness to accept these new ideas. The classic examples include Airbnb, Uber and the new similar application where people share boats.  The new norm is technology turning an industry completely inside-out.

We are now an on demand, variable supply, value-based micro-company society where every individual can be an entrepreneur, running an entire business, often without having to leave home. Business opportunities exist on both sides of this model. Traditional companies  leverage just-in-time supply of expertise, consuming just enough to meet their needs without incurring additional overhead or associated costs. Individuals can apply their deep knowledge and experience to a wide variety of issues across many clients, constantly learning and improving while delivering efficient and effective solutions. Instead of one individual with a little experience in several areas being on staff, engage six experts as needed for portions of the project achieving superior results with lower long term cost.  

What I envision is different from the classic consulting model where companies engage teams from well know firms like Accenture, Oracle or Mercer, and instead turn to vehicle such as e-lance to solicit bids for specific resources or solutions from individuals.  As the boomers age out of the work force they become increasing rare and valuable resources with exactly the right knowledge and skills to meet these demands. Orchestrating the match of needs to resources represents, in my mind, one of the most interesting and potentially rewarding business opportunities today and the near future.

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

Mind My Own Business

People often react to my use of social networks to "check in" at a location,  regularly posting my adventures in travel, food or special events. Those of you who may follow me on Facebook pretty much know where I am or where I am headed, what I am eating, drinking or cooking, and sometimes the people who are with me. "Why do you want everyone to know where you are and what you are doing?" I am asked, "Don't you want some privacy in your life?"

Allow me to explain.

First, I segregate my network activity into social and business, and while there may be occasional crossover, these social posts are purely for fun. My social posts are done using Swarm (successor to Foursquare), Facebook and a personal Twitter account. More recently I started posting via Instagram in an effort to keep up with current trends. The accounts are connected so, for example, a Swarm check-in automatically posts to Facebook and tweets. Similarly, my Instagrams also post to Facebook and Twitter.

My friends, family and I all derive a certain pleasure in sharing. I know this from the "likes" and comments garnered over the years. With people segregated in both time and space, this turns out to be a great way to keep everyone apprised of events, however important or mundane, in my life. Whether its a simply an extraordinary meal at a local restaurant or family wedding photos, what better way to 'broadcast' this small chapter of your life to those who care? Followers can choose to view, react or ignore each however they please.

So, what about privacy? Well the most effective means of keeping something truly private is to not tell anyone. So where I want privacy you are not likely to see any posts.  It's that simple.  Most of the time I have nothing to hide and no reason to be secretive. In fact, there have been a couple of instances where posting my whereabouts has lead to an unexpected and pleasant chance meeting with a friend or family member. Unless you are ducking bill collectors or the mob, why not let people know you are around?

Posting on LinkedIn, Google+ and my business Twitter persona are whole different kettle of fish. There the main purpose, as it says on this blog, is to educate, inform and sometimes entertain in a professional way. On these networks I share my blog posts, business knowledge, experience and even pieces of useful information gleaned at seminars, conferences, events and publications. It is important to remain informed, connected, active and visible in today's business world.

That's how I leverage social nets to keep friends and family informed, share life experiences and to remain ever present among my colleagues and peers in business.

How does that differ from what you routinely do?

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

Where Did We Meet?

I have always been a fan of LinkedIn. For professional networking it is unsurpassed, outdone only by live events where you can shake hands, make eye contact and exchange business cards.

I am not exactly sure when this feature was added but I would love to shake the hand of the person who enhanced the "relationship" tab to allow for notes and other information about each contact that only you can see. One of these special fields is "how you met."

I attend a lot of conferences, business meetings and social events which means I collect a lot of business cards. I have always been pretty diligent about keeping this contact information in my personal address book, but often the 'connection' is made on-line in LinkedIn as well. I also connect frequently with people who I meet by phone, video-conference, through publications or even by referral.

Of all the things I have the most trouble tracking it is how and where I first met someone. Being not just able, but prompted to include this tidbit of information when adding a new connection is pure gold. Now, when looking back at people, particularly people with whom there has been little contact for a long time, one can easily be aware of the source of the connection.

By the way, the section allows you to add multiple notes about the individual such as personal information or other background material you may have, activities or communications with the person. You can set up reminders to prompt you to call, write or take some other action. The contact can also be "tagged" or assigned to a group. 

By using these features, which are included in the free version of the product, you can have  pretty robust contact tracking system.

Recently, I started to go back through my contacts, reconnecting with people and carefully adding notes. Not only has it been working well, but I even get a laugh when some of them can't recall where we met either.

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

ello, I Love Tsu, Won't You Tell Me Your Name

Almost as if right on queue a couple of new social networks have arrived in recent months. The last time I found myself between full time assignments, Google+ captured my attention and consumed a significant portion of my free time.

Perhaps I have missed some, and surely others will come along in time. But let me share some initial impressions of ello and Tsu.

ello popped up and when one of my good friends from Google+ days invited me to participate I thought I would give it a go. Signing up was quick and easy and I was in. It took all of about ten seconds to realize this was not a feature rich environment. In fact, I characterize the interface as rather spartan.

To be fair, I tinkered a bit, was not overly impressed and have not returned since. While I was "tickled" frequently for a few weeks, I have not received any recent notices of a new post or invitation to return. It seems to me activity there is quite low.

The promise of ello is a new place to interact with others of like minds without the fear of your content or data being exploited for financial gain. The operators promise the basic service will be free forever. They will never sell advertising on the site, nor sell data about their subscribers to anyone. Their plan is to up-sell with special features so compelling you will be happy to pay for them. This is a familiar business model sometimes called the freemium model.

Tsu, on the other hand, has a rather different approach. They will sell ad space and hope your content will attract eyeballs and drive revenue just like some other social networks we all know and love. The difference, though, is the 90 / 10 revenue sharing model. Yes, 90% of the revenue driven by your content will be credited to your 'bank' while the operators are only keeping 10% of it.

The interface looks like the what you would get if Google+ and Facebook got together and had a baby. It is very similar in appearance with a multi-dimensional stream, right side ad bar, and several other familiar features and functions including the like, share, friend and follow constructs.

I like Tsu and plan to continue to have fun with it, posting faux proverbs and the occasional story, graphic or video people might find amusing. I want to see just how many pennies I can accumulate under this novel business model.

Has someone finally come up with the magic to compete with Facebook? Will this new upstart grow fast and prosper, while its participants also prosper?

You can click here to sign up, explore and decide for yourself.

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

No Lack of Focus

Often people view social networking as a waste of time or distracting. Sneaking a peek at your daughter's Big Bird costume or reading the tweet on who won the New York marathon is very likely to draw your attention away from whatever it is you are supposed to be doing.

Yet, I had an experience last week at the 2014 FW SIM CIO Executive Leadership Summit which suggests otherwise.

It was my plan to kick back and attend all the sessions, absorbing the wisdom and experience the world class lineup of speakers would share with us. I had no role in the formal agenda as a speaker, moderator or even panelist. But I did want to tweet and share an occasional nugget with all of you, my Twitter followers.

I have done this before at meetings and conferences when I saw an opportunity to pass along a catchy phrase, bit of news or novel concept in 140 characters or less. There are usually one of two pearls worth pecking out on the old iPad, even at the risk of missing the next sentence or two.

As usual, the CIO Summit lived up to its reputation with a long list of top notch presentations from the opening session on security with industry giant Whit Diffie and former head of the FBI Shawn Henry, right through to the informative and very entertaining close by noted columnist, author and TV host, David Pogue.

There was no lack of material to tweet. It felt like every other sentence was a sound bite that just had to be sent out to the world. But instead of this being a distraction, I found myself listening more intently and mentally digesting the ideas, concepts, facts and opinions of these thought leaders. I was paying more attention and remained more focused throughout the entire day.

In fact, at the close of the conference, our host and moderator had to catch a flight. I was invited to jump on stage and pinch-hit some closing commentary. With very little preparation, I was able to walk through the high points, still fresh in my mind.

Of course I refrained from tweeting while on stage.

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

Spam, Bam, Thank You Man

After watching a segment on Sixty Minutes tonight about a computer virus designed to infect a computer at the BIOS level, I was reminded about the ever present and growing cyber threat. Especially during this time of year, one has to be alert and extra vigilant to avoid falling prey to one of the many tricks used to gain personal information you didn't want to share.

The story was about a foiled plot to spread malware to computers at the level of the BIOS, the very heart of every personal computer. This is the code that sits between the operating system like Microsoft Windows and the physical hardware such as the memory and hard drives. Worse than stealing or destroying the data on the machine, controlling this layer could render the machine totally useless. Imagine the impact of massive computer failures in major financial institutions, banks or utility companies. What if a massive amount of government computers suddenly all stopped working and could not be restored?

Malware is usually spread through some form of social engineering. Clever tricks are used to fool people into allowing the bad code to gain access to their computer.  Email disguised as a legitimate message from a friend in need, a bank, retail store or web-based company arrives in your inbox. It invites you in some way to click on a button or a link where the malware resides. You don't realize it but when you click you allow that program to run on your machine with all the rights and access you have.

During the holiday season when we receive so many electronic greeting cards, photos and other messages

from relatives and friends, the challenge is to be sure we do not click before we think long and hard about what may happen.

We receive a message that looks as if it came from our bank warning of an overdraft, our favorite retail store with a special discount or the delivery service (Fed Ex, UPS, USPS) advising of a delivery.  They are each brilliant recreations of the formats actually used by these companies including actual logos.  It is hard not to be taken in.

Before clicking examine the links carefully. Browsers will show you where you are about to go if you hover over the link or hotspot without actually clicking on it.  Look very hard at the address. Note when it does not end with the company domain.  Visit the company site directly to see if the message is legitimate, or if warnings of fraudulent messages have been posted there.

A great way to protect yourself is to create an account with limited privilege for every day use. Use a different, special account to administer your computer. That way, malware will not have deep privilege and you can limit the amount of damage it can do. Change passwords regularly and don't use the same one for every account you have.

When all else fails, be sure you have good solid backup for that long, hard road to recovery.

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

Don't Blame It On The Tool

Ever smash your thumb with a hammer? Have the screwdriver slip and poke a hole in your skin?  Seems like human nature is to react by throwing the tool and yelling at it as if it did it to you on purpose, as if the tool had any means of doing anything on its own!

As a society, we work hard to find excuses for all the problems of the world caused by people. Children are protected from over-demanding teachers and coaches, and criminals defended from prosecution under the law. Sadly, many of our role models are stars and athletes with a lifestyle of self indulgence.

We have become a nation of  "not my fault". There is always some reason why we were unable to fulfill some obligation, keep a promise, make a due date or just behave properly. 

When John Belushi is finally cornered by Carrie Fisher in the original Blues Brothers movie, he drops to his knees and strings a series of excuses together; "I ran out of gas! I--I had a flat tire! I didn't have enough money for cab fare! My tux didn't come back from the cleaners! An old friend came in from out of town! Someone stole my car! There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! IT WASN'T MY FAULT!"

We encounter this very same mindset in the workplace. It was the "system" that failed, not me.

One of my favorite uncles once asked me about a problem with his gas bill. Seems the utility sent an invoice for thousands of dollars which was clearly an error. When he called the company he was told the 'computer' made an error. He asked me, since I was in technology, how computers could make mistakes like this? Of course, computers don't make mistakes, people do.  Perhaps the meter reader transposed digits, or a data entry clerk entered the wrong amount. But someone, some human did something which ultimately caused my uncle's bill to be wrong. We all know the acronym GIGO (garbage in, garbage out.) 

It's easy to miss a deadline because email was down, or the phones were not working. My PC had a virus, my laptop ran out of battery and I didn't have a charger, my cell phone fell in the toilet and the dog ate my spreadsheet. We sound a little like John Belushi. 

Where there is a will, there is a way. First, accept responsibility for your own actions. Don't blame the tool. Don't blame others. Get creative and find ways of overcoming obstacles. Hold to your commitments. Go the extra distance. Strive to reach your goals no matter what may stand in the way.

"It's a hundred and six miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses."

Despite untold numbers of police cars, these boys managed to deliver the money. So "Hit It !!"

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

A New Beginning

Since taking a full time job, it has been difficult to find the time to devote to writing. As I look back over the year, it has been interesting, exciting and rewarding, but somehow lacking one crucial element. As much as I try to put the blogging and daily social interaction behind me and out of my head, it has left a small but persistent void in my life.

This has brought me to my 2013 New Year's resolution. I must return to writing.

It will be difficult and there is no way I can produce a daily column, but I will make every effort to post at least two or three original columns each month. Those of you who have been most loyal followers will understand the quality of any post depends on the amount of time one has to devote to it. I am determined to keep the quality as least as high as it has been in the past and so this means limiting the numbers.

Choosing topics may be difficult, too, as clearly I will not write anything about the company, the job or current projects.  I will continue to draw on my past experiences, or independent thoughts and ideas that wander to the surface from some deep, dark place in my brain.

Of course, I will also post guest columns as I have in the past few months providing ample reading material and filling in those weeks when I can't bang out one of my own.

So. my fondest hope and dream is that we continue our voyage together, cruising in new directions, and some old, familiar ports.

As always, I look forward to your feedback, comments and opinions, and I welcome suggestions for topics of interest to you.

Best wishes for smooth sailing in the coming year!

Captain Joe  

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

All that divides us….

My good friend David O'Malley has been a faithful and supportive reader and asked if he could share some of his "views" from the bridge. He submitted the following column for your consideration and enjoyment.  He writes well and makes a lot of sense. 

On the face of it, what would a Farmer living in rural Poland have in common with an IT Manager from Connecticut? I mean, I can’t think of two professions that are further apart - One is entirely physical, commodity based, less a profession than a way of life. The other is virtual, “thought” based, the work of desk jockey’s. Personally, I’m a city person - America is far away from Poland, not just geographically, but culturally, and on top of that, we don’t even speak the same language. The divisions appear insurmountable.

Well, let me introduce you to Andrew Szczur, my wife’s Uncle who is, indeed, that Farmer in rural Poland and as it turns out, we actually have a lot in common.

To start, Andrew and I are about the same age, are married and we both have two young daughters. You’ll be glad to know that the constant ferrying of kids to extra-curricular activities is just as prevalent in Central Europe as it is here in America!

Andrew is very active as a volunteer Fire Fighter in his town – a specialized position that requires regular training and, as in America, a constant fight for funds to maintain and upgrade equipment. Although retired for a few years now, I spent 7 years as a volunteer EMT in Connecticut, so we could understand our respective protocols easily enough.

Throw in a general love of sport and some good old-fashioned BBQ’s and once we took the time to understand each other we found that our interests, goals and motivations in life, were pretty similar.

When it came down to it, the only thing that really divides us, is Language.

So how is this story relevant to you? Joe dedicated this blog to the idea that we in the IT industry have to get out of the “engine room” of our industries, and get into the Captains Bridge. As Joe would point out, we’re perfectly placed to do so – I mean, all of our companies complex business rules come to IT professionals for formalization, right? We even have career paths dedicated to teasing out the intricacies and nuances of these rules.

Understanding processes is one thing, understanding people is a whole different kettle of fish. If we want to get out of the engine room, we have to find commonalities with those who populate the Bridge of the ship. The motivations, fears, hopes, goals.

It starts with speaking a common language.

Do you know what EBITDA is, and why it’s important? If your company is public, can you read and fully understand the 10k? Which parts of that document relate most heavily to your company’s current growth strategy? How does that strategy affect the various stakeholders in your company that currently occupy the Bridge? More importantly, where do you fit into that strategy?

At the company cocktail hour, when a Senior Stakeholder asks you that innocuous, but oft loaded, question “So, David, what are you working on these days?” Can you answer in a language that the Stakeholder will understand, or does someone need to translate your answer for you?

Now make no mistake, it’s not easy, you have to work hard at it. With Andrew and I, it was a two way street – finding different ways to say the same thing, using the vocabulary of a four-year-old, and neutralizing accents. But it usually takes one person to make the first jump, put themselves out there and get the conversation rolling. Yes, it’s difficult.

The payoff, however, is unity. Or, as we call it in Corporate America, “Alignment”. Maybe, even, an eventual seat at the helm?

Z jedności jest siła.

David

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

When Worlds Collide (good stuff happens)

As everyone now knows, I have a new full time job as CIO of a company based in Manhattan. This has unfortunately taken me away from my beloved Google Plus community and severely limited the time I have to read and contribute to the content there. It also forced me to throttle back on my personal blog site and to miss, this week, for the first time my self imposed deadline for a column.

Yes, Wednesday came and went with no time to think about, let alone write a column for my loyal readers.

But something else happened this week which I wanted to share with all of you. My two worlds collided for the first time.

There I was faced with a deep technical challenge and limited access to the kind of resources I needed to address it. Our company website was not accessible from within the four walls.  Oh, I knew it was a DNS (domain name service)  issue but this particular environment was still foreign to me. This company network with its servers, routers and firewalls, was still a confusing pile of documentation, diagrams and notes to me. I lacked the history and familiarity that comes with building and operating a network from the start.

The senior manager who owned it for the last six years left during my first weeks on the job taking all that knowledge and experience with him. He would have gone straight to the source of the problem. Not me. I had to step back and try to look at this like a big puzzle and investigate one element at a time.

Worse, I have been in senior management for the last 15 years.. I'm still top of the heap when it comes to theory, strategy and planning but my hands on technical skill level has come down a few notches.

It was important to confirm that the web site was still up for the general public. Easy enough, I thought. I'll just "ping" someone and have them check.  But everyone on my corporate instant messaging system is inside the company.

Popping over to my Google Plus account, I saw that several of my good friends were on-line.  Using GTalk, I asked Eileen McAllister to please verify she could reach the web site.  She not only confirmed it but provided me with the correct external IP address which would play a key role in troubleshooting later on.

I had checked the obvious hosting and DNS service providers and now, armed with the correct address, I could see that all was in order.  That meant it was an internal DNS issue.

Next, I saw my friend Robert Redl, an IT professional in Austria and long time Google Hangout buddy. Opening a hangout, I was relieved to see that friendly face and we set about discussing my technical issue. Combining screen sharing with my cheat sheet of administrator accounts and passwords we managed to remote access various servers and check the configurations. Poking around we eventually found the "A" record which had an incorrect address.

The problem arose from the web site host changing servers. Some changes had been made but this one entry had been overlooked.  It meant people inside the network in a couple of offices would still be pointed to the old site. With active directory, making the change in the DC (main directory server) fixed it everywhere in a matter of seconds.

Having good and knowledgeable friends with the ability to leverage a tool like Google Plus positioned me to overcome a most difficult situation in less than an hour.  Some of  my old crew members had come to save me from perils encountered during my new voyage.

Thanks.

Captain Joe


Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

Practice Is Underrated by David O'Malley

My good friend David O'Malley has been a faithful and supportive reader and asked if he could share some of his "view" from the bridge. He submitted the following column for your consideration and enjoyment.  He writes well and makes a good point. Perhaps I better practice more ....

It dawned on me, a little while ago, that my daughter was really starting to pick up on the Cello. The tortured cat sound was gone, mostly, and she was playing with a timing, skill and grace that made me enjoy the performances. “When did that happen?”, I thought.

I should provide some back story – my daughter, Zosia, is five. She has been playing for almost two years, and man, has it been a struggle. Trying to get any child to sit still and concentrate on something is tough enough, let alone when that “something” is hard to do! Late last year, we faced a very real deadline for my daughter to get good enough to make graduation by the end of term, so we resolved to do something radical.

We practiced.

Every day.

Sometimes, twice a day.

The improvements were so significant it got me to thinking, “There could be something to this whole ‘practice’ thing”.

Shortly afterwards, I had the pleasure of reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book, ‘Outliers’, and it turns out the whole “practice” thing isn’t as radical as I first thought. According to studies performed on the subject, and summarized in the “Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance”,  10,000 hours of dedicated, focused, practice is what it takes to become an expert at something.

Dancing, Chess, Music – turns out the Beatles put in thousands of hours performing in Hamburg, Germany, before they made it big in England, and then America.

Public Speaking, Project Management, Coding - Bill Gates did the same as a young computer programmer in high school, spending countless hours in the Computer Labs.

But less about the established Billionaires of the world – what about you? Do you strive to be recognized as an expert in your chosen field or profession? If so, what do you practice? Do you live by a strict regimen, set goals, seek feedback? How many hours have you put in? Across professions and industries, the pattern seems to be the same. Those at the top of their game have put the time in, diligently, with the expressed aim of getting better, one hour at a time.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, my daughter has a recital in two weeks, and we – the teacher and the student – need to practice.

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

How to Keep Up to Date on Tech Trends

Tech trends come and go. Some re-emerge at later dates, using improved technology and ideas to refine a product. Staying current with trends requires a bit of reading, attending conferences and subscribing to newsfeeds. If you have the passion for technology, you’ll turn into a loyal reader of certain blogs, magazines and social media outlets to gather the inside scoop.

For a student pursuing a computer science degree to the tech consultant wanting to keep track of new software and gear, some ways prove more effective at helping you stay tuned to what’s releasing soon. From print media to Web media, each serves its purpose in exposing you to new trends.

Social Media
Compared to print and Web media, social outlets serve as a great source for connecting fans with the creators of new technology. Simply add or subscribe to an electronic giant’s news feeds or tweets and get the inside scoop on the latest ideas engineers seem actuated to design. Pictures, clues and even snippets of information manage to leak onto social media websites that let you validate rumors and even get a glimpse of new software and hardware.

Many of the social outlets are run by CEOs while others become managed by marketing companies to discuss new technology and to gather feedback from community members. These insiders will give you the most recent statuses on new projects, show you beta builds of a piece of software and some may even include a video or two about a recently completed project.

Web Media
Social media works great for granting inside access to fans, but Web media, such as blogs, websites and videos, let the enthusiast read, see and interact with the latest tech trends arriving soon. Some websites aim to attract readerships interested in rumors, such as the case with MacRumors, a website dedicated solely to Apple products.

Other Web media outlets use their well-placed media sources to gather facts, quotes and news stories from heads of electronic companies to help readers stay informed. With RSS feeds and newsletters, individuals can subscribe to all the latest information in order to stay current with the technology trends.

One of the newer forms of Web media – podcasts – also work great at providing information from tech news giants or large electronic companies. As with RSS feeds and newsletters, individuals can use subscribe to podcasts to hear the latest on tech trends. With playback options, users can listen to a podcast anytime they wish from their MP3 device or computer.

Conferences
Large tech conferences aim to accomplish one goal: Bring together the biggest players in the industry to show off and discuss new products and software making its way to the market. Attending one of these conferences makes for a surefire method of staying on top of current trends arriving, but also, makes for a spectacle for playing with new devices.

For teachers managing computer classes, tech conferences will lend an inside scoop as to the latest trends in software and hardware, from newer specs on computers, new chip sets arriving and even the most current security patches being implemented into systems. Conferences also make for a great place to network and rub shoulders with executives and software engineers. Networking aside, you’ll be showered in pamphlets, vibrant gadgets and colorful displays.

The key to staying up to date on current tech trends is by reading, attending and having a passion for the industry. Staying in tune can help you better attend to customers, avoid excess spending and clue you in on new gear soon to be released.

Sources
Summa Technologies (2011)
Yahoo (2010)

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

It's Finally Over - You Got The Job

Imagine that great feeling when the long weeks or months of search finally draw to a close. When all the scanning of job boards, networking, teleconferencing, writing, research, travel and interviews are behind you. You passed the rigorous HR screening and all the interviews went well. Happily, all your references check out and an offer is extended. It is a good one, the job you always wanted so you accept. You breath a huge sigh of relief and can finally relax. Right?

Well, this may be the end of one journey but it is only the beginning of another, hopefully even longer one.

Remember all those accomplishments you touted, and all that skill and knowledge you said you had? The interviews were easy because you only had to talk about them. Now you have to put them all into practice. Of course, you were honest and gave a fair and true accounting of your history. Still, as they say in financial reports, past performance is no guarantee of future performance. You may be faced with an even steeper hill to climb.

When my children were younger they complained, as children often do, about school, their teachers, homework and tests. They especially dislike tests and, in particular, midterms and finals. My advice to them was to relax because this part of life is easy. You study hard, learn the material, take the test and move on.

In real life, I told them, every day is a final exam. There are no study guides. No one tells you what will be on the test, and there are only two grades. You either pass or fail. Often, there is a lot more at stake than just having to take the test over or, heaven forbid, failing the class. In life, bad outcomes can lead to much more severe consequences.

So it is when you have a new job. You can only guess what new problems or opportunities each day will bring. You are confident and expect the knowledge and experience you have will be sufficient to address problems and lead to success. But you must maintain the same level of determination you had when you were trying to get the job.

Continuously probe and learn more about the company and its people. Build an organization chart and develop relationships with everyone below, above and at your level. Understand the business and apply your skills to make it a better place for the employees to work and to improve the experience for customers.

As Yogi Berra once famously said, "It ain't over 'til it's over."

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

Don't Party Like It's 1999

I went to a birthday party yesterday for Jens Graikowski. He is a fine fellow I met only recently, but with whom I have shared many thoughts and views. It was a small, intimate gathering of only a few close friends of the birthday boy. I was pleased and honored to have been included among them.

Jens organized a special gift for himself. He booked a private, personal concert performed by a singer, song writer, Ryan Van Sickle. Jens was good enough to extend this marvelous gift to just a handful of his friends, inviting them to attend and enjoy the concert and the company of each other.

Jens, of course, lives on Tenerife, the largest and most populous of the Canary Islands. A few guests were from Germany, Austria and other parts Europe. Several  others came from this side of the pond, including  Canada and the US. I was able to stay for the whole party while others casually dropped in and out.

I had some delicious food, laughed a lot and really enjoyed the music. In fact, I even sang a song or two for the group. One of the other guests had his young son play a short piece piano. It was just a wonderful time.

What does this have to do with technology? Well, none of the guests and the party boy himself had to travel to attend this party. We gathered in a Google Plus hangout. A hangout, you may recall, is a video chat with up to 10 simultaneous participants.

Ryan, our guest performer, joined in from his home in Canada. But we were all able to sit and enjoy his strumming and singing, and interact with him and with each other for the entire time. Whether only five minutes or for the entire two hours, attending this party and wishing Jens a happy birthday was as easy as click, click, click.

Hangouts have been around for a while and they have been used for news shows, concerts, training sessions, interviews and a variety of other purposes. But I believe this may have been the first global, virtual birthday party hangout.

With friendships increasingly spanning geography and time zones, and with the high cost of travel, I can see this novel approach to celebrations catching on. This could be a whole new segment in the party business.

Happy birthday, Jens. Thanks for having me.

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

Mozart Mania

You have, no doubt, heard there was a new piece of classical music recently discovered. The Allegro Molto in C Major, allegedly written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was found stuffed in an old notebook. Though only a copy and not in his original hand, scholars attribute it to him and think he wrote it when he was 11 years old.

Music is one of the things I truly love. I can enjoy listening to performances from the modern artists of today to the classics of old including everything in between. I have an extremely eclectic collection of albums (yes, made of vinyl) and CDs. Of course the vinyl dates back to my earlier days while the CDs are more recent, although now I purchase everything on-line.

Growing up my house was always filled with music. My father played the saxophone and clarinet. He was an orchestra leader with a small group of regulars that played popular tunes from the 40's and 50's. My brother was a drummer in a rock band and my sister dabbled in piano. My son inherited the music genes, performing in musicals on stage in high school and later an a Capella group in college. Today he is managing editor for a popular indie rock web site. (That's where I get all my tips on who's going to be hot. )

My library contains music from original artists I've met in social networks and in person along with all the stars of today and yesteryear. Whether you prefer jazz, country, rock or opera, you can find something to suit your taste. I even have a rock-opera. When I tune in on services like Slacker or Spotify it's anybody's guess what you are going to hear. The same is true of my satellite radio presets in the car. You are just as likely to hear music from the top 40 as from 1840.

All other things being equal, when I am alone I tend to listen to classical music, including opera. In this genre, Mozart is my favorite hands down. A few years ago I bought the entire collection of his works. It is a box of well over 100 CDs that contain every piece of music the man wrote, except the Allegro Molto in C Major. So, you can imagine my delight when this new piece was posted all over the social networks. I've played it so many times I think I may wear out the bits.

But it also made me think what if this music genius had been born today? What if Mozart could write a piece of music, record it and immediately post it to iTunes or YouTube? This video of the first recording has been viewed over 54,000 times. In his day, there were no recordings, no radio or television. It would have taken months to reach an audience of this size.

I wonder if he would have been the Madonna, Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber of the day? Would his records have gone platinum and his videos gone viral? Would his concerts have been a sell-out and would be have gone into television or hit the big screen?

Of course, it's equally likely the school systems would have stifled his creativity, texting might have ruined his manual dexterity and television bored him to distraction.

Maybe that's why we don't have any musical geniuses today.

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

Drinking From A Firehose

One of the most frequent questions I am asked by friends, colleagues and almost always during interviews is how do you keep up with all the changes and new developments in your industry.  There is no easy or short answer to this question.

Technology moves at the speed of light. New hardware, software and communication products are introduced every day. Products become services and services evolve into products. Software gets embedded in hardware while hardware becomes virtual. Just when you think you know everything about how data can move from here to there, someone introduces a faster, cheaper and more reliable method.

Certainly there is no shortage of information sources. Whether in print, audio or video format, there is a never-ending stream of news stories, opinions, vendor announcements and other content physically or electronically delivered to you. My preference is a healthy mix of tech and business publications. You have to scan a  Computerworld or Information Week, and read CIO Magazine. But you should also be reading Fortune or Forbes and top publications in your industry or vertical. For example, when I was in construction it was important to scan through ENR each week. If you are in finance you should be reading the Wall Street Journal.

The internet and aggregators make it relatively to assemble stories from multiple sources. Whether you employ your own rules using alerts, RSS or other tools to pull stories, or you rely on the judgement of others to highlight content of interest, you do not have to go to each original source. Web sites like Topsy show content that is trending while electronic newspapers collect links based on custom rules. Applications like Flipboard are very popular because they pull information from all your sources and present you with a personal magazine.

Additionally, social networks are a place where people know you and are happy to share links to content they think will be of interest to you. Facebook, LinkedIn or Google Plus all have streams of original content and links to published material. Twitter let's you choose the people or companies you consider interesting or well informed. By following your favorite thought leaders or industry pundits, you can have links to relevant content handed to you all day long. Companies now Tweet in addition to issuing a press release or other forms of announcement.

It does not end there. In fact, all of this is incidental and often random while other means of keeping up are more deliberate.

Attending conferences and seminars is important in order to hear and interact with presenters. But the real value at these events is the interaction with peers. This is where you hear what has been working and what to avoid from others who have had experience with various solutions. This is where you can run an idea up the flag pole and get the kind of open and honest feedback you need to avoid disaster.

These conferences, like the publications, should not be confined to technology. I will be the first to admit I hate to miss the annual Forrester meeting but I also want to attend general business or educational functions for my vertical as well.

Lastly, the people in your company are an invaluable source of information and you should be deeply immersed in frequent  information exchanges with people at all levels.

So, how can one possibly find the time for all of this, have a normal social life and also do your job? Well, I said right at the outset, there really is no easy answer.

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

What Makes Something Go Viral

I happen to catch a post in my Google Plus stream by film and TV star Jeri Ryan. She was reminding everyone that her TV show Body of Proof had a two-part episode called "Going Viral" that would air tonight. It reminded me of the apparently unanswerable question; what makes something on the internet go viral?

Some months back, my friend Mike Downes happened to catch a video of an obnoxious person on the underground. For reasons neither of us could fathom, this video received millions of views within hours of it hitting YouTube.

We all know the hit song Friday Friday by Rebecca Black. This was a low budget video which somehow caught on and was shared and re-shared until it was viewed by over 10s of millions of people.

More recently the KONY 2012 video was smattered all over the internet and, in fact, was picked up by television, radio and print news media propelling it further into the public's eye.What made these videos stand out?

There are so many more examples of this phenomenon but few concrete explanations.

I had an uncanny experience as well. Beyond my column each day for months, I have posted a number of other interesting or amusing items. But none ever gained the kind of traction this post did the other day.

My son emailed me a graphic which I thought was worth sharing and so I posted it on Google Plus. Much to my surprise three days later people are still commenting or sharing it. It has been shared over 700 times, accumulated 1100 plus ones and almost 200 comments. Was this three by three matrix so novel or so controversial that it could stimulate this level of interaction?

This simple graphic somehow sparked an initial reaction that snowballed and drew more and more people into the fray. I don't know if we'll ever truly understand the underlying cause or if, in fact, it is just one of those random combinations of events that lead to this outcome.

I'll keep looking for content to evoke this kind of reaction again.

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

How Do you Handle Stress

Whether you have a job or not, it is important to network with your peers to stay current,  informed and connected with your industry. People in the technology space often have to do double duty. By that I mean you have to be aware of trends in technology and also remain in tune with changes in your business vertical.

Health care, for example, is undergoing huge changes. New database technologies, imaging, video conferencing or tele-medicine, social networks and mobile computing have been driving development schedules for years. More recently, new legislation and even the pending Supreme Court decision will change all the rules and put even more pressure on the need to change. Later in the year, election results could change it all again.

Just keeping up can lead to high levels of stress on the job. But when you add the anxiety of seeking a new job it can become almost too much to bear.

At our last meeting , the Westport Group, one of the local network support organizations to which I belong, invited Frank Basler to conduct a workshop on managing stress. He introduced us to a short and simple exercise that allowed the participants to discover and share some of their own techniques. The members of this group are all senior managers currently between full time roles. In other words, unemployed.

We were each paired with another member and spent ten minutes or so listening to stories evoked by a carefully designed question. The goal was to talk about stressful situations you have been in and how they were overcome. The departure from the usual lecture or question and answer format was refreshing. It was genuinely nice to just chat with a colleague with whom, in my case, I have spent hours week after week in these meetings for months but never really got to know.

Apart from just discussing the findings of various stress management techniques, we were encouraged to seek other members and have more one on one sessions like this. It turns out leveraging relationships, such as the ones in this group, was high on the list.

Some of the other activities that surfaced included being well organized, taking long walks in the woods perhaps with a pet, working out, and just having patience and confidence in one's abilities. Using humor or doing volunteer work were also suggested. Frank added some other constructive outlets he encountered over the years. There is, of course, no right answer. It's best to do whatever works well for you.

One guy is apparently writing a daily blog. That sounds like a good approach to me.

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

Get Out Of My Face-book

There has been a lot of discussion about some potential employers reportedly requesting Facebook credentials from prospective employees as a part of the interview process. I find this troubling if it's true or widespread.

I'm not a lawyer, nor am I a human resources professional. I am not in a position to cite court cases, precedents or decisions. We also will not wander into an explanation of protected classes or privacy concerns raised. We are not even going to mention the cautionary note Facebook themselves have now released to the public. It is a warning enumerating the liabilities a company might be exposed to by engaging in such a practice.

I am going to take a much more common sense approach.

As many of you may know, I have been looking for my next full time role for some months. During this time I have been on a number of interviews and have both studied and advised on the proper way to prepare yourself and how to behave. You also know (if you have been following me at all) that I am quite active on all of the most popular social networks.

Moreover, as a senior manager for the last twenty years or more I have frequently been on the other side of the desk conducting the interview and doing the candidate evaluations. My focus is always on how well one will fit the roll. The question is whether you have the necessary technical skills, the required interpersonal skills and are you sufficiently motivated. What you do evenings and weekends is your business. It is inconceivable to me that anyone would probe your behavior outside of the workplace.

Asking a candidate to surrender his or her password in my mind is akin to asking for the keys to their house so you can see how they live. Are there clothes on the floor, dirty dishes in the sink or oil stains on the garage floor. This is like asking for their wallet so you can peruse the collection of credit cards, photos and check out their cash situation. In fact, let's take a walk to the parking lot so I can see what kind of car you drive. Does it have dents or rust, or is it clean and waxed? Let's open the glove box and pop the trunk so we can have a look around. Do you have unpaid parking tickets hidden in there?

Such requests are ludicrous. And so is asking an applicant for access to their social network account.

No HR professional or hiring manager would make requests like these. If they did most candidates would be outraged and flatly refuse. That is exactly how you should deal with this password request should it happen to you during an interview. The answer is more than a simple no. It should be, "How dare you."

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC

Q R You Kidding Me?

Months ago I wrote a column on the innovative use of QR codes. Those are the funny looking squares that visually encrypt information. You point your smart phone or tablet camera at them and use a QR code reader to decipher them. They will display some message or take you to a specific page (URL) on a web site where lots of information can be stored and kept fresh.

The example I included was the use of a QR code on a headstone in the cemetery. The code contained a link to a comprehensive obituary site which could support a mixture of text, graphics, photos and even video. By pointing and clicking, you could learn all about the deceased who was able to share their message and memories from beyond the grave.

Recently I heard two more stories about the use of QR codes. These were perhaps not as clever or well thought out.

The first involved a QR code printed on a poster in the subway. At first, this seemed like a perfectly good idea. There is a lot of foot traffic and most people have smart phones. Lots of people could take advantage of the instant availability of the additional information stored behind that QR block. Just point and click and there you go.

However, in the subway, underground, there is no cell signal. That eliminates the immediacy of access. Moreover, the particular story I heard reported the QR code was present on a poster that had been mounted on the wall on the other side of the tracks. In other words, the closest you could get to this poster would be 12 feet away. Unless you iPhone has the optional telephoto lens, you are not going to be able to gain any value from that QR code.

The other recent story was about the use of QR codes in a bar. It seems someone had the bright idea to print a QR code on the coasters in the bar. The QR code contained a list of taxis you could call if you needed a ride home because you had too much to drink.

An effort with good intentions, no doubt, but one doomed to fail. Imagine a highly intoxicated patron trying to operate their phone, snapping a photo of the code, choosing a taxi and successfully completing the phone call to arrange a pick up.  I'm guessing this didn't work out too well.

The moral of the story is a simple one. When deciding how and where to use technology, don't let the flash and dazzle or the coolness factor overwhelm common sense.

Captain Joe

Follow me on Twitter @JPuglisiLLC