Thanksgiving to Remember in Nicholls, Georgia

We had a really nice, happy, all consuming Thanksgiving in Nicholls, Georgia with family that we had not met in a long while. We met cousins and their cute, wonderful and growing offspring, and my uncle (mota-kaka) and aunt (budiee-mum).

Travelled down on Wednesday, a loooong (13.5 hr) drive down from NJ to first Brunswick, Georgia. This was my first trip down the east-coast since 1996, when we drove down to watch the Olympics in Atlanta. I was okay up until we got to Virginia; then once we got to North Carolina, I forgot that I was in the wonderful United States, the road system had not changed since my last trip in '96 ... still the two lanes in each direction, seemed somewhat out of step with the the powerhouse of the economic might of the United States ... fine I grant that that was before the dog-day-afternoon of the current economic and financial disaster that we are in; 

this was a major artery connecting the North to the South down the East Coast, and yet the road system conjured up an image of the 60's and likely 70's, and how progress had not quite made it to here. And much to my surprise, I see these billboards, for miles on end, about "south of the border". Hmmm, which border are they alluding to? For even though it depicted a Mexican looking hombre on the billboards, I thought I knew my geography  in that there was no Mexico anywhere near the Carolinas or Florida ... Ahhh perhaps the current economic recession may have caused a seismic reaction and shifted the tectonic plates under our feet whereby bringing the state of Mexico next to Georgia or Florida  ... one never knows!!!

 

We finally, torturedly (if there can be such a word; getting people to move from the outside lane to the inside lane, especially when they just sit there hogging the lane doing 50mph with the speed limit being 70mph and have no desire to shift) got to Brunswick, Georgia at around 10:30pm. 

Met up with my cousin who had recently moved down here; it was really nice to see them and their little ones; had a nice cup of chai (Indian style tea) and some nasto (Indian snacks); before it had time to settle in my stomach we exchanged our brief pleasantries, hellos, and moved onto our goodbyes, and left for another reunion ... 

Left for the uncharted waters of a state park in Nicholls ... my navigation indicated that we were entering uncharted waters and could not provide turn-by-turn directions.  

We got to Nicholls, around 1:00am in the morning ... and low and behold the family was up waiting and excitedly and warmly embraced us ... it felt really good after a loooong trip to be in such company ...

The next two days were fun-filled, hearty eating (and yes little merriment sipping of alocoholic beverages, yes sipping rather than gulping), oodles of laughs, bonding of different generations between the youngsters and the adults, sitting by a bonfire drinking apple cider, watching the flames slice up the air and generate warmth, and watching the twinkling stars brightening up the sky ... it warmed the cockles of our hearts. It was a beautiful feeling.

I look forward to another year, and another gathering over Thanksgiving. 

Thoughts on the economy, rising dollar, and lower price of the barrel of oil ...

As a result of the financial crisis of the past year and the recent collapse and specifically the loss of trust and confidence in the banking sector (though not just limited to them), and the spiraling and worsening economic woes here in the US  and abroad ... brings both good and bad in its wake. 

The good … we will now get back to some level of reasonableness or perhaps over-reasonableness of regulating the financial services sector, more stricter regulation would not necessarily be a bad thing.  Also in the aftermath of this economic crisis, precipitated by the financial services collapse, and with the winds of “change” swirling and ready to blow across the Potomac we will  have major investments in infrastructure and like which portends well for job opportunities and for volunteerism to help the country back to good health. 

The bad … Against most, if not all, foreign currencies, the USD has strengthened, it is everyone's favorite currency and only by default for it is the only one that offers a safety net, and only because of the size and might of the US economy and the stability and confidence in its democratic principles, and at one time I would have added confidence in its capitalist ways … though one can forget that last piece. This does not bode well for the following reasons …

• It spells doom for exporters … especially the tech companies like IBM, ORACLE, HP, CISCO, etc;
• It increases our trade deficit … increases our dependence on the likes of China and others;

However it does offer good news for importers … makes imports cheaper (Wal-Mart must be feeling just a little giddy, more so than anyone else). 

Now add into this concoction, the reduction in the price of barrel of oil … which really is a mixed blessing.  This is about the only good news for the US consumer, having to pay less at the gas-pump, however this also has the likely affect of slowing down the clamor for finding alternative sources of energy. The auto industry who for years paid lip service to innovation and squat about improving fuel efficiency, has now all of a sudden got the speed bug to race to Washington with a begging bowl in hand, having seen greenbacks being doled out to one and all who could spell “finance” …  want some for themselves. 

My emotional recommendation to the auto industry … let capitalism run its course and let the fittest survive; do not give them a single penny; they have thwarted innovation at every turn, and the only time they have embraced any innovation is when they have been under duress from Congress.  Speaking with a small dose of hallucinating drug, I realize that we must help them, however I would want conditions as specified by the Detroit Editor of the WSJ, to first demand the complete ouster of all management and the full Board.

How CIO’s can help the enterprise during these trying economic times?

CIO’s can help streamline processes, improve responsiveness and help to reduce costs during these trying economic times?

 

If your IT organization is distributed and not centralized, then revisit your strategy. If you do not offer a common set of shareable services then revisit your strategy.  If you are global and fully centralized then you also need to revisit your strategy. In short if you still have a monolithic IT organization built around a mainframe and/or a set of giant UNIX boxes serving the entire organization spread nationally or globally then you also need to revisit your strategy.

 

Centralization is back in vogue as it was in the immediate aftermath of the skyrocketing gas prices of the 1970s. The 80s and the beginning of the 90s gave rise to the distributed computing  environments. And as Erik Berkman wrote here in CIO in 2001, that during the 80s and the 90s,  “IT departments also became distributed, with IT employees organized to support specific business units at different geographic locations”.

 

Yes, centralization may still connote and conjure up batch processing of the mainframe world, but fortunately for you and me times have evolved whereby we have the Web, SOA, ASP, on-demand services, etc … in essence the times have changed in the way we conduct business and process transactions but the way we organize our selves and our teams have to be kept fluid, flexible and dynamic.

 

To-date our IT teams may be organized in such a way whereby they support a specific business function, a business process (encompassing multiple functions), a specific project or even the entire enterprise.

 

Again I bring up Erik Berkman’s excellent article …

 

Companies are centralizing now because it is more cost-effective than having a distributed environment; it allows them to create consistent technology standards across the enterprise; and it cuts down on "reinventions of the wheel" that occur when separate business units devise identical solutions to the same problems.

 

But doing it and doing it right are two different things. Centralization can be a disaster if CIOs don’t address cultural issues and if they don’t have processes in place to determine funding and staffing priorities across business units.

 

In order to reduce costs and not just for cost reduction but also for increasing efficiencies, the CIO’s of small to medium sized organizations and especially the non-profit organizations must organize their staff by business process, potentially spanning multiple business functions or lines, or by region if globally dispersed, and also in specific instances spanning the entire enterprise.  

 

Granted some specific IT functions must remain distributed and closer to the business line, for example the break-fix work of PC’s, printers, etc  and local LAN Admin type of work.

 

Such reorganization can offer positive advantages beyond just cost reductions, it improves team morale, staff retention, improves project performance and responsiveness, and also offers closer alignment and greater flexibility to understanding local business needs.  

 

In essence one needs to have a not a rigid centralized model, but a flexible “centralized” model whereby some functions can be centralized to either a greater or lesser degree based on one’s span of presence geographically.

 

For example, we are geographically spread globally, but not within the US. In order to better serve our business users we have created regional IT teams, with centralized focus on standard and practices and IT Governance.

 

Such reorganizations are fraught with challenges both political and cultural, and are not easy to implement. The saving grace in the CIO’s favour is the external economic environment. I would strongly recommend that you leverage this to work in close alignment with the CFO, to nurture and generate an awareness of how such an reorganization can help the organization to streamline processes, improve responsiveness, and with cost reductions.

 

Pls note that there is no one answer, but that this is an answer. However inaction is not a response that will endear you to the CFO, so do not wait, jump to help bring about effective change to your organization.

 

Life is full of challenges, it is how one handles and confronts these challenges that either makes us or breaks us.  

 

Presidential Elections and Technology

The day of reckoning is almost upon us ... election day that is. 

Apathy is not the cure for our political, economic or for that matter any of our ills ... but exercising one's right to vote also may not cure any or our ills but it affords us the right to vent our frustrations and allows us to feel good for doing so and in voicing our support or lack thereof on a particular issue or a candidate ... in short it makes a statement whether symbolic, rhetoric, or otherwise that one wants their voice heard ... Ahhh, to take a firm and bold step to make the political process work for us, the common person - Ugghh, talk about "naivete" but what a virtuous notion. 

Now regardless of your preference for either the donkey or the elephant ... note that each has its virtues and vices. 

 

Casting aside one's biases for either the donkey or the elephant, what are the key characteristics of each? 

 

Donkeys …

• Are social creatures, don't like being kept on their own although a single donkey will live quite happily with goats,
  
• Are very intelligent – despite what the perception maybe,
  
• Are not easily startled (unlike horses) and have a keen sense of curiosity, 
  
• Have a reputation for stubbornness but this is due to their highly developed sense of self preservation, 
  
• Are more independent in their thinking than horses and will reason, then make decisions based on their safety, 
  
• Are stronger than a horse of the same size, 
  
• Have an incredible memory, 
  
• Do not like the rain and being out in it for long periods can damage their health as their fur is not waterproof.
  

 

Elephants …

• Are social creatures, who exhibit complex social behavior,
  
• Are very strong and intelligent,
  
• Are not easily startled and have a keen sense of curiosity, 
  
• Have a reputation for being a gentle giant, 
  
• Are more independent in their thinking than horses and will reason, then make decisions based on their safety, 
  
• Have an incredible memory.
  

Here is what can one infer from the above …

• Donkeys are stubborn ... so Dems are stubborn and jackasses to boot.
  
• Elephants never forget and don't care what they trample over ... so Repubs never forget and don't care about smashing the little guy.
  

And I presumed that I was going to write about the presidential candidates and technology ... 

• One seems savvy enough about it whilst the other has an aversion to it, 
  
• One wants to leverage and promote its use whilst the other wants to promote the pony express,
  
• One knows how to text, whilst the other knows the abacus.
  

It will have to wait for another day and time when the political winds have calmed somewhat with the advent of hurricane O storming through our shores tomorrow, Nov 4th. 

Exercise your right tomorrow, make history either way, and 

May Gob Bless us all.