http://www.peterkretzman.com Intensely practical tips on information technology, by Peter Kretzman Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:08:16 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Regular readers here have certainly noticed the recurring nature of many of my posts: "things about IT that should be obvious, but clearly aren't."  Each week, as I set about writing on my chosen topic, it often strikes me that what I have to say is anything but new or ... http://www.peterkretzman.com/2008/08/27/hot-stove-lessons-in-it-part-i/ I was at a relatively young company once where a senior executive suddenly sent out a message to the entire employee base, asking for general input on the  cause and treatment of the following concerns: "There is a feeling that the company is not able to move fast enough or nimbly ... http://www.peterkretzman.com/2008/08/21/speed-vs-bureaucracy-management-issues-confronted-by-companies-in-transition/ A few months back, I wrote a post on various "Astounding Sayings" that I've encountered in my career in information technology.  It turns out that it's been one of the more popular posts I've written, judging from page views, so in true Hollywood fashion, it must be time for a ... http://www.peterkretzman.com/2008/08/15/more-astounding-it-utterances/ One key ongoing goal of mine is that I constantly strive to pay attention. In this case, specifically, through web logging reports, I can see the Google searches that drive people to this blog every day.  One of the most common of these, it turns out, is people searching on ... http://www.peterkretzman.com/2008/07/21/getting-an-it-assessment-pitfalls-to-watch-for/ Yes, I admit it's an old and hackneyed play on words, but I'll repeat it anyway: in the course of my career, I've worked in IT positions in the fine States of New York, California, and Washington, but I'd have to say that the most frequent state I've encountered in ... http://www.peterkretzman.com/2008/07/15/it-states-of-denial-and-more-peterisms/ Cultural references are among the most powerful language tools around.  The old cliche may be true that a picture is worth a thousand words, but equally, a well-targeted cultural reference, used as an analogy, can stream light onto a subject better than dozens of droning paragraphs of prose.So here's one ... http://www.peterkretzman.com/2008/07/10/serving-your-it-customers-be-careful-of-being-the-wizard-of-oz/ I've touched on this topic briefly before, but here's a lengthier discussion on why, in general, I find e-mail to be vastly preferable to voice mail for communication in the business world. Here's my stance: voice mail works reasonably well on a small scale in the home (i.e., personal voice mail ... http://www.peterkretzman.com/2008/06/17/starve-your-voice-mail-feed-your-e-mail/ Here's a topic that frankly shouldn't even merit a post -- it's that much of a no-brainer if you think about it.Yet, in the real world, I've found that it's anything but a no-brainer, at both small and ... http://www.peterkretzman.com/2008/05/29/start-simple-a-corporate-desktoplaptop-refresh-model/ Let's mix some metaphors today, and attempt to relate them all to the world of information technology and project management.I have a good friend and colleague, one of the top IT consultants I know.  He's able to execute crisply at the detail level while keeping the big picture in mind; ... http://www.peterkretzman.com/2008/05/24/executive-questions-it-answers-pizza-parlors-and-speed-chess/ Do a poll: many IT folks regard doing status reports as their least favorite task.  My point here, though, will be that a lot of people, management and workers alike, don't fully understand the real purpose of status reports, and that status reports should actually be a "must-have" arrow in ... http://www.peterkretzman.com/2008/05/13/why-status-reports-really-do-matter/