rantings and ravings about Groove and online collaboration
[A buried article in The New York Times lastr week] cited “a person close to the company“ as the source for its assertion that Googlers themselves engineered the prank.
Google bombing is the practice of creating so many links to a particular Web site that it fools Google’s popularity-based search algorithms, forcing that site to come up first in Google’s search results for the words in that link. Earlier examples have included “miserable failure,“ which linked to George W. Bush’s White House biography...
Ironically, as Technology Review reported.... Google itself predicted in its initial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the IPO could “adversely impact relations“ inside the company. In that case, the company was referring to inequities in the distribution of stock and stock options among Google employees. Could relations be souring even before Google’s stock price rockets to the heavens?
"A proportion of technology infrastructure has reached the end
of its useful life, which will lead to upgrades."
This is great news for IT managers arguing for a boost in
training budgets. What you can draw from this statement is that
now is the time to invest in education so that planning for new
technologies is efficient.
...will need growth in skills development, including network
security, mobile computing, storage management, customer relationship management, Web services and business intelligence.
.... e-learning will continue its upward climb; however, IDC says to look for more blended models of learning.
Not surprisingly, security is projected to be a top area for
training.
Companies considering adopting iterative or Agile development processes need to institute a pilot program from the start. The program must not only address the new processes but must also pilot any new tools(development or life-cycle management), project management techniques, and most importantly, new metrics. Project managers and developers must embrace the new processes and adapt their management styles accordingly. Without baseline and comparative metrics, it's impossible to know whether a new process has delivered any value or improved on the quality or productivity the teams had before.
Tools alone won't entice a group of coworkers to work more efficiently, as proven by a multitude of failed knowledge management projects. Mike Gotta counts off the hurdles to overcome, like "persuading people to work differently, establishing incentives and performance measures that foster greater information sharing and cooperation," but then moves right on to discuss benefits: "Community-building efforts are valuable to create synergies across processes and functional groups."
At least some of the time, have managers operate in cyberspace , rather than out of the main office. "Sitting in a central office without plugging into the virtual culture is almost a guarantee of failure," Pape says. "You don't know what's going on, and you signal your employees that operating virtually isn't really important." And, like Carline Davis, who brings her managers together regularly for strategic planning, Pape believes it's important for employees to get together frequently.
Strengthen relationships between remote workers and employees at the main office . "People who work out of their homes or at customer sites also need to spend some time in an office with their colleagues," Pape argues. "Any face-to-face meeting -- a regular status meeting or an annual, sales, or planning meeting -- is an opportunity for cross-fertilization."
Make sure, Pape advises, that remote employees receive frequent -- perhaps even daily -- updates about company progress. Include them in planning initiatives, and make your corporate mission and vision clear to every employee. "When you become a virtual organization, your staff suddenly loses all those interactions in the hallway, in the elevator, and by the water cooler that help move projects forward and smooth out conflicts," Pape says. To compensate, he suggests making regular use of videoconferencing and telephone conversations. Relying on e-mail too much, he finds, can allow conflicts to escalate. "When workers do most of their communicating by e-mail, small irritations easily grow into major conflicts," Pape says. "Learning how to disagree remotely is an important component of being able to operate virtually."
Independent IT consultant and change provocateur among other things. Currently living in Madrid after 6 six great years in the UK.
