ePhilanthropy Blogger
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my good friend Norman Reiss has a blog focused on Non-Profit IT and ePhilanthropy. Norman has worked in the non-profit space for many years now and has developed a wealth of knowledge in ePhilanthropy.If you work in NPO technology and / or ePhilanthropy, I suggest adding his blog to your list. He's now linked on this site as well.
Norman's Blog: NonProfit Bridge
(Bridging Technology, Communications & Development to Implement ePhilanthropy Strategies for Nonprofit Organizations)
Labels: Blog, NPO, Philanthropy
Fundamentals for IT Management in SMB
I have noticed a disturbing trend, for IT leaders (CIO, CTO, VP and Directors) in the mid-market to focus too much on the big picture and overlook the fundamentals. Sometimes, these executives that must also maintain an eye on the tactical become too absorbed in the crisis-of-the-moment and lose sight of the basics.I was recently browsing one of the leading websites for IT management content, when there was an error in their application. The resulting screen display was the default error page for the web server (blocked out in the copy below):
Within an hour or so, the site was back up and functioning properly. Still, in that short period of time, the organization likely suffered a small impact to their credibility and provided lots of great information (web server version, database and version, method of connection between the two and application code structures) for would-be hackers. What (black-hat) hacker would not love to bring down and IT management content website?
In this case, it was an organization known for IT content that had (apparently) not yet customized their default website error pages. A simple, 15 minutes or so and the developers could have tailored the site for a more appropriate message.
All that said, it is easy to overlook these concerns. I confess, when I came across this error, the first thing I did was double check my own error page (on www.lichtenwalner.net). It is better now.... click here if you don't believe me.
Labels: Fundamentals, Management, SMB, Tactical
Partying with the Macbook Air
It's 9:30 PM, Saturday night. I am at a swanky New Haven, Connecticut party. The condo building is a an old industrial structure renovated into a hip urban, contemporary, retro-industrial living space. The apartment comes complete with walls of mixed bare brick, drywall, exposed infrastructure, tasteful, artistic lighting and elegant furniture.
My wife and I are here to celebrate a dear friend's birthday. We're surrounded by terrific people, good friends and a fantastic live band. Then I spotted it, the husband's gift to the birthday girl- a MacBook Air. I hadn't seen one up close and personal yet. "Can I play with it?" I asked, mumbling under my breath that she knows I am the "computer geek in the room". She laughs and agrees.
So here I sit in the corner of a dimly lit, great place surrounded by good people, music and food and I am blogging away on the new machine... this is bad. But, that said, I had to tell you all about this slick machine. It is well designed, I like the button response, the weight, display and sleek lines. In classic Apple fashion, it is a terrific combination of art and function. The only negative is the super-small keypad. There are a few too little function keys for my taste, but that's a minor price to pay for such a cool machine.
Okay, enough from me now. I need to get back to visiting with some great folks before everyone starts pointing and laughing at me. Oh yeah, and by the way, Happy Birthday Ayana!
First-Time CIO (Entrepreneurial style)
CIO.com recently published, "What It's Like to Be a First-Time CIO" an article on first-time CIO Jason Scott of Innovation Ads, Inc.. This article was a great representation of what it is like for a first-time CIO in a very entrepreneurial environment. Jason's candor in the piece and reflected management style were refreshing, even as he fended off unprofessional, negative feedback from some folks from the old hierarchy (see the article's comments). As CIO Senior Editor Tom Wailgum reflected of Jason:
...You are, in my humble opinion, the next wave of CIOs that IT writers like myself have been yearning for and blabbing about for years... You have been shaped by a wealth of 21st century technological experiences that those people who are displaying "the hate" wish they could have had. You are a product of a generation of technologists who don't play by their 20th century rules...The article and subsequent discussion thread through comments reflected the challenges new CIOs face, especially in smaller organizations, where so many new IT Leaders get their start in the executive office. Unfortunately, it's not always as positive of a result, as many readers comments suggest. Kudos to Jason for his candor, hard work, success and effective leadership - not only at Innovation Ads but also to the IT Leadership community.
If you are an IT Leader in an entrepreneurial organization, or considering such an oppportunity, this short article is a great read.
Labels: Entrepreneur, SMB, Strategy, Tactical
