Thomas L. Friedman: The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
Friedman's work looks at the world and how connectivity, technology, commerce and more have converged to 'flatten' the world. The book contains numerous examples based on the author's personal interviews and travels. A very easy read that covers a complex and interwoven issue. If you're new to the implications of a flatter world, then pick this up. For some of us, the real road warriors of business, it's a reminder of how much things have been changing lately.
Geoffrey A. Moore: Dealing with Darwin : How Great Companies Innovate at Every Phase of Their Evolution
Geoff is someone I count as a smart friend although most of our interaction has been too infrequent and telephone based for this last decade. I've read all of his prior works and this one is a departure from prior pieces. This book addresses innovation in detail. Innovation is a subject that intrigues me and I've worked with an Arizona State Univ. professor on better researching and understanding the discipline. Geoff's take is quite well researched. Geoff ties innovation to the different stages of a product's life cycle. A good read
Michael T. Bosworth: Solution Selling: Creating Buyers in Difficult Selling Markets
This book help define how many consultants sell services
Gerald Zaltman: How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market
If most purchase decisions aren't rational but many IT consultants are, this book helps understand how non-tech types buy and think
Frederick Newell: Why CRM Doesn't Work: How to Win by Letting Customers Manage the Relationship
Excellent perspective to help understand how service professionals need to interact with prospects/clients
Michael Nick: ROI Selling : Increasing Revenue, Profit, and Customer Loyalty through the 360 Sales Cycle
Solid resource in helping consultants, pre-sales and sales professionals focus value messages
Mitch Peterson: Building Professional Services: The Sirens' Song
A primer for execs moving into a services operations role
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Are CIOs the Makers of the Tech Skills Shortages They Bemoan?
Check out Allan Alter's piece in CIOInsight (http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Opinion/Blame-CIOs-for-the-IT-Skills-Shortage/). Alter lays a goodly portion of the blame squarely at the feet of CIOS. This is an interesting read and one educators, recruiters and others should read.
As a member of the Department of Information Systems at Arizona State University, I can speak to the concerns that academics face. We are struggling to attract the very best students into our majors. After the dot-com bust, and the rise of outsourcing, our working hypothesis is that high school students' parents are concerned that there won't be jobs in IT in the future... which the recruiting data would contradict... but I can understand how they got the idea.
To combat this, we're starting to work with industry organizations to host a world-class event to attract people back into our field - from high school students through career transitioners. If successful, we'll start to turn the tide.
Posted by:Julie Smith David | April 04, 2008 at 09:29 AM