Improving Work/Life Balance through Business Leadership vs. IT
Managing work/life balance is a constant challenge for those in the IT industry. As an IT engineer, the very foundation of my career was my innate ability to get things done. I was the Swiss Army of IT; the person called in when anything needed to be accomplished.
I didn't just understand the applications themselves, but also their role in the system, how they interacted with each other– and what changes would bring the entire solution crashing down. When you're that indisp

Let Your Engineers go to Soccer Practice: Off-hours IT Services Support
In today's work environment, digital tools power every aspect of business, driving widespread change and growth. While these tools give enterprises a competitive advantage, they also come with a downside for workers who are already stretched thin. In many organizations, IT service providers and engineers are expected to be on-call 24/7/365 to support, troubleshoot, and maintain the IT system ensuring business as usual continues. Yet, many of these workers have families at hom
Creating Value: Working On Your Business Rather Than In Your Business
Are you working on your business or in your business? Most of us have developed our success through unique talents and skills– through our reputation as someone who can get things done. Unfortunately, being able to get things done isn't as valued the same as it was in the past. We now find many of our previously-prized talents and skills replaced through off-shoring, crowd-sourcing, and automation. Rather than our ability to competently perform tasks, your value is now linked

Work/Life Balance: Whatever Happened to Happy Hour?
Remember happy hour? When you first started in IT, you probably never missed one. You'd get together with your colleagues, friends, or family members and just unwind after a day of hard work. Sometimes it was a mid-week event, sometimes it was the beginning to a relaxing weekend, but it was always a great time to sit back and relax, focusing on your relationships rather than your work. The Slow Fade Out of the Happy Hour While you probably can't pinpoint exactly when the happ
The Path to Solving One of the Toughest Problems in IT Leadership
It's no secret that a key to the success of your IT leadership strategy hinges on how you use the resources at your disposal. A central component to any effective IT strategy is determining which projects your highly-skilled engineers should work on, and which projects or tasks can be outsourced to an outside specialist. Often IT managers hesitate in making these crucial decisions, even when they intuitively understand the benefits of outsourcing. Entering into a relationship