Where are the “business geeks”?

by

I saved this HBR podcast a while back and it just popped up again yesterday. I went to find the source article and I could probably write a blog on each of the “8 Things We Hate about IT”, but there’s one that is jumping out at me today…

#7. IT is Stocked with Out-of-Date Geeks. It’s not good when you learn about social networking from your 12-year old at home while IT is still trying to cope with email. Then, when you try to brainstorm with IT about how to apply new technology, you get paternalistic responses akin to the look that parents give their children when they play dress up.”

I think Susan Cramm is dead on here: there are many people in corporate IT departments who are an embarrassment to the technology profession. Their companies are eager for new ideas about how they can apply technology, but frustrated that their IT department doesn’t have any or distrustful of any recommendations because that same IT department cannot solve very basic needs. What Susan doesn’t mention is the other, more rare and dangerous type: the super geek who is very excited and knowledgeable about their latest and greatest pet technology, but has no idea what to do with it practically. Those people end up wasting tons of money buying tools or doing custom development that should either be bought much cheaper or shouldn’t be done at all.

So where are the “business geeks”? What IT needs is talent that loves technology, but loves it for how it can change their business and their industry. I see this knowledge and passion in my VC and entrepreneur friends, and in many of the junior technologists who have grown up with technology, but I rarely come across it in the more senior ranks of the corporate IT shop. Why?

I had the pleasure of a phone call with an old friend and colleague last night. He’s one of those very rare business minded, totally techie guys who always has three different pet projects going on that could change his business or industry. He sent me an email this morning with all the ideas he wanted to talk about further and it was the highlight of my day. He gave me hope. They may be rare, but those types are out there and companies would be wise to snag that talent while they can.

READ MORE

The Magic of Mortals

The Magic of Mortals

Daily we wake up to new developments in automation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML). Across sectors and industries, automated solutions prove highly successful in surpassing the capacity of the human brain for certain tasks, improving...

read more
Leveling Up: How to Hone Your Skills at Home

Leveling Up: How to Hone Your Skills at Home

Leaders have been trying to crack the code on talent development for years. Recent studies have shown, however, that strength-focused leadership [read: intentionally elevating the qualities that already come naturally to us] is the clear winner for developing talent...

read more
Fake Case Study: Jack of all trades vs. Master of One

Fake Case Study: Jack of all trades vs. Master of One

  Listen to any earnings call or executive presentation and you will likely hear the terms “top line” and “bottom line.” These are words used to describe a business’s performance. According to Investopedia, the words are defined as follows: Top line refers to the...

read more
Your Personality Is Showing

Your Personality Is Showing

There I was, minding my own business one evening, digging into my organization's SEO performance (as one does), when I came across something interesting. Search terms related to "MBTI" — or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, developed by Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel...

read more
Lessons From a Change Manager Who Hates Change

Lessons From a Change Manager Who Hates Change

Hello. My name is Monique, and I’m a change manager who hates change.   After years of receiving “consulting therapy” from various mentors, I am now able to say these words out loud and proudly. But for a long time, it felt more like an admission of guilt. I mean, who...

read more
Creativity as a Cure

Creativity as a Cure

The topic of creative solutioning has been front and center these days as we talk more and more about organizational adaptability in the face of dynamic and uncertain times. For example, I recently read about a project that got me thinking about specific priorities...

read more
Thought Ensemble, a Pariveda Company — Why Now?

Thought Ensemble, a Pariveda Company — Why Now?

Big news over here as we close out the year - we have been acquired by Pariveda, a 750-person consulting firm in 12 markets across North America! We are now “Thought Ensemble, a Pariveda Company” and I’ll be serving as the Managing Vice President continuing to lead...

read more
Thought Ensemble Joins Pariveda Solutions!

Thought Ensemble Joins Pariveda Solutions!

Dallas, December 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pariveda, a leader specializing in solving complex technology and business problems, announces the acquisition of Thought Ensemble. With the addition of Thought Ensemble, Pariveda now provides holistic business strategy,...

read more
Thoughts on Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act

Thoughts on Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act

It was about a year ago that we first started hearing about Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (SB19-085) and I knew it was going to be national news. We’d just gotten past the “Rocky Mountain High” jokes, and our lovely state was trying to break new ground...

read more