Free tall brew after 5 hours for volunteer work

I received an email from Starbucks this morning offering a free tall brew if you volunteer for 5 hours. Hot stuff!

#1. Never stop learning
No, you don’t know everything after you earned your IT (or any other) degree. Never stop reading. Read IT books, business books and blogs. I recommend that you also read outside your field. For example I’m currently subscribed to The Futurist magazine.
It’s a great way to expand your horizons. Tip: Every year randomly pick up a magazine or book from the business section at your local bookstore.

Attend conferences, and again sometimes attend conferences outside your field.

Join a mentor group or a technology peer group. I belong to Vistage. It’s the largest CEO group in the world and I’ve learned a bunch from my peers, including CEOs from a flooring company, a cosmetic dentistry, a not-for-profit organization and a chicken feed additive company. All non-IT focussed organizations — go figure…

Lastly, visit other countries. You will definitely gain new insights, broaden your experience and come back to the US with a new appreciation for how privileged we are in this country.

#2. Be pragmatic
I was very much in love with the technical betty of both OS/2 and Smalltalk. Very soon after leaving university I realized that a technically superior product doesn’t always win in the marketplace. For example: I still think Smalltalk is the best programming language, but so what. Most of my career I programmed in other languages, e.g., C++ and ABAP (SAP’s programming language). Don’t forget your principles, however when it comes to technology be pragmatic. Fortunately Smalltalk influenced Java and also influenced programming paradigms like SAP’s Webdynpro methodology and Ruby/Ruby on Rails.

#3. IT is still relevant
IT is still relevant and will continue to be relevant during our lifetimes. Most productivity gains still come from improvements in technology. I think that we are only at the beginning of the impact that cheap, high bandwidth, allways-on Internet access will have on consumers and the global economy. Think about the impact of Skype, Jajah, mobile devices and soon WiMax. Btw, cool technology like iPod is great hardware, however software (iPod’s software and iTunes) continues to be the secret sauce. IT is also making a big difference in uplifting the third world, e.g., MIT’s one laptop per child initiative. See my previous post on (RED).

#4. India and China
…and Eastern Europe, Russian, Bulgaria and Estonia… The world is flat and IT jobs (and lots of other jobs) will go off-shore. If you haven’t read “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman then you should read it now.

I also recommend “Commanding Heights” by Yergin and Stanislaw. It chronicles the raise of free markets over the last 100 years. Fascinating stuff, really!

I told the students that the best way to deal with the off-shore phenomenon is to make sure you remain relevant and learn new skills, e.g., project management, presentation skills, and writing skills.

#5. Where will my IT degree take me — a technical or business career?
You can take a technical track or move into a business career. For example, I have a Masters in Computer Science and started my career as a programmer. After a couple of years I became a consultant and eventually moved into a management position. I recently completed a 8 year tenure as the CEO of an IT consulting company. I think you can earn good money pursuing a technical career as well as a business/management career.

IT Consulting is another very lucrative option, however it involves a lot of air travel and it will impact your family life. I recommend you consult while you’re not married and use the opportunity to see the world!

#6. Choose early to cheat
A provocative title, isn’t it? It’s based on the book by Andy Stanley, “Choosing to Cheat”. The premise of the book is that you don’t have
enough time to do equally well at work and with your family and you have to make a decision to “cheat” the one over the other.

If you read the book you’ll realize that “cheat” means to give one a higher priority. My advise is to “cheat” at work, i.e., make your family your priority. You will always have your family, however you may have multiple jobs.

I also suggest that you plan your vacations early and take them. Yes, sometimes a real emergency will prevent you from taking time off, however most of the time if you plan ahead you will be able to enjoy your vacation time.

#7. Meaning vs Money
It is important to pick a career or a job based on the meaning it will create. In the “Art of the Start”, Guy Kawasaki defines meaning to include: Make the world a better place, increase the quality of life, right a wrong and prevent the end of something good.

From meaning you will make money. I’m not saying you should ignore money completely. I’m saying it is not only about money.

#8. IT’s about people
IT is about people. Most IT projects fail because of people issues and not the software. Yes, ERP projects are complex and take long to implement, however the adoption of the software and the success of the project depend a lot on successful people management, e.g., senior level sponsorship of the project, end user involvement and sufficient training on all levels of the organization. Neochange has a very interesting user adoption methodology. Cover people issues first and your IT project will have a greater likelihood of success.

Subsection: People and software development – It’s very important to involve end users on an ongoing basis when developing software. The days of: get the specs, go away for a few months (or years a la Vista) and then show the end product is gone. Agile programming, rapid prototyping is the way to do it. Today’s software development tools make it easy to quickly develop a working prototype and to keep the end user involved in the design of the product. If you live in the SAP world then do yourself a favor and check out Hasso Plattner’s 2006 SAPPHIRE keynote called: “(re)design”.

#9. Focus on your strengths
OK, I know, another book recommendation. The “First break all the
rules”-guy did it again. In “Now, Discover your strengths” Marcus Buckingham encourages us to first find our strengths and then to focus on them. You have the most to gain by focusing and growing your strengths versus focusing and trying to fix your weaknesses. Marcus gives the following example: ‘If you study bad and focus on it you don’t get good…you get not bad!’. It doesn’t mean that you should ignore your ‘areas of improvements’. It means that your greatest gains will come from focusing on your strengths. Read the highlights of the keynote Marcus gave at Catalyst 2006.

#10. Find ways to give
And finally find ways to give, mostly of yourself, but also money. Get involved and find ways to volunteer at your church and your local community. My last post gave you a number of interesting options. The Hands-on organization is also a great place to start. Give not because you expect something in return, but because it is the right thing to do.

“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.”

I recommend you watch “Pay it forward”. It is a great movie.

Final tip: The best way to do business networking is not to focus on what your contact can do for you, but what you can do for them. It’s called forward networking and it works!

I would love your comments and your own experiences.

Apple’s recent launch of the iPod Nano (PRODUCT) RED triggered this blog entry. Technology makes our lives much easier and more productive, but technology can also make a huge difference in less advantaged people’s lives in the rest of the world. In the follow paragraphs I list a number of interesting and worthwhile projects aimed at making the world a better place. Some of them leverage the best technology in the world to accomplish this. Some charities worthy of support…

• (PRODUCT) Red — Bono & kie is behind this again. They are convincing iconic companies/brands like Gap, Apple and Converse to sell (RED) products and to contribute a percentage of the proceeds of the sales of (RED) products to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa. It seems to be catching on. They are even on mySPACE.com and Flickr.com. Bono recently launched (RED) in the US on Oprah. Buy some (RED) products!
• ONE – Make Poverty History! — Bono is also behind this initiative. It is a way for everyone to show their support to fight AIDS and poverty globally and specifically in Africa. Register and show your support.
• What are we doing about Africa? — “I think our age will be remembered for three things — the digital revolution, the war against terror, and what we did, or did not do to put out the fires in Africa. Some say we can’t afford to, I say we can’t afford not to.” — Bono If you want to learn more about Africa then you can find good info on Wikipedia. The CIA World Factbook is always a good source of information. South Africa has a number of websites with great information. I prefer: South Africa – Alive with Possibility. You may also use a site like GivenGain to contribute to a charity of your choice.
• One laptop per Child — WOW, now this is daring! One of the founders of MIT Media Labs, Nicholas Negroponte announced an initiative in January 2005 to develop a $100 laptop and give it to 100 million children in the first year of the project. Security is a huge concern and is currently getting a lot of media attention. The OS is Linux and it includes cool software like the Squeak based graphical environment eToys. Smalltalk is finally available for the masses — smile!Negroponte’s mantra is: “It’s an education project, not a laptop project.” I really…really hope this project is successful.
• International Justice Mission — Did you know that 27 million men, women and children are still held in bonded slavery TODAY! I cannot! These guys are doing something about it. They go into some of the worst places in the world and physically rescue victims. They are lawyers and use their knowledge to do all the legal paperwork to free numerous men, women and children. They make a difference.

Closer to home (if you live in Atlanta, Georgia) you can get directly involved with the following organizations. They do powerful work to make a difference in the lives of the last, lost, and the least.

• Seven Bridges to Recovery — 7 (Seven) Wells is an unique individual. You will not be the same after meeting him. He goes under the bridges of Atlanta and rescues the homeless…the forgotten… He encourages them to go through spiritual recovery and ultimately to become contributing members of society again. I know of at least 70 homeless men and women that are now living in their own home, earning a wage and making a difference in others lives. You can too. To get involved in this organization you can call Seven directly: (404) 644-6976.
• City of Refuge — Their mission is: “City of Refuge offers both life saving resources and life building tools to individuals and families in Atlanta who are living on the margin. We understand the need for programs that span multiple areas of need – from food, clothing, and shelter, to job training, placement, housing, life skills, and transportation. Our goal is to provide the best possible opportunities for success to those who are willing to work hard to change their lives.” City of Refuge makes a difference.

Now it is up to you.

Life is too short to just live for yourself.

You can make a difference…get involved!