If someone tries to get you to invest in some shiny new technology — like blockchain 5-8 years ago — beware. How do you judge these proposals? A realistic use case is key.
Category: For the Board
Cicero and chatGPT — signs of AI progress?
Cicero, an AI, performed in the top 10% against human performers in the game Diplomacy, which is about negotiating with others. chatGPT is making the rounds with its impressive output. Are these AI breakthroughs or at least signs of real progress? Or signs of trouble to come?
Amateurs talk Strategy, Professionals talk Logistics — that is kind of true in IT as well
It is an old adagium of warfare: Amateurs talk Strategy, Professionals talk Logistics. Maybe surprisingly, this is true in IT as well. Maybe it is true in any complex and unpredictable situation, which 'big IT' is more and more turning out to be. Logistics considers Strategy a small snack.
Wanted: IT advisor. No real IT insight required.
IT is one of the few fields where it is generally considered you do not need to understand it to make decisions about it.For good IT advisors, the kind that actually understand what they are advising about, the phrase 'we need an IT advisor who above all understands the business' is a warning sign that can easily mean an environment where being an IT advisor is like being a farmer sowing seeds on hard rock.
For the Board: Essential Reading on IT Strategy
IT is notoriously hard to manage and it has been so for decades. As a result, the execution of new strategies is often exceedingly difficult. These 4 articles (2 serious, 2 a bit tongue-in-cheek) are meant to enlighten non-IT-savvy board members.
Should you derive your IT Strategy from your Business Strategy? Probably not too much.
It is generally accepted that IT Strategy must follow Business Strategy. It seems a no-brainer. But is it? There are reasons to look at it differently, reasons that become more pressing as organisations become more digital.
From Dark Scrum to Broken SAFe — some real problems of Agile-at-scale. And a way out.
There is a massive movement of organisations moving to agile-at-scale (e.g. SAFe). Ironically, it can turn into an organisation becoming one big 'project', the opposite of what agile wants to achieve.
Is Your Consultant a Parasite?
Good consultants do exist. But so do parasitic ones. This story is about why they happen and how to spot them.
How well does your top management understand IT?
I am proposing a way to 'measure' the 'understanding' the top of an organisation has — how capable it is of making informed strategic decisions — on a subject, e.g. legal, finance, or what is my particular interest: IT.
R&A IT Strategy & Architecture 