Richard Highsmith writes for PM Hut,
“When Alexander the Great visited Diogenes and asked whether he could do anything for the famed teacher, Diogenes replied: ‘Only stand out of my light.’ Perhaps some day we shall know how to heighten creativity. Until then, one of the best things we can do for creative men and women is to stand out of their light.” - John W. Gardner
Shine the light on creativity. Let the creative process work. Clearly define the goals and objectives. Give your employees support and freedom to reach those goals and then get out of their light. In this environment, team members will feel empowered to create new ideas and find creative solutions to old problems. Potential roadblocks will be anticipated and alternative routes quickly planned. Allowing a free-flow approach to work produces powerful enterprise - not busy work.
A wise leader allows originality and creativity to flourish by focusing on goals and objectives - not the niggling details. Set the parameters and allow people to flex their innovation muscles. Remember, creativity comes willingly from team members who feel appreciated and valued. Inspire your team by being an openly supportive Macro Manager.
Read full article at:
The-advantages-of-becoming-a-macro-manager
About the author:
Richard Highsmith, rick@qualityteambuilding.com, is President of Quality Team Building. He has twenty-five years experience training and coaching. He has built and sold two successful businesses. To learn more about becoming a team leader visit our website at http://www.qualityteambuilding.com or call Rick toll-free at 1-888-484-8326 X101.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
What is Business Value
The term “business value” is bandied around a lot these days when talking about the benefits of Agile software delivery. Agilists argue that more business value can be achieved through Agile than through traditional methods such as Waterfall.
But, what exactly are they talking about when they say “business value”?
I would define business value as something which is of potential short, medium or long term benefit to the business by means of increasing customer happiness and/or ROI. It doesn’t necessarily pertain to revenue or profit, at least in the short term. Sometimes you’re just trying to build a user base of people who love your product before you think about monetizing it.
I would say you are more likely to deliver functionality that provides business value by working in an Agile way. One reason for this is that the time between someone having a marketable idea and that idea becoming part of functioning software is far shorter in an Agile project than a Waterfall project. In fact, in a Waterfall project marketable ideas do not really have the opportunity to come to the surface at all because all requirements and design are defined up front, and even if you push a change through the change request process it still could be months before the idea gets built and put in front of users.
In an Agile project users will get their hands on the product very early so will be able to provide lots of input into the product’s evolution, and this input can turn into software updates very quickly. Thus the chances of ending up with a product that no one uses are far lower.
In short, by building things incrementally and iteratively it is quicker and easier to identify emerging business value.
About the author:
Neil Killick is a highly skilled I.T. professional with 17 years of varied experience in England and Australia. His background is in Java/Web development, but his more recent experience has encompassed being a ScrumMaster, Iteration Manager, Senior Agile BA and Product Owner, as well as a Team Leader, Coach and Mentor in Agile or transitioning environments.
But, what exactly are they talking about when they say “business value”?
I would define business value as something which is of potential short, medium or long term benefit to the business by means of increasing customer happiness and/or ROI. It doesn’t necessarily pertain to revenue or profit, at least in the short term. Sometimes you’re just trying to build a user base of people who love your product before you think about monetizing it.
I would say you are more likely to deliver functionality that provides business value by working in an Agile way. One reason for this is that the time between someone having a marketable idea and that idea becoming part of functioning software is far shorter in an Agile project than a Waterfall project. In fact, in a Waterfall project marketable ideas do not really have the opportunity to come to the surface at all because all requirements and design are defined up front, and even if you push a change through the change request process it still could be months before the idea gets built and put in front of users.
In an Agile project users will get their hands on the product very early so will be able to provide lots of input into the product’s evolution, and this input can turn into software updates very quickly. Thus the chances of ending up with a product that no one uses are far lower.
In short, by building things incrementally and iteratively it is quicker and easier to identify emerging business value.
About the author:
Neil Killick is a highly skilled I.T. professional with 17 years of varied experience in England and Australia. His background is in Java/Web development, but his more recent experience has encompassed being a ScrumMaster, Iteration Manager, Senior Agile BA and Product Owner, as well as a Team Leader, Coach and Mentor in Agile or transitioning environments.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Cloud, mobile, in-memory computing: Has SAP lost the plot?
SAP has not lost the plot. They are re-positioning.
Warwick Ashford writes in ComputerWeekly.com:
SAP is betting on an innovation agenda to sustain its seven consecutive quarters of growth, but with all the attention on cloud, mobile and in-memory computing, is the business software maker in danger of moving too far from its core ERP business?
Innovation, was certainly a dominant theme at of SAP’s customer and partner event Sapphire in Madrid, but Jim Hagemann Snabe, co-chief executive at SAP was at pains to emphasise that SAP is innovating at the core as well as in mobile, cloud and in-memory computing.
Warwick Ashford writes in ComputerWeekly.com:
SAP is betting on an innovation agenda to sustain its seven consecutive quarters of growth, but with all the attention on cloud, mobile and in-memory computing, is the business software maker in danger of moving too far from its core ERP business?
Innovation, was certainly a dominant theme at of SAP’s customer and partner event Sapphire in Madrid, but Jim Hagemann Snabe, co-chief executive at SAP was at pains to emphasise that SAP is innovating at the core as well as in mobile, cloud and in-memory computing.
Snabe announced that innovation around the core ERP business suite is ramping up from a six-monthly cycle to once every quarter, saying there is momentum at the core with lots more innovation to come.
“SAP believes a company needs to understand and grow from its core, and our core and 39 years’ experience is in the ERP business suite,” he said.
Snabe said the core remains important as a base for all the innovation at SAP. “We will not abandon the core; by revitalising the core and ensuring consistency, we are able to innovate faster at the edge with mobile and cloud,” he said.
Driving the point home, Snabe said while SAP was innovating at the core as a basis for all other innovation, some competitors were tearing everything down and offering something new.
Read full article:
More about Warwick Ashford:
Warwick Ashford is chief reporter at Computer Weekly. He joined the CW team in June 2007 and is focused on IT security, business continuity, IT law and issues relating to regulation, compliance and governance. Before joining CW, he spent four years working in various roles including technology editor for ITWeb, an IT news publisher based in Johannesburg, South Africa. In addition to news and feature writing for ITWeb’s print publications, he was involved in liaising with sponsors of specialist news areas on the ITWeb site and developing new sponsorship opportunities. He came to IT journalism after three years as a course developer and technical writer for an IT training organisation and eight years working in radio news as a writer and presenter at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
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