Thanks to Veronique Palmer for these tips!
With one week left before most people go on leave, chances are most people are working all that hard anymore. We’re all too tired and ready for a break. If you don’t really feel like doing your day job, why not do some annual maintenance on your team sites?
1. Go to All Site Content and check what’s dormant. If something hasn’t been touched in months or years, delete it. At the same time, check if all the descriptions are in the lists and libraries that are left, and if not, put them in.
2. Check all the Announcements on each site; add a thoughtful Christmas message and your leave dates if you’re the primary site administrator. Make sure old announcements have expiry dates on them.
3. Check all your how-to’s and user manuals, are they up to date? Make a list of what to update in January, or do it now if you have the time.
4. Add “last updated” date to the top of each Site Page (for SharePoint 2010 users). It’s a very handy way to see instantly when content is getting old and needs a review.
5. Check your permissions – are the people that should have access still there, or have a bunch of passer-by’s crept in.
6. Evaluate the navigation – is everything still structured for optimal navigation? Or could your site do with some streamlining? Consolidate links and don’t duplicate them.
7. Check that you don’t have any documents checked out to you. Check them back in unless you’re planning on working on them over the holidays. Let people know if you are going to do that.
8. Update your My Site profile. Are all the details still correct? Add any new skills you acquired. While you’re at it, go update all your social profiles.
9. Check the List Templates under Site Settings. If you’ve got a ton of custom lists and libraries that have been saved throughout the year, delete the ones no longer needed.
10. Do a final site stats – extract annual stats to see what the activity has been like. If the uptake it really good, tell someone. Well done you. Make a note of trends and do more of that next year
I recently read an article that stated something like 80% of all hiring decisions are misguided. The same stat holds true for hiring contractors. In fact, this fact has been consistent for many years in study after study. Such studies are usually conducted by psychology types and they make some very good points. Most companies have to adjust the position’s responsibilities to fit the new hire’s skills and even then the retention factor of new hires is alarmingly low.
So why does it happen with such scary frequency? I suppose it is human nature, given how frequently I see or hear of ill-advised decisions by most human beings. Is it a human quirk to make poor decisions? Is there a common factor that ties all these poor decisions together? Perhaps. Humans have a knack for viewing everything through their own prejudiced filters, whether they admit them or not. Very few can avoid making a gut decision upon first laying eyes on a person (that’s when 50% of your judgement is made). A good book I recently read (Blink by Malcolm Gladwell) states that we should rely on our first gut instinct and where people go wrong is they insist on looking deeper, investigating further and that is where they go wrong. Unfortunately, most hiring is done on gut feel rather then a true evaluation of skills, character and accomplishments. I’m not saying that is wrong, but then we try to justify that impression. Granted, it is very hard to judge how a person will fit into your team, but I wonder if you really should rely more on that first few minutes of meeting the prospect to make your decision.
For example, as a consultant, I am judged by big past accomplishments, by my resume and how much experience I have rather then the reputation for my smaller, often highly praised successes. The fact that I’ve been developing SharePoint sites for 5 years , albeit shallow and no code, is far more relevant then my highly touted successes as a Project Manager, Architect and trainer because I’ve only done a half dozen of those adding up to mere months in some cases. The fact that past clients absolutely rave about “McGyver like” solutions, amazing “Reagan like” people management skills, and other soft skills, they’d rather look at how big the past sites were, how long did they last (is a long, slow project “better” then a fast, well managed job?).
Also the fact that I’ve been sidelined by a few surgeries in past years makes me appear unreliable. Yet my greatest successes came while recuperating, in pain/discomfort and pressing hard to get it done even though I was obviously not feeling well. I suppose, in some eyes, that can be seen as working well under great pressure. I know I do well in emergencies. I don’t like them, but I do well. I am also gruffer, more direct, less tactful, more pragmatic. Basically I get things done when under pressure. It is when things are going along at a well-planned pace that I cannot seem to think clearly or operate at the top of my game. Hmmm, perhaps I should be an ambulance attendant or a similar role in IT. Not sure I want that because it is hard on my ulcers.
It sure gives me something to think about though. I know that I have far better days being productive when I am busy dealing with challenges then when I have little or, worse yet, nothing to do. I have trained several people in SharePoint and all of them out earn me now. Yet they come to me when the wheels come off and I, being the nice guy that I am, help them fix it, usually as an unpaid, behind the scenes adviser. They look good and get the promotion/raise. I get a nice pat on the back.
I really do have to stand up more for myself. Unlike most companies my hires usually go on to success. I guess, unlike most companies, I judge correctly somehow. I know I promote, encourage and foster good work. Too bad it’s almost always under the radar. Maybe one of my hires will reach CIO/CEO before I hit retirement age and I will see a payoff. I hope so. I need to fund that retirement somehow.
I don’t know about you, but I and my team seem to have problems remembering how Lync works.
Lync is a powerful online meeting tool for sharing desktops, having audio/visual meetings, giving presentations, or just sending a quick immediate note via the chat tool. But getting into meetings seems to be problematic for just about everyone I’ve talked to.
For example, if we use the 32 bit version of IE and try to enter a meeting, we can”t get in as a presenter, only as a guest. By copying the URL from the meeting in the calendar to the URL bar in IE64, we get right in as presenters. Sending people invitations, can cause a similar problem. But if we default to IE64, we have logout issues (with a workaround here thanks to Matthew McBride at SharePoint Solutions).
First time implementers of non-server Lync often find a problem connecting to the Lync. Sometimes it is because they have not been granted a licensed membership in the SharePoint site. Other times they do not have a LiveMeeting account. Yet other times….well, you get the idea. Microsoft has more than a few ways to get things done. It’s discovering them that can be maddening.
So, solutions. First, if you are a member of the site and have gone through the login-password change process AND launched Install Lync from the left hand menu, you should be able to launch right into your Lync session and keep it up in the background for those times people want to send you a chat or request a spontaneous meeting (something Lync does very well).
If you are not a member, you will note the email/calendar entry has an option for First Time using Lync. Launch this install drivers and pointers that help Lync well, link up! This often takes you in as a guest, but don’t worry, the presenter should have some power to make you presenter if the need arises.
The other option (that I find extremely unreliable) is to use the Lync webpage for setting a meeting. It almost always sets everyone up as presenter and then you’re stuck.
I have looked around quite a bit and found no one has written anything on the Lync process. Maybe all the experts and Microsoft think Lync is so easy that it is unworthy of a “How-to” article. I wonder what they think of the users who are baffled as they remain unable to use Lync. If you are listening, MSFT, (or other experts), how about it for us who are slow or just too busy to play with Lync to master it?
Rob Moses
Caladan Consulting, Inc.
I read a great post by Sean Williams at Fool.com and it got me to thinking of the changes I foresee. Most of these are his but a few are my own. Here are some technologies I see greatly changed by 2020:
Robotic cars will take over most driving - Google’s robot cars have proven incredibly reliable and safe. In fact, the insurance industry has note the safety record of robot cars so vastly exceeds humans that I predict they will charge huge fees for human driven cars and give big discounts for robotically driven cars. Who knows, maybe even a discount for proving you do NOT have a driver’s license!! The government will have no coice but to go along given the huge difference in safety between robotic & human driven cars. This might be more of a 2025 change, but make no mistake, it is going to happen.
Digital Phones will dissappear - As Sean said,c’mon, you saw this coming, right? Look at your smartphone. It probably has better resolution then your old digital camera. Plus it can do movies!! This is one reason Eastman Kodak bit the dust (one of a dozen may I add) and is another reason why it’s crucial to pay attention to camera display sensor companies like OmniVision Technologies (Nasdaq: OVTI ) that are driving camera innovation in devices from both Apple and Samsung. With new smartphones sporting 8MP cameras, and resolutions increasing yearly, why wouldn’t digital cameras go extinct? Also note the incredible amount of research being done with smartphones. Everything from 3d holograms that will float above your phone (using Microsoft’s Metro motion sensitive technology by the way), to reading brain waves to control your smartphone (or perhaps we should start calling it a “smart assistant”?).
USPS will go the way of the dinosaur - The postal service failed to make a required $5.5 billion payment to the postal union earlier this month as they posted a loss of $5.2 Billion. Sooner of later the government is going to have to bite the bullet and shut the USPS down. As Sean so adroitly noted, FedEx and UPS have a few years to figure out how to pick up the slack and take over mail delivery. But the USPS will join it’s own Pony Express as ancient history by 2020.
Energy Drinks will be banned or tightly controlled – Sean hit this one on the head. I know this is heresy to many teens and 20 somethings. But sooner or later the FDA will put a lid on this “drug” that so many rely on. Currently the FDA is concentrating on burying the tobacco inductry, but sooner or later they will take on energy drinks.
Credit Cards will be replaced – I have to add to Sean’s prediction here. Credit card companies are seeing a decline in their customer base as people slowly move to Near Field Communication technology, or NFC. First customers tried to move to debit cards, but the credit card industry was able to get the government to add fees that made them somewhat expensive. Perhaps they see the writing on the wall as consumers will continue to move toward a more convenient form of paying for their Latte. With NFC proving to be more safe, quick and convenient, you can bet this technology will grow inte future. VISA, Master Card, American Express, et al, had better have plans to make the switch. So far, only companies like Dolby Laboratories (NYSE: DLB ) and NXP Semiconductors (Nasdaq: NXPI ) are positioned to take advantage of the switch as they are pushing ahead on research and manufacturing on this technology. NOTE: This is ALSO based on smartphone technology! Hint – this is where you should be investing – companies like Apple, Nokia, HTC, Samsung, etc.
The United States gets dethroned as the pre-eminent superpower: Another Sean prediction. Though some disagree, the United States’ days as the world’s most important nation are numbered. That doesn’t mean the U.S. won’t hold its lead in innovation and manufacturing, but China is well on its way to dethroning the U.S. in countless other categories. China already lays claim to the world’s leading manufacturing output, energy consumption, and steel usage, and should, based on its current trajectory, easily surpass the U.S. in total GDP, retails sales, and imports by 2025. Simply put, people will be looking toward China to dictate global growth in the future first, not the United States.
Yes, the world is changing. Are you paying attention? Are you ready???
After a 4th large client postponed their large SharePoint project last week pending Congressional action on extending the Bush tax cuts, I am beginning to sense a trend. Could Congress’s failure to extend the tax cuts cause additional slowing of the economy? After reading James Rickards Currency Wars (Read a review by Forbes magazine here), I am concerned this tax break vote will impact the economy and directly effect my business. Rickards talks about how going off the gold standard has destabilized currencies and economies. Even more interesting is his assertion that historically, everytime a government has raised taxes, economies have slowed down and visa-versa. Rickards explores economic history in depth, basing his arguments on past currency wars such as the one after WW1 between several European countries and the U.S., and why currency wars are a lose-lose situation.
In short, Rickards’s main argument is that countries around the world are devaluing their currencies in order to boost their exports (domestically produced goods and services will be cheaper for foreigners) thereby increasing their GDP. However, such actions will frequently be met by mutual currency devaluation by other countries or by some protectionist policy such as tariffs. Therefore, countries will gain a temporary advantage until other countries retaliate, the end result of which will be: inflation brought on from currency devaluation, protectionism and the halt of free trade, thus – wealth destruction. And in a worst case scenario, an outright military conflict. (Another good question: Is the US going the way of Japan? Perpetual high debt? Japan carries a huge debt load).
Rickards also talks about the last great boom during the Reagan years. He attributes that boom to the lowering of taxes, despite the inflation that went along with it. He insists that raising taxes ALWAYS leads to economic decline and lower taxes to growth. What he does not address is that along with growth we get inflation. As was mentioned above, I found Rickards’s thesis to be well argued and backed with plenty of historical facts. An engaging book, especially his two scenarios as the only possible results. Either we continue raising taxes and end up in a catastrophic economic war (or military war) that makes the credit collapse look mild by comparison, or we (and other nations) return to the gold/silver standard, and see the dollar rise form the ashes to a new golden era of growth. A fascinating read and very exciting, even if I do not agree with everything he posits as the ONLY possible results.
Several knowledgeable people have written predictions that I think are more grounded in reality such as Prof. Lawrence White, of George Mason University, in his excellent Making the Transition to a New Gold Standard as published in freebanking.org. Also check out the similar analysis so well explained in gold standard advocate Lewis E. Lehrman’s 2011 The True Gold Standard. Still, Rickards makes some intriguing points that are hard to dismiss completely as they are well researched and very plausible.
But back to how the tax cut extension effects my business. If companies are indeed holding back funds for potential tax increases and postponing or cancelling growth, then should I plan on lean business pickings for the foreseeable future? January through March were boom months as companies quickly moved ahead with projects that had finally been approved after the same kind of waiting game by financial officers and executives to be sure they had enough cash on hand for potential taxes and/or another economic slow down. There is no questioning that companies have been building up their cash positions to be better prepared for slowdowns than they were when the credit crisis hit in 2008. That crises took many by surprise and they were forced to trim staff which further exacerbated the rapid growth in unemployment numbers that have haunted the current administration (though we know economic climate is often a result of the previous president’s policies).
Still, there is some light at the end of the tunnel as 5 potential clients have moved ahead with large projects, so I won’t be checking into the local homeless shelter anytime soon and I can probably keep my 2 employees, though I won’t be hiring the 2 new ones I was hoping to add this year. Are you listening economists and Mr Obama? My hiring or laying off employees is very probably directly tied to this tax cut extension. You want more jobs, you have to lower taxes to give companies more funds to hire employees and grow with new projects. Here’s hoping Mr Rickards is offbase about the black and white scenario he paints for the world’s economic future.
I recently read an article on what people look at when they view a LinkedIn page, especially recruiters. The study involved 30 recruiters looking at LinkedIn pages over 10 weeks. In the study conducted by TheLadders, an eye tracking heatmap shows that recruiters spend 19 percent of the total time they spend on your profile looking at your picture. Then, your current job position and education are glanced at, but not so much time is spent on your skills, specialties or older work experiences.
The fact that your photo carries so much weight was surprising to me. Not only that, but we are quickly judged on our looks. To quote Vivian “you may be dismissed from consideration regardless of your credentials — which quite possibly will never be examined – because you’re bald, overweight, too young, too old, wearing the wrong suit or, cruelest and most unreasonable of all, too beautiful for your own good.” I believe this holds even more true for dating and other meeting sites!
So it is not our credentials, our achievements, or even our skills that matter, it is our looks! This demonstrates the shallowness of human nature to judge on looks. This is especially disappointing when those making the shallow judgement are looking for prospects to review or contact for a possible job. Is it any wonder that psychologists have repeatedly proven that most hiring authorities fail to hire the best candidate? I’ve seen several stories about how the new hire often requires adjustments downward to meet their skills or even worse release them due to lack of skills or compatibility to the position! Shame on us!
I won’t try to claim that I am immune to this human weakness, but I do try to step back and review candidates with a more open viewpoint, setting aside my prejudices and preconceptions. I really do try to look at qualifications first and the photo AFTER I have gotten my initial impression. In my many years of experience, I’ve learned that looks are not everything. I only have to look in the mirror to confirm that fact of life. In addition, some of my best friends and employees will never win a beauty contest, but they are very good at being my friend or doing their jobs in my company. It does not mean I do not judge on looks, but I try to step back and really look at the person as a whole. You should try it. You might improve your company efficiency with that incredibly efficient/idea generating whiz-bang employee some companies are lucky enough to acquire and rely on to be a success.
Next time you look at someone’s profile, try to skip the photo and save it for last. Go right to the summary and qualifications (or interests on a meeting site). Then look at the photo. See if the photo impacts your initial impression of this person. You might be surprised.
Just thought I’d share some notes from a conversation with a very successful architect and IT evangelist. Symon Garfield gives presentations world wide on the Art of SharePoint Success. He mentioned to me (and in his 16 part blog) that 70% of IT projects fail and of the 30% that succeed, only 13% of the original tally are still in use a year after implementation. These are fast & loose statistics, but generally accepted figures in IT.
There are 4 key elements to a successful SharePoint implementation:
- Governance
- Strategy
- Architecture
- Transition
Suffice to say that while planning is very important, understanding that a true SharePoint project is less a “project” and more of an ongoing organization change. It is shallow to assume you are merely moving the organization to a collaborative environment when in actuality you are causing a huge fundamental shift in the way the organization is doing business, both internally and externally.
Without going into a long diatribe about how it all works, let’s just say following a plan that keeps the four part structure above in mind, is vital to a successful shift to SharePoint. The key steps include educating the client in what they are getting. This includes different approaches for management, IT admin and users. The steps I follow are:
Get the gist of the client’s goals – lots and lots of talking involved
- Set the expectations for what they will be getting – both more & less then they expect
- Gather the requirements from management goals, IT admin and user processes
- Analyze the existing processes
- Architect the system
- Get buy-in from the client
- Hand off the architecture to developers
- STAY INVOLVED! With status reports, monitoring progress and issues, timelines, and payments
- Push the client to USE THE NEW SYSTEM and identify any needed changes
10.Get sign off
Moving to SharePoint is a huge change in the way your clients do business. I believe it is almost always a move in the right direction. Some processes do not require SharePoint. There are cheaper, less capable systems that might suffice for their needs. But for any company collaborating on documents, projects, data sharing, anything using a timeline, forms management, order taking from customers, inventory management, and even more subjects, SharePoint can be a game changer. It will bring a basis for establishing improved efficiency, better business tracking (dashboards anyone?), better communication, and improved tools for managing a business.
SharePoint is not the tool for everyone, but it is a tool that most organizations can make use of. Symon knows this and so do I. IT administrators fear losing control, even while complaining about their workload. In reality, SharePoint shifts the business management tools more into the hands of managers where they belong, empowering managers to understand their business better and feel more in control while freeing IT to focus on the server room and less on making a site pretty or meet a manager’s idea of functionality.
