My Gift to You

My Gift to You

“When it comes to technology, the last thing you want to do is to be resistant to change, because that’s when you get left behind.”  – Unknown

 

Happy Holidays!  Christmas has passed.  I trust that everyone had a fantastic day in whatever way you chose to spend it.  Our home was particularly filled with the love of our children and our four grandchildren, ages seven, five, 2 and 10 months.  There is nothing like experiencing the wonders of Christmas through the eyes of children.  

Whew!  Now that Santa is gone, we can turn our focus to the New Year!   

With the new year in mind, I’ve gathered six articles and a report as a gift to inspire as you focus on 2019.   

12 Challenges Facing IT Professionals 

https://www.globalknowledge.com/us-en/resources/resource-library/articles/12-challenges-facing-it-professionals/ 

Date:  Nov. 04, 2018 

Source:  Global Knowledge 

Notable content:  

IT continues to have a poor image inside organizations. Whether it be slow response times, dictatorial actions, or software challenges, many IT departments are facing users that prefer to utilize intra-department super users for help. Combined with easily available cloud software and services, organizations experience users and groups bypassing their IT departments altogether. They find and purchase third party SaaS (Software as a Service) packages to meet their needs. 

Gartner top 10 technology trends for 2019: A comprehensive guide 

https://searchcio.techtarget.com/news/252451645/Gartner-top-10-technology-trends-for-2019-A-comprehensive-guide 

Date:  Oct 3, 2018 

Source:  TechTarget 

Notable content:  

Gartner predicted that at least 40% of new application development projects will have AI code developers on the team by 2020.  

(This is the headiest article of them all)  

IDC Top 10 Predictions for Worldwide IT, 2019 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2018/11/04/idc-top-10-predictions-for-worldwide-it-2019/#27c0ef437b96 

Date:  Nov 4, 2018 

Source:  Forbes 

Notable content:  

The continual shortage of professional developers and the need to innovate smarter and faster to launch new businesses will lead enterprises to turn to a new class of developers who code without custom scripting.  IDC predicts this new class of global developers will increase the total available base by at least 30% in five years. 

What 2019 will look like | Future Forecast 

https://www.quantumrun.com/future-timeline/2019 

Date:  Nov. 04, 2018 

Source:  Quantumrun 

Notable content:  

Foldable phones to make a comeback in 2019, especially smartphones with foldable screens.  

(Now that was a surprise!) 

The 2019 State of IT 

https://www.spiceworks.com/marketing/state-of-it/report/ 

Date:  Nov. 04, 2018 

Source:  Spiceworks 

Notable content:  

The need to upgrade outdated IT infrastructure is the biggest driver of IT budget increases in 2019. 

 

And last, but far from least,

 

Top 10 Digital Transformation Trends For 2019 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2018/09/11/top-10-digital-transformation-trends-for-2019/#4a14ffed3c30 

Date:  Sep 11, 2018 

Source:  Forbes 

Notable content:  

Blockchain Finally Understood and Flops (kind of):  Forget everything magical I ever said about blockchain. Just kidding—kind of, but bear with me here. As we continue to explore this technological miracle worker, we’ve come to realize that blockchain is kind of a mess. It’s too complicated for lay people to use right now, and there’s no standard way to use it because we all want to use it differently. 

(Perhaps I am not alone in my attempts to get Blockchain?) 

 

In Closing 

What was your biggest surprise in 2018?  What do you look forward to in 2019?   

Until next time, have an effective week!   To further this week’s conversation, schedule time with me and let’s talk! 

Check it out:   Architecting the Technical People Leader – a six-month based virtual learning opportunity for a small group of IT managers kicking off Feb 14, 2019. Registration opening soon. Learn more here Leadership Group Announcement

Let’s Talk sponsored by www.ITeffectivity.com – an IT management and advisory practice targeting CIO’s challenge of leading and delivering business solutions with a focus on effective people and process capabilities.
Discover the possibilities by scheduling a complimentary strategy
session with Mary Patry.

Holiday Reflections

Holiday Reflections

The Holidays are my favorite time of year.  We kick it off with a feast at Thanksgiving, round it out with Christmas or Hanukkah festivities, toast the night away on New Years Eve and then begin again on New Year’s Day.  Each step along the way is special in it is own right.   

 It is also that time of year for reflection. Each of us hold our own meaning for the holidays as well as our own memories.  For some, holidays bring more pain that joy when we think of times gone by, loved ones that are no longer with us (either by death or other factors), and possibly the struggle over the past year and the curve balls life has thrown our way.   

 Knowing that soon we will leave this year behind to focus on the year ahead is what I love best about these holidays. Memories of past years flood my mind at random times without purpose or cause.  Thoughts of times with family and friends and the memories of our time with our children when they were young bring smiles.   

 At the same time, we are living in the present. Every moment we are making new memories that will be there for us to recall in the years to come.  We do not spend enough time taking inventory of the gifts life has offered to us.   Sometimes, the swirl of the world around us distracts us from seeing the lights in our life. 

 As I reflect on the words and phrases that highlight my thoughts these days, I wonder what your reflections are and how different my reflections are from yours? 

  •  Family and friends, our children, brothers and sisters and, most of all, my grandchildren,
    nieces
    , and nephews – all the little ones who someday will rule the world
    (or push my wheel chair –
    whatever comes first) 
  • Parents and loved ones that are no longer with uswishing they were here and
    recalling memories
    of them with a smile
  • Gatherings, parties, food, and more food
  • Red and Green all over, along with trees, lights, and snowman décor everywhere
  • Picking the perfect presents forever grateful for online shopping
  • Travel and weather with hopes that one does not interfere with the other
  • Change of seasons, short days and the Winter Solstice, gleeful the days will start to grow longer  

As we move into the last few days before Christmas, remember to breathe. Then, join me in reflecting on the joys of the season and revel in its magic. It will make those holiday lights ever so bright.  

 Wishing you all a wonderful, happy, and peaceful Holiday Season!  

Until next time, have an effective week!   To further this week’s conversation, schedule time with me and let’s talk! 

 Coming soon:  Architecting the Technical People Leader – a six-month experience based learning opportunity for a small group of IT managers kicking off Feb 15, 2019.  

Let’s Talk sponsored by www.ITeffectivity.com – an IT management and advisory practice targeting CIO’s challenge of leading and delivering business solutions with a focus on effective people and process capabilities.
Discover the possibilities by scheduling a complimentary strategy
session with Mary Patry.

Welcome

Welcome

Welcome to Let’s Talk and the re-launch of the ITEffectivity website. I am Mary Patry.  I partner with IT leaders to help them address conflicting demands that prevent them from focusing on their strategic and innovation agenda.  In my work with IT executives and their teams, we explore beyond the what and how they deliver services to the business.  We look deep into the WHY.  

WHY can be an uncomfortable word. It can feel challenging or criticizing.  It can also be the word that will help you look beyond the surface.  I’ve found that when we discover the true WHY, the what and how are much easier.   

My Story  

I was asked “Why?” often as friends and family struggled to understand the reason that I would pivot my successful thirty-five-year career as an IT executive leader to focus on coaching.  Or, as my son once said to me a few years back “Is it worth it at your age?” My response… “Why not? It makes me happy.”  

Discovering your why is a journey for sure.  My journey to understand my why started with reading a paragraph from chapter three of Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why”.   

WHY: Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. When I say WHY, I don’t mean to make money—that’s a result. By WHY I mean what is your purpose, cause or belief? WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?  

This single paragraph did not tap me on the shoulder, it slapped me across the face.  Though my job came with a good salary and benefits, it had stopped feeling good.  It was no longer fun.  More than that, I knew it was a time for a change.  But what?  

This revelation created a conflict.  I wasn’t emotionally or financially positioned to retire.  I knew I had more to give to the world.  At the same time, too much of my identity was wrapped around my work, my title, my salary, and my perception of “value” to just give it up.  My new revelation pushed the edges of my favorite mantra: “Do something every day that scares you” a little too far.  I am not a person willing to wallow in fright, so I went in search of answers.  

Fortunately, a colleague and friend suggested that an Executive Coach might help me in my quest.  I cringed at the idea but could not deny that I could use help to sort it out.  I resorted to one of my favorite questions, “What is the worst that could happen?”  With that confidence in hand, I called the executive coach.  That call, and 6 months of a coaching relationship formed my purpose and a path.  

Most importantly, I discovered my purpose had always been there.  A purpose that is based on core values of respect and caring for the well-being of my peers and employees and the power of teams.  I discovered that throughout my career technology had been a tool, a mechanism – my true joy was found in the mentoring and coaching of IT people.  

Once I figured out my WHY, ITEffectivity, LLC was created with the sole purpose of working with IT executives and leaders to develop their skills as leaders and professionals. Over the last five years, I’ve been rewarded by partnering with over 50 IT leaders as they forged their own path. “Why” can be an uncomfortable word. It can feel challenging or criticizing.  It can also be the word that will help you look beyond the surface.  I’ve found that when we discover the true WHY, the what and how are much easier.   

Here we are, together now. You can count on seeing leadership perspectives and lessons learned each week.  In turn, I hope you will share your thoughts and feedback with me. Yes, I take topic requests too.   

In addition, I will be announcing a group coaching and learning experience targeted to the mid and entry IT manager.  It will be a collaborative six-month program in which a small group of IT managers with common work experience, requirements, and challenges come together to develop their management skills, learn from an experience IT executive practitioner and collaborate with their peers.  The promise of this program is in transforming the lone wolf technologist into the leader of the pack.  

Until next week, have an effective week!   To further this week’s conversation, schedule time with me and let’s talk! 

Let’s Talk sponsored by www.ITeffectivity.com – an IT management and advisory practice targeting CIO’s challenge of leading and delivering business solutions with a focus on effective people and process capabilities.
Discover the possibilities by scheduling a complimentary strategy
session with Mary Patry.