Bob Williams

Are you hiding behind the process?

May 1st, 2011 | One comment | Tags: , ,

Some people depend on the process for making results. I was involved in a situation recently where a software defect was found after the production release. A team member was quick to analyze the situation and indicated that the team had not followed all the steps in the process. They stated that this resulted in increased risk and was the root cause of the defect.

Don’t be afraid to fail. It appeared to me that their behavior was driven from a fear of failure which often results in blame. If we work in environments that place blame for failures then how do we expect people to learn and correct mistakes? …Continue reading >>

Bob Williams

Strategic alignment – an eCommerce pillar

November 29th, 2010 | Leave a comment | Tags: ,

One of my fundamental working habits is to make sure that activities and work produced from my eCommerce organization are aligned to the strategic plan of the business.  I define eCommerce strategic alignment as the condition when work output supports or satisfies items listed in the annual business plan and company mission statement. Strategic alignment cannot be treated with lip service or discussed at the outset of a project and never mentioned again. To do so reduces the importance and significance of the strategic plan. There are valuable practical benefits to alignment that make this course of action a no-brainer for those in leadership or management positions.

Practical benefits of …Continue reading >>

Bob Williams

Big Bang vs Evolution – A software look

July 1st, 2010 | One comment | Tags: , , ,

If you do any amount of reading today on current topics in software development you’ll find a growing community for agile development methods in addition to those using the more traditional waterfall development method. Large and/or older corporations tend to use the waterfall approach to software development because that was the standard that grew from process maturity over the last 30 years. Small and/or newer organizations tend to have some form of an agile method because they must produce software quickly to survive.

We are nimble in our approach

Some people live in an environment that practices waterfall but likes to talk in the terms of agile development. That’s …Continue reading >>

Bob Williams

Practical tips for making client presentations

June 11th, 2010 | Leave a comment | Tags: , ,

What makes for an effective client presentation? I often reflect on this question because I give presentations to clients on a regular basis. As with anyone who does this, sometimes I feel good about them and other times not so great. Typically, I feel good about a presentation when I find a rhythm in the presentation of content, audience participation, and time allowed. The three factors that most commonly disrupt my rhythm are a silent audience, an audience member that derails the presentation by changing the topic, or when the time allowed is not adequate for the material.

But for the content of a client presentation, I’ve learned a few …Continue reading >>

Bob Williams

Two leadership system takeaways

May 13th, 2010 | Leave a comment | Tags: ,

I attended a brief course on a “leadership system” earlier this month. The material of the course was filled with relevant and practical thoughts on how to establish, promote, and maintain a leadership system in the work place. Two of the items that stuck with me at the end of the course were inspirational leadership and a leadership process.

Inspirational Leadership

Inspirational leadership is about inspiring team members to high performance. That’s an assumed goal in any organization, but how is it achieved? What is it that motivates team members to high performance levels? Some of the attributes and behaviors of inspirational leadership include:

Explain the business need and value …Continue reading >>

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