Author Archives: Alan Street

About Alan Street

I work at IBM.

Note to self about Trust, likability and digital channels…

I was considering a passage in a book I am reading:

“Trust is gained through a combination of factors. Likability is one of them. People more easily trust those they like. Likability ties in directly with similarity. We trust those who are similar to us. To influence others with likability, you have to express genuine interest in them. You have to speak their language by using words they use and frames of reference they understand. Making people feel comfortable by subtly mirroring their nonverbal communication contributes to the feeling of similarity.”

And it occurred to me that the passage, as applicable as it is to interpersonal matters, is just as applicable to getting people to like and therefore trust a company. It is applicable to digital channels and suggests tailoring a digital experience based on details about a person that can be learned from any number of sources.

So which book?

executive presence

 

Why a wad of Ringgits is good for your brain

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series The Executive and the Elephant

In my last post I committed to myself that I would try some techniques from The Executive and the Elephant and report back on the results.  This is the first status update.

The most effective technique was keeping a wad of RM10 bills in my pocket to remind me not to interrupt anyone.  The idea was, should I interrupt anyone, I would fork over RM10.

horsesIt really makes me feel like an amateur when I interrupt someone.  Like my wife, galloping along on her horse, and getting thrown when the horse dips unexpectedly to grab a mouthful of weeds; my “executive” falls off my “elephant” sometimes.

There is something magical about a physical object in your pocket (such as a wad of RM10 bills) to help you keep the presence of mind to build new habits such as listening attentively.

So the result: It worked like a charm.  I did not interrupt anyone, I didn’t have to give anyone any Ringgets, and I feel great about being a better listener.

In fact, the wad of bills also reminded me to use some of the other techniques.  I remembered to let people “empty their tea-cup” and I looked them in the eye when they spoke.  In retrospect, I looked them in their right eye (my left).  In theory it is better to look them in the other eye.  I’ll try that next time.  But even the right eye was better than looking at my blackberry iPhone.

If you want to improve your listening skills then I recommend that you combine these three techniques.  Remembering to do it is the hard part and that is where it helps to have a cumbersome wad of RM10 bills in your pocket.

What I am trying to do with my brain

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series The Executive and the Elephant

I thought that it would be interesting to point out the parts of The Executive and the Elephant that sounded most promising, commit to trying them out, and document my results.

First, I’ve tried to-do lists already and they have been how I overcome procrastination for more than 20 years. The trick is to break down tasks small enough to not be intimidating or vague. They need to be something that you can imagine doing.  Hand-written lists work best for me and I was surprised to read that this is true of many others as well.  Write it down (by hand) and you stand a good chance of actually doing it.

Visualization is another good idea that I am already familiar with and use frequently. I rehearse any situation that stresses me out in every scenario that I can think of. It is another staple of my daily routine that makes me paranoid and strangely quiet for long periods of time at home–not one of my wife’s favorites.

A new and promising idea that I had not heard before is to imagine that, at the beginning of a conversation, a person has a full glass of tea in their hand. You need to let them empty it before you try to pour in some more. Otherwise, your tea will just end up overflowing onto their lap and shoes. Let them speak and do not interrupt them. I am going to us this imagery to become a more thoughtful listener.

I am also going to tell several colleagues that I am going to give them RM10 every time I interrupt them. I’d better remember to get a wad of RM10 bills!

Another great idea is to focus on someone’s left eye and make sure you know what color it is. Supposedly this is a proven technique used by actors to stay focused when rehearsing lines over and over. I am intrigued and will give it a try. If it makes me a better listener then hey, whatever works!

There are some meditation techniques to sharpen concentration. They should help me work faster under pressure and remember little details like reading what I just wrote before distributing it.

The book is far more interesting and convincing than the above few notes. If you read it then my notes will sound more reasonable. At any rate, I will post again sometime soon with some results.

What is Enterprise Information Architecture?

This entry is part 8 of 31 in the series Defining words

9780137035717I remember the first time I heard a Nirvana song on the radio.  The sound caught me off guard and I thought it was too good to be true!

That is how I felt when I read The Art of Enterprise Information Architecture.

The book does a good job of explaining Information Architecture and contrasting it to Enterprise Information Architecture.

Levels 02fig03_altThe only thing I do better than the authors is forgetting about what I said yesterday and not worrying about trying to make it consistent with what I am saying today.  There is some stuff about historical IBM messaging that I would be smarter if I didn’t know.

Nonetheless, if you are interested in either Information Architecture or Enterprise Architecture, this is the place to start.  Stop what you are doing and read this book.

I give a quick definition of EIA in “What is Architecture?”.

 

The following primary areas of EIA are shown in the diagram below from the book:

  • Data Management
  • Metadata Management
  • Information Governance
  • Enterprise Content Management
  • Information Integration
  • Master Data Management
  • Analytics Applications.

Component model 05fig01_alt

I’ve listed them in the sequence I would consider tackling them in an organization.

All systems have operational data inside them.  Beyond accessing the data by an application, Data Management would involve creating data services or some other means to access the data programmatically from outside the application.  For example, from a business process or information integration.

Metadata Management puts in place a standard way to document what data exists, where it is stored, how it flows, and where it is consumed.

Once you have started documenting your information landscape you can start Information Governance.

Enterprise Content Management puts some business process around the provisioning of content to be displayed and separates it from applications, similar to how WordPress (used to create this blog) stores content in a database so that you can display it using different themes.  This would also be a place to store digitized documents so that they can be shared across the organization.

Information Integration is typically implemented as part of Master Data Management or Analytics.  This is where the organization begins to slog through the process of standardizing data and realizes the importance of defining words.

Master Data Management happens as organizations try to synchronize operational data about the most important business entities (customers, products, relationships and locations) across systems.

Analytics involves data warehousing; decision support such as business intelligence (BI); decision management such as business rules management, predictive analytics, decision models, and cognitive computing; and “big data”.

 

 

 

 

 

What is Architecture?

This entry is part 7 of 31 in the series Defining words

I am happy to say that is was NOT ME that complicated “Architecture”.

One thing that makes it complicated and confusing is that we describe the various dimensions of architecture with some ambiguous words.  Architecture is made up of different viewpoints that require different skill sets to tackle properly.

The least confusing dimension focuses on different aspects of systems such as applications (requirements about what you want the system to do), information (requirements about what you want the system to process or store), integration, business, etc.  So we have Application Architects, Information Architects, Integration Architects, Business Architects, etc.

Levels 02fig03_altArchitects within one of the above specialties then focus on different levels of abstraction.  Think of it as levels of knowing what you are talking about.  If you have very little idea of what you are talking about then you use vague words like “gather customer behavior” to create a Conceptual Architecture.  Then, once you have kind of narrowed it down, but not quite, you use more specific words such as “Web Analytics” to create a Logical Architecture.  Then, once you know exactly what you mean you use concrete words such as “Core Metrics” or “Tea Leaf” to say exactly what you mean.

Finally, we have different levels of detail.  Application Architects understand the components that make up an application or system.  Solution Architects understand the building blocks that solve a problem, usually involving a small cluster of applications that are integrated together.  Enterprise Architects understand all of the major systems that solve the biggest problems for an organization (business unit, corporation, etc.).

Now, if I say the Information Architecture of a teller application is part of the Architecture of the teller application, part of the Solution Architecture of the branch solution, and part of the Enterprise Information Architecture (and therefore part of the Enterprise Architecture) then you will know exactly what I mean.  Right?

Of course, software makes up a layer in yet another dimension including software, platforms, and infrastructure (hardware, networks, OS, DBMS, etc.)

Lying orthogonally across the above categories there are specialties such as CRM, marketing, security, channels, etc.

The Executive and the Elephant

This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series The Executive and the Elephant

It is disturbing when a system works too slowly or provides inaccurate results. Worse, it can be hard to diagnose and fix the root cause. When that system is a person it is even more frustrating. When that person is yourself it can be embarrassing!

I was working with a GBS senior partner and a team of IBMers to put together a quick proposal that would be put in front of the CEO of a leading bank the same day. I was “driving” and the team was telling me what to type or draw. It was clear that my PowerPoint authoring was slower than usual. When I sent out the results to the team it was clear that, in the rush, I had forgotten to proof-read it. Then, when I reflected on my performance and faulty results my inner critic got a bit carried away until I realized what was happening inside my head and squelched it.

 

Just a bad day? What about the times when I interrupted someone, over-optimized things until they were more complex than they needed to be, or used business-speak or techno-babble when I knew I was the only one in the room to comprehend it? What about the times I completed an urgent task at the expense of something more important? All this when consciously trying to avoid it?

Can anyone provide leadership when they have a comedy of errors going on inside their own head?

I was fed up and determined to do something about it. Where I ended up is with my nose in another book–this time “The Executive and the Elephant“.

The notion of people getting distracted by thoughts and doing something other than what they were trying to do is nothing new. This book provides proven ways to actually stop it, presented in an innovative way for leaders.

The author calls the subconscious mind your elephant and your conscious mind your executive. You can imagine the executive trying to ride the elephant and keep it on track.

It reminded me of my wife getting thrown off her horse when the horse’s craving for a mouthful while galloping through the weeds was stronger than my wife’s ability to keep his head up.

So I kept reading. I am still reading. I recommend the book to anyone who wants to become a better leader by learning to lead their own mind.

 

Contact info!

Hello!  Feel free to contact me.  Comment on my blog posts, email me at alan@alanstreet.net, or find me on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/alanstreet/.  I am @agstreet on Twitter.  I look forward to hearing your ideas, collaborating, or whatever comes of it.

I am a Master Certified Architect specializing in enterprise architecture and technology strategy around channels for large banks.  I have about 30 years of experience building software of all sorts and about 25 years of experience in the banking industry.   I work in the IBM Global Services Banking Center of Competence and am currently on assignment in Malaysia.  In the past I have been an IT manager at Bank of America, lived on the edge as an independent consultant, and co-founded a tech start-up company.

 

 

Category: Me

CRM Software

I remember when the CRM guys were selling customer databases to call centers.  Then, when I wasn’t looking they took over the business world.  Or at least the “front office”.  I woke up one day and there were dozens of applications that fall under “CRM”.

For more detail about the “Marketing” column see my post on Marketing Software.

I created the above table to help me understand The Gartner CRM Vendor Guide, 2013, Published: 4 December 2012.  You probably need the report to understand my table!

Marketing Software

A CMO once asked me what kinds of marketing software are available.  I asked him if he wanted it combo or à la carte.  He said “I don’t know.  Show me the menu!”

I created the following platter of options for him.  Small plates sitting on top of larger plates means that the portion is available à la carte or in a combo.

The recipe for this platter was pulled from IBM Software Group Web sites as well as the Gartner CRM Vendor Guide, 2013, Published: 4 December 2012.  The Gartner report is a must-read if you are interested in CRM.

“CRM”?  You ask?  Yes.  See my CRM Software post for context.