One of the first business books I ever read was “Focus” by Al Ries and it really made an impact on me. I recently came across a quote from Twitter founder Ev Williams that again brought up the concept of focusing: “Focus on the smallest possible problem you could solve that would potentially be useful. [...]
Day 5: TOGAF 9 Exam
So today was TOGAF exam day. In just five days I have gone from not knowing much about TOGAF to being TOGAF 9 certified. I had to book my test on the appalling Prometric website which was a test in itself, there is no map of the test centres, links don’t work and there are [...]
Day 4: TOGAF 9 Training
Phew the final day of training and my brain has been pushed to the limit this week, we have condensed a 1,000 page manual into a four day course. It was quite a relaxed day today, closing off loose ends and finishing off the course. We started the day looking at requirements management, which TOGAF [...]
Day 3: TOGAF 9 Training
So enterprise architecture and TOGAF are started to make sense now and things are really falling into place. That being said I am very glad I opted for classroom based study and not distance learning as that would be have been almost impossible! We finished off the phases of the ADM today: Phase B: Business [...]
Day 2: TOGAF 9 Training
I had recovered slightly from the bombardment from yesterday and some of the TOGAF concepts were starting to make sense and fall into place in my head. Today was more engaging we covered a lot of ground again but it was more pragmatic then yesterday. We started with architectural governance which is something that I [...]
Day 1: TOGAF 9 Training
As I have a week off from my MBA I thought that I would push my brain to it limits by taking some professional courses instead of relaxing. Today was the first day of my TOGAF 9 certification training with Enterprise Architects. To be honest it was quite a boring day full of introductions to [...]
The power of talking business not technology jargon
After a meeting this morning my client said “it’s so nice to come out of a technology meeting and actually understand what was said”. The comment struck we as quite odd, after all this was a meeting of senior stakeholders in a large technology project, but often these are not technology people. I pride myself [...]
The top five mistakes when hiring people
A recent HR lecture outlined research showing the top five mistakes that employers make when hiring: Filling the position automatically Not using your network Rushed decisions Halo effect (being blinded by one aspect of an individual) No reference checks
What are the most important CIO competencies?
Leadership Driving the organisation forward in the use of IT Creating a set of value expectations shared across all areas of the business in relation to it Influencing key stakeholders Growing and developing the leadership team Visionary Envisioning options and opportunities (both operational and strategic) An advocate for new technology Strategic thinker Holistic view of [...]
Analysing Zara’s business model
Who is the customer? Zara’s target market is young, price-conscious, and highly sensitive to the latest fashion trends. They have an advantage over traditional retailers because they do not define their target by segmenting ages and lifestyles giving them a much broader market. They segment their product line by women’s (60%), men’s (25%) and the [...]