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September 14, 1999

Your letters to my print column and this E-mail forum ask some serious questions about managing information technology in today's world. Since today's world is essentially absurd, my serious responses may sometimes sound a little whimsical, and my occasional whimsical ones, serious. In any case, if you want to participate, write to me at lovelace@home.com. I'll respond to those letters that I can. I reserve the right to edit for size and content. Just sign your E-mail the way you want it to appear online.

Dear Herbert:
I read your article "The Flip-Through Review" and thought that what you might need is another recommendation for a book. The philosopher Mortimer J. Adler wrote How to Read a Book back in the '60s, I believe. One of its important lessons is that most books aren't worth reading. If I recall correctly, his approach was to read carefully all the front matter; preface, introduction, etc., then make a decision whether to continue. Your "random sample" method is probably as effective--especially for a first cut at weeding out the worst offenders in the areas of triteness, needless complexity, and overall pomposity.

Another lesson of Adler's is the great books approach: The best books have probably stood the test of time. Do you have recommendations for the top five useful or insightful business or information technology books?

A Book Guy

Dear Book Guy:
As you can tell from my recent column, "Barnes & Noble: Hit Back!", I share your interest in books. So, the question you asked me made stop and pause. There have been a number of books over the years that have shaped how I think and act. (I wonder if those authors are willing to shoulder the burden of the responsibility for what they have created!)

Keeping in mind your criterion of having stood the test of time, I've put together my list, in no particular order, of favorites.

1. Future Shock by Alvin Toffler
Future Shock made an impression on me because when I first read it I was frustrated with people's inability to recognize that technology would make drastic changes not only in how they lived, but more importantly, the social structure that binds together our civilization. Toffler's book helped to ease my frustration. The central point that stuck with me was that people have a finite ability to absorb change. As a consequence, I began to realize that rather than explaining the technology, I had to explain its impact on them, before people could become comfortable with the changes I was trying to introduce. A few years ago I reread Future Shock. It was still relevant to me.

2. Leadership Effectiveness Training by Dr. Thomas Gordon
I first read Leadership Effectiveness Training as a newly minted manager. Under the prevailing methodology of promoting people to their level of incompetence (first articulated by C. Northcote Parkinson), I had just been appointed to a supervisory position. Since, rightly or wrongly, I was viewed as a technically knowledgeable person, I had taken a rather heavy-handed approach to my new staff. Leadership Effectiveness Training taught me that how and when things are said is far more important than I had ever imagined. Even more impressive, when I started to use the techniques in the book, I discovered that I was listening better to those with whom I worked and being more effective, just as the book had said.

3. Father, Son and Company by Thomas J. Watson Jr.
Because I was interested in how IBM grew from humble roots to a behemoth, I purchased this book even though the reviews of it were anything but glowing. It was difficult for me to put it down until I had finished it. I became fascinated by the many personal choices along the road to glory for the company. Some were seen as being potentially momentous decisions; others that turned out to be decisive were brushed aside as of little consequence. However, what sticks in my memory is the photograph of T.J. Watson Jr. at 13 years of age, dressed as a junior copy of his father, T.J. Sr., both on their way to attend an IBM sales meeting. When I read about the impact on the boy's life and his need to emulate what his father had achieved in building IBM, I learned a cautionary tale that I suspect was not fully intended by the author.

4. Free To Choose by Milton and Rose Friedman
Here is a book that was published two decades ago and is fresh and relevant today. Free To Choose is about the capitalist system and why it works. From it I learned how difficult it is to tinker successfully with the system and the unintended consequences of doing so, even when done with the best of intentions. It has never been touted as such to the best of my knowledge, but if I wanted to read a book that would explain why the soul of reengineering is simplification, this is the one that would be on the top of my list.

5. Superiority by Arthur C. Clarke
It is apparent to me that it would take a significant amount of your time to read the first four books on my list. Therefore, as my fifth choice, I will pick a short story that tells more about the importance of using technology wisely than any textbook I can remember reading. Superiority relates what happens when a technologically superior race wages war on a less-advanced civilization. Whenever I get too many grandiose ideas about ways to improve our market position by using all of the fancy toys under my command, I remember this story. I can think of no better cautionary tale, albeit one with a humorous twist, than this one to keep even the most technically proficient (and I do not claim to be one) CIO at least a little humble.

Dear Herb:
I enjoy your Secret CIO column immensely. It's refreshing to hear straight talk from someone in your position. I would appreciate your insight into one of my pet peeves.

The company I work for is also a multibillion-dollar company, with more than 30,000 employees. Over the past year we have standardized on the Microsoft suite of applications. In other words, we have provided Word, Excel, and Access to almost every employee in the company. However, the number of people who use even 20% of the capabilities of these programs is minuscule. My question is this: Is it really considered sufficient to offer a one-day familiarization course for the office suite? Or is senior management assuming that people already know how to take advantage of these products?

I have seen so many examples of inefficient computing technique that I find myself questioning the wisdom of America's corporate managers. For example, most people I work with, senior-level technicians, don't understand even the basics of drag and drop in the Windows environment, much less how to prepare a spreadsheet that can convey meaningful information instead of raw data.

At a recent systems division meeting much was made of the company's interest in supporting people who want to become Microsoft-certified network specialists. However, when I asked if the company was interested in Microsoft end-user certification, the response was basically a blank stare.

Any thoughts? I would appreciate it very much.

Of course, I would like the name of my company protected.

Thank you,
Perplexed

Dear Perplexed:
I am familiar with your company and have heard similar comments from others, some very high up in your chain of command. Unfortunately, your situation is not very different than many other corporations. I do question, however, your estimate that people use only 20% of the features in Word, Excel, and Access: I feel certain that the correct number is less than 10%.

We spend, as an industry, humongous amounts of money installing new computer systems. Then we seem to shy away from providing--and accepting--the training necessary to actually use what we have just paid to implement. Some time ago, I addressed this phenomena in "Won't Train? Don't Complain."

You raise a good question by asking whether management assumes that a one-day training session is enough or whether they believe that people already know how to use the new office suite. Actually, I think the problem is threefold and the reasons include neither of the above.

When we prepare the estimates for a new computer system, we are all looking to install it as cheaply as we can reasonably do so. After all, we want the appropriation approved. As a result, we tend to be optimistic about the amount of training people will need.

There is also our unswerving belief that people are as committed to learning how to use the tool as we are in implementing it. Wrong. The people in the training classes are as human as we are. Think about it. How many people read the instruction manual for their new car or their new VCR? I suspect not many, but more than want to attend a computer course on how to use a new office suite.

The third reason for the inefficient use of the expense desktop systems is that we have been brainwashed to believe, against all reason and proof, that people are interested in mastering the tools we give them. Instead, we should recognize that everyday examples abound that people want tools to accomplish a few basic tasks and only a rare few pay attention to the fancy features that come along with their gadgets, be they VCRs, microwave ovens, automobiles, or even Microsoft Office.

Dear Herb:
I'm facing the perpetual dilemma of a long-term employee. When is it time to find a new position?

I'm the IS manager at a company of 150. I've been here for almost 15 years. This year, I've taken on the year 2000 program, new building construction, and a staff cut; I don't think I know how to get it all done.

The job is threatening my quality of life. I feel I should hang in there until the move and the date rollover (this is the "things will quiet down after 1/1/00" theory). Should I read this as a blip on the map, or is it the map itself?

Lost in Oz

Dear Lost:
You have been in the job for 15 years. You know better than anyone else whether to expect things to settle down after the first of next year. The fact that you are asking indicates to me that you already sense the answer to your question.

Since you do not say that the job has always been stress-filled, it seems as if the company has changed or your capacity to handle stress has changed. In either case, you need to assess your future. Take a vacation (yes, I know that the schedule is such that you can't take the time, but do it anyway, even if it is just a long weekend) away from the job and the responsibilities around the house. After you have had a chance to rejuvenate yourself, decide whether to seek new employment or to restructure what you are personally willing to take on in your present position. Your well-being demands that you resolve the situation.

Herbert W. Lovelace is CIO at a multibillion-dollar international company. Herb practices his day job under an alias and has changed the names of colleagues to protect the guilty.