I don't generally go in for self-help books; too much recrimination and herbal tea. But I was perusing the shelves of my local bookstore, checking out the latest technology and business books, when I noticed a small section tucked away in a corner under this heading: "Self-help, Motivation, Technology."

Intrigued, I examined the somewhat limited selection and found these interesting titles: The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Hackers; Everything I Know I Learned From Google; Your Erroneous Security Zones; Open Source Soup For The Soul; and Don't Think, Grab: Life Lessons From Larry Ellison. But the most interesting of all was a small book, wrapped in a plain brown dust jacket with red lettering, titled The Secret Of IT (YouWish Press; 2007). I bought it immediately, brought it home, and read it in a single sitting.

The author of The Secret Of IT is a former IS manager of an auto parts manufacturer in Akron, Ohio, who was thrown out of work when his company's technology operation was outsourced to Antarctica (which, with global warming, is coming on strong as a location for IT services). He claims that after spending 14 hours a day for seven months in his local library, with nothing to do but read old programming manuals and dog-eared copies of InformationWeek, he began to see a pattern.

The book is short, less than 200 pages. It's structured as a series of aphorisms and life lessons, with examples elucidating each.

>> Think positive. Force your mind to dispel the downside: Vista really is a more secure version of Windows, the upgrade is going to be a snap, and users will enjoy every minute of learning a new operating system.

>> Visualize change. Instead of a cramped data center crammed with rows of throbbing, buzzing servers shimmering in the heat, picture a light, airy center, dotted with smoothly humming machines. Then never go near the data center again.

>> Relax, let it happen. Says one IT manager quoted in the book: "I'd been running away from Oracle my whole career. I was afraid of commitment. But when Oracle acquired the point-of-sale software my company had built its business on, I realized I didn't have a choice any more. It was so liberating."

>> Look at the big picture. You've always wanted to visit India, ever since you saw pictures of the Taj Mahal in Time magazine. Now's your chance.

>> Appreciate what you have. Sure, your Web developers spend most of their time playing World Of Warcraft on the corporate network, but think how far ahead your organization will be when business is conducted in virtual reality. Hardball, down-and-dirty business.

So, what's the overall message of the book? What's the secret of IT? According to the author, it can be summed up this way: The Law of Subtraction. Whatever circumstances you're in--planning a new CRM project, negotiating a new software contract, interviewing a job candidate, preparing the IT budget--ratchet back your expectations by a factor of two and you're sure to be successful.

This may sound self-defeating. How can cutting your expectations in half lead to happiness? Here's a hint: Less is more. And when it comes to expectations about IT, the lesser, the morer.

It isn't just IT that the Law of Subtraction applies to. According to a blurb on the back page of the book, the author is writing a follow-up: The Secret Of Government.

Is an industry tip too much to expect? Send it to jsoat@cmp.com, or phone 516-562-5326.

---

To discuss this column with other readers, please visit John Soat's forum.

To find out more about John Soat, please visit his page.