Profile of Herbert Lovelace

News & Commentary Posts: 51

Secret CIO: Resist Temptation: Don't Push That Hot Button

12/29/2005
Our country's political discourse is interesting in a perverse sort of way. The dialogue is reminiscent of what happens during my company's executive committee budget-review meetings. In both processes, participants spend a huge amount of time on arguments aimed at fixing the blame for what went wrong while concurrently trying to grab the credit for what little has gone right.
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Secret CIO: Early Adopters Must Balance Pros And Cons

12/1/2005

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Secret CIO: Smart Systems Suffer From Dumb Processes

11/4/2005

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Secret CIO: Do Your Own Job Or I'll Promote You

10/7/2005

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Secret CIO: The Case Of The Cubicle Conundrum

9/9/2005
Treading on the turf of building services can be very humbling.
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Secret CIO: Shut Off Options At Your Own Risk

8/4/2005
Pre-empting decisions can cut off valuable discussion at the top.
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Secret CIO: Privacy Smart And Customer Stupid

7/1/2005
It would be a wonderful world if common sense were more common.
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Secret CIO: Listen To The People On Your Front Line

6/17/2005
Employees do just what you pay them to do -- and that's the problem.
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Secret CIO: Four Steps To Make Big Projects Work

5/20/2005
With systems, if you can't explain it easily, don't implement it.
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Secret CIO: The Ethical Path Isn't Always Winning Route

4/15/2005
Don't assume doing the right thing will be rewarded at a company.
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Secret CIO: Mentoring Has Own Rewards--And Risks

3/18/2005
It's not in anyone's best interest to single out the wrong person.
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Secret CIO: Password Complexity Puts Security At Risk

2/17/2005
Even the best system can fail when people have to remember too much
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Secret CIO: Tech Advances Keep Travelers Connected

1/28/2005
The daily grind keeps us from appreciating the changing horizon.
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Secret CIO: Business Savvy Is Key To IT Success

12/30/2004
We need to stop seeking the impossible dream of business alignment.
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Secret CIO: Five Rules For An Effective IT Strategy

11/12/2004
Making The I.T. shop a strategic business partner isn't that hard.
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Secret CIO: Winning Projects Must Flow To Bottom Line

10/22/2004
In getting support, remember that bonuses depend on profits.
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Secret CIO: Outsourcing Isn't Always The Answer

10/1/2004
Forget the silver bullet: The headache remains even if you outsource.
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Secret CIO: He Doesn't Like You, Just Because

9/24/2004

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Secret CIO: How To Get Superstars On Your Help Desk

8/26/2004
Track user satisfaction continuously: Use metrics to find hot buttons
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Secret CIO: Superior IT Service? Get Help-Desk Superstars

7/9/2004
For happy clients, put best problem-solvers on the front lines.
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Secret CIO: The Backstabber Gets His Comeuppance

6/18/2004
It's difficult to feel sorry for someone who richly deserves his fate.
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Secret CIO: Fix The Problem, Not The Blame

6/4/2004
Focus on learning from mistakes and preventing a repeat performance.
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Secret CIO: Build The System And They Shall Come

5/21/2004
Save us from those who seek to solve problems they haven't defined.
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Secret CIO: You're Wrong, And Don't Confuse Me With Data

4/16/2004
Some people make up their minds, then look for supporting facts
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Secret CIO: Another Outsourcing Done Him Wrong Song

3/26/2004

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Secret CIO: Who Should Lead The Fight Against Spam?

2/19/2004
To defeat spam, we must first agree on who owns the problem
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Secret CIO: Our CEO Has A Vision For The Future

1/29/2004
Picking a direction is easy; getting there successfully is another story.
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Secret CIO: Live Your Dream: This Year, Become CIO

1/22/2004
Pointers on getting a job you may one day wish you had avoided
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Secret CIO: 'I've Never Had A Bad Performance Appraisal'

12/4/2003
Giving an honest performance review is no way to win friends
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Secret CIO: Trapped In The Sales Presentation From Hell

11/6/2003
Helping on the business side proves to be an exercise in frustration
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Secret CIO: Telling The Truth Is The Best Motivator

10/16/2003
Forget the leadership books, people want to know what's going on.
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Secret CIO: A Picnic To Improve Company Morale

10/2/2003
I wonder how many employees were let go to pay for this idea
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Secret CIO: Expense Cuts Put Everyone To The Test

7/31/2003
If you show your loyalty, your staff will return the favor
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Secret CIO: Cut The Budget--Or Cut The People

7/10/2003
The economy may be recovering, but cost-cutting continues.
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Secret CIO: A Modest Proposal To Defeat Spam

6/26/2003

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Secret CIO: This Layoff Pays For Everyone Involved

3/27/2003
Sometimes, the cost is worth it and the payback immeasurable
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Secret CIO: Criticize The Plan To Sidetrack The Proposal

3/4/2003
One person's flexible strategy is another's imprecise plan.
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Secret CIO: That's Tradition, Not A Business Process

12/31/2002
Sometimes, the tried-and-true slows down the here-and-now.
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Secret CIO: Vendors Are Your Friends, Just Ask Them

11/26/2002
Consider: trust, but verify, when working with salespeople.
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Secret CIO: Information Alone Isn't Business Intelligence

10/18/2002
The golden ring goes to those who present Just what is needed.
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Secret CIO: Beware The Blog In Your Company's Future

9/5/2002
The last thing you want are uncontrolled and ever-expanding records of individual activities.
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Secret CIO: But It's A Business Favor, Herb, Not Ethics

8/8/2002
The only bright side was that he was in my office because no one in our IT shop would help.
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Secret CIO: Technical Feasibility Isn't Business Viability

7/11/2002
Woe to the CIO who thinks a prototype is proof of concept - or vice versa
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Secret CIO: A Death In The Family, A Pause, And Life Moves On

6/6/2002
Sometimes, we don't appreciate that the people we work with are more than just personnel.
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Secret CIO: Today A CIO; Tomorrow, Perhaps, The World?

4/18/2002
It's rational for an aspiring CIO to expect that his or her career path can lead to CEO.
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Secret CIO: Dressing For Success In A Tough Economy

3/14/2002
As jobs get harder to find and keep, more people are dressing up, not down
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Ask The Secret CIO: Boss Decisions

3/11/2002
In his reader mail, Herb tackles software piracy on the job, switching careers, leadership, and avoiding office politics.
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Ask The Secret CIO: Bad Managers And The Sinking Ship

2/26/2002
Herbert W. Lovelace responds to readers who need advice about coping with a bad manager, managers who permit office infighting, and figuring out which questions to ask vendors.
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Ask The Secret CIO: Be Careful With That Ax, Eugene

2/12/2002
Responding to reader questions, this time Herb tackles CRM success, determining who'll be a good manager, coping with annoying cell phone users, and marketing outsourcing services. As usual, the Secret CIO accomplishes all this with good humor and an uncommon degree of wisdom.
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Secret CIO: It's Time To Slam Spam Once And For All

2/7/2002

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Ask The Secret CIO: Would You Agree To This Deal?

1/28/2002
The Secret CIO responds to readers about meetings and other interpersonal relationships. It isn't the meeting style that's at fault, he says, but the inability of corporate leadership to gather data and do the right thing promptly.
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