The Patient Consultant

A Novice’s View of Energy

Why would anyone read a novices view on anything? If life has taught me anything, it’s that experts can often become blind to possibilities. At some point, financial security overrides reason and debate. So seems the world of Energy policy (more on this later).

As I sat in my living room one extremely windy afternoon the aggravation of wondering if my house was going to blow down turned to an alternative thought. What if rather than sitting here complaining about the “damn wind” I actually used it to my advantage? A couple of keystrokes later I was reading up on a residential wind generation solution from a company called Urban Green Energy. The company, formed by a BC native living in New York, designs and manufactures residential wind generation solutions. They are one of many companies in the “green” energy industry but somewhat unique in that their wind turbine is aesthetically pleasing and quiet. These are distinctions of importance because much of the issue around wind generation is “its ugly” and/or “its noisy”. There are a variety of solution options available depending upon how much energy you would like to generate.

 

This investigation lead me to look further into how much energy I consumed each year, what the costs were, and how long it would take to pay off a system with the energy cost savings. In addition, I inquired into whether there were any grant programs for subsidizing the initial setup costs and if I could sell excess energy back to the grid. The answers were yes, you can sell back (in Saskatchewan) and maybe the costs could be subsidized should the Saskatchewan Research Council bring back the Net Metering Program. At this point I’m still investigating options but it appears that if I wish to replace most or all of my electricity requirements for the home it will be at an unsubsidized cost of $30,000. WOW, being green and environmentally conscious has a price tag; go figure.

However, there is more to this than meets the eye which got me thinking about alternative energy policy. In reading Nicholas Carr’s book, The Big Switch: Rewiring the world, from Edison to Google, it was clear that in order for the industrial age to advance civilization to today’s state a massive new and more efficient way of generating power was required. Edison’s inventions, from light bulbs to mass electrical generation, has had a massive lasting effect on our modern society. There is a caveat; no consideration was given to the finite availability of resources to power these centralized generation stations. While “the grid”, along with potable water, has likely extended human life more than any technological advancement to date, it is a finite solution in its current state. “So what” you say. “It will outlive me!” Imagine if this is how Edison thought about the water wheel.

So what are we to do. Many sides to the debate while angry supporters of fossil fuels continue to deride environmentalists and vice versa. Professor Michio Kaku has theorized that there are 3 types of civilizations in the universe based on the type of energy consumption (yes folks, this is science).

1. Harnesses the planetary power (tides, sun, wind, etc)
2. Harnesses the power of their neighbouring star (solar winds, bursts, etc)
3. Harnesses the power of many stars at a galactic scale

Currently, we are type 0: fossil fuels. If our civilization is to survive we must move away from fossil fuels and move into type 1 civilization; harnessing the power of the Earth. Depending on your perspective these are exciting times. We have the potential to move to the next level just as civilization did in the late 1800’s. It looks like Saskatchewan supports this move. I understand there are likely few people that would either be able or willing to spend $20,000 – $30,000 on alternative energy but to the few that are thank you. You are the true leaders of civilization. For those special interests that hang onto 200 year old technology because you think its good for jobs that is your prerogative. Forgive me if I can’t help thinking of you as “fossils”.

I can’t promise I will make the investment; I too may remain a fossil. However, it is this move away from fossil fuels that, 100 years from now, make the rest of us look rather "fossilish".

Quick Mention of Our Snowmobile Trip

I just wanted to provide a link to our great vacation and snowmobile trip at Elk Ridge Resort.  We are having a great time exploring a small portion of Saskatchewan's beautiful north country (what some would more accurately consider "Central" Saskatchewan).  I don't know if its the fresh clean air, clean water, natural surroundings, beautiful people, or all of the above but I never feel better than I do when I'm in Saskatchewan's boreal forest.

Some like warmer destinations; some prefer the energy of big cities, some like climbing mountains, but for us there isn't a better getaway than exploring Saskatchewan's north. A short "blurb" on our morning sled trip north of Elk Ridge can be found on my Everytrail site.

A special mention to Everytrail for iPhone for brilliantly creating an App that allows me to track, photograph, summarize, and share our snowmobliing experience in remote areas with my friends.

 

Technology Overdose: The Diminishing Returns of Technology Over-Indulgence

In Another Technology Life...

I've been in the technology sector, in one form or another, for over 20 years.  Early in my career I was fortunate enough to join a cutting edge organization called International Road Dynamics (IRD).  IRD was in early stages of commercialization their world class Intelligent Transportation Systems. I was much younger and hadn't realized until recently that what we were doing was "in-field research".   I treated every situation with the greatest of customer service care completely oblivious to the fact the systems we were implementing were bleeding edge and not fully commercial-ready.  Despite the "road bumps" we were able to improve the products while delivering better insight into how highways needed to be engineered and maintained.  It was a complicated array of variables that went into highway design for the purpose of maximizing the life of a jurisdictions' infrastructure investments.

This work was highly rewarding because of a team of great people that were able to research and develop products at a fast pace while continually improving the customer experience.  These systems were critical for gathering the information required to ensure highway departments around the world were maximizing the value of highway infrastructure investments.  To this day I look at this work as the most rewarding and satisfying of my career.

Today's Environment

In reflecting on the early days of my career I am reminded of the importance of why we create products and solutions.  Despite the technological advances in information technology what seems to be continually lost on far too many organizations is purpose.  The questions that continue to pop into my head on web platform projects include:

• Why are we building websites?
• What are we trying to achieve by investing in a web platform (i.e. SharePoint)?
• What ongoing improvements will deliver the maximum value to information workers?
• What is required to support solutions and associated systems?
• How will what we're proposing align with business/organizational goals?

It is surprising to me, given my early experiences with technology and business goals, how the creation of an "industry" (information technology) has too often excluded the "why" from the equation.  We have an entire ecosystem of technology partners that propose products before solutions.  They sell to IT departments often without having a single conversation with the business users who will ultimately use the solution.  As with most bureaucracies, the "siloing" of departments within an organization has drastically hampered the ability to understand and deliver on "the why".  I have personally witnessed, on two occasions this year, larger organizations make purchasing decisions solely on the price of a product/service.  They completely dismissed approaching the solution more methodically and from a business/technology balanced approach.  It's purely a developer-cost issue in their minds and the thinking has much to do with how technology is sold.  By a product and your problems are solved.

Technology products, by themselves, do not solve problems; people do.  It is critical to get the technology design correct but it is equally, or likely more critical to get the business problems solved and to make systems "usable".  Business problems are not solved because you happen to love SharePoint and have created all the widgets a customer will ever need.  There has to be purpose, a reason, a WHY.

All is not lost

The fortunate part of being in the business of creative solutions is that there are a lot of smart people out there that understand the issues and are open-minded enough to consider change.  What needs to happen is communications with technology experts on why solving organizational challenges is priority one.  I would also suggest that addressing challenges is neither primarily about strategic planning nor effective solution building; it about getting things done right and ensuring there is always a focus on why.  Focusing only on technology creates other problems which manifest themselves in several ways:

• No measurable improvements to business problems have been realized
• Solutions are not broadly adopted or completely thrown away
• There are constant reworks of the solution because expectations have not been met
• Hammer and Nail Syndrome: All problems are being "solved" with one technology

IRD was an organization that captured the spirit of "Why" more effectively than their competition.  It is for this reason that today they are a world leader in their industry. The path was not perfect with many bumps along the road to success.  However, I never perceived a marriage to any one way of doing things; a cult of technology, and more importantly neither did their clients.  There were problems to solve and issues to address in order to keep traffic flowing and maintain the longevity of highway systems.  This is precisely how IT departments should think not only about their customers, the information workers, but also their business/tecbnology partners they hire to help create the solutions. Too often these relationships are adversarial for so many reasons that it requires another blog to cover.

In an ideal scenario creating great business solutions is a combination of IT, business, and communications people (the TEAM), all working together to build world class solutions that solve problems.  There is no value in building a great looking solution with clever coding that goes unused.  If you think you're already there ask yourself if your organization is "landing on Mars" or "contemplating the moon".  Too many organizations are still stuck with ineffective Intranets or, worse, complicated and messy file shares.

What do you think?   Does your organization over-indulge in technology or does it maintain a balance with business? Is the usability a solutions a focus?  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Social Media doesn’t replace Social

At the risk of sounding like a heretic to Social Media "priests" believing, that somehow, social media will make us a far more connected and social species, I suggest exactly the opposite. Social Media, in my opinion, is simply a tool to be used to bring the people together, not be the replacement of personal experiences where ideas and innovation are incubated. Despite working "in the industry" and often trumpeting the benefits of Social Media, I feel we need to keep this latest craze planted firmly in its place. Updating your status on Facebook and flooding the world with 140 character witticisms may be a clever 21^st century communications and marketing tactic but my recent homecoming experience has made me fully appreciate the value of human connectedness and interaction.

So you may be thinking, "DUH, no kidding, obvious stuff Peterson; What's your point? Allow me to elaborate. I recently attended my hometown's 5 year reunion affectionately known as "Homecoming". I grew up on a farm outside of a small village of 192 citizens. I've been attending these events as long as I can remember (back to the 70's) and each one has its own charm. To Social Media's credit, I don't recall any other Homecoming prior to Social Media being so well attended. People were chatting about the event on Facebook a year in advance and I believe it helped drive one of the best-attended Homecomings in history for my small home town. However, driving attendance has been accomplished by other means in the past (mail, newspapers, word of mouth). The quality of interactions I had with everyone from politicians to financial advisors to dear friends (and in some cases all of the above) could never have been experienced by Social networking alone. It was the experience of "being there" that lead to the best jokes, the greatest conversations, and the meaningful dialog that can only happen from "being local". I have since pondered why a small town of 192 people can produce incredible talents including:

• 2 renowned Canadian Painters
• An award winner author
• A commercial Airline Pilot
• Countless Business Leaders
• Entrepreneurs
• Railroad Engineers
• Nurses
• Mechanical Engineers
• Oil and Gas Industry Visionaries
• NHL Hockey Players
• Entertainers
• Lawyers
• And on and on….

My conversations covered everything from business, to education, health care, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, all the way to Gerard Butler's controversial hand placement on Jennifer Aniston. Each conversation reminded me the value of socializing, beyond Social Media, that was such a big part of growing up in rural Saskatchewan. I believe this quality is being lost in the convenience of Social Media tools. The homecoming socializing reminds me why so many successful people have come from challenging backgrounds. It is the prairie spirit and dependency on others that drives us to succeed in our own ways. We should not assume Social Media makes us smarter nor should we pretend it will make us more connected. It will serve as a tool of enablement but it will only be as successful as the connections we make in person. The best and most productive connections are those that take a lifetime to build. I hope the business connections I make today will be with me 25 years from now. Thank you Tompkins for providing me an education no University ever could have. Thank you to all my friends for the experiences that can never be replaced; Thank you Saskatchewan for being tough enough to help me appreciate the value of hard work; And Thank you Social Media for, in this instance, not trying to replace Homecoming but rather enabling more people to attend it.

Upcoming Event in Regina on Web 2.0 and SharePoint 2010

 

The buzz around Web 2.0 is seemingly not going to disappear. Gartner research shows that most companies have various initiatives and plans to incorporate Web 2.0 technologies into their enterprise in 2010, and for those that do, the return on investment is almost always positive. But what exactly are companies getting out of bringing these external internet tools in-house? What business value can be explored within your company, and what imperatives exist that you should be looking at creating a strategy for now? If you're just now looking at implementing SharePoint as a portal platform, you may wonder what companies are doing to leverage the tools built into SharePoint that span these social media concepts. If you have a pre-existing investment in SharePoint, you may be wondering how you can continue to expand that solution to include the latest social media trends including social networks, video blogging, user taxonomy tools, and social collaboration. What is in-the-box? And what offerings are available that integrates and extends the platform? Please join Microsoft & Non Linear Creations for this exciting breakfast seminar to explore these concepts, dive into SharePoint's hidden features, and look at some of the add-ons and integration with third-party. Past Seminars have filled to capacity in less than a week, so register early to guarantee your spot.

Regina, Saskatchewan Thursday, February 25, 2010 Delta Hotel 1919 Saskatchewan Drive Regina, SK S4P 4H2 Phone: (306) 525-5255 8:30am Breakfast & Registration 9:00am: Presentation 11:30am: Q&A/Wrap Up Register by phone: 416-203-2997 ext 247 Register by email: Susie Ibbotson sibbotson@nonlinear.ca

 

You get what you pay for. Really?

I have learned the hard way those tempting bargains are not what they really seem. Whether it was a cheap used couch or the latest electronics from an unknown (and untrusted) brand, life is littered with examples of where spending more actually ends up costing less in the long run. Buying things over and over because they keep breaking gets costly. With few exceptions, it is usually cheaper to spend a little more money up front to buy the quality trusted product.

Does the same hold true for software services? Certainly great strategists and developers are hard to find and they are more expensive to keep on the payroll. Therefore, their services naturally cost more. But there is a limit. There is a level where returns on the service diminish when costs get too high. Who wouldn't love to have Mike Holmes as their home renovation contractor? However, does it make any sense to pay more than his television contract to fly him out to your remote cabin in Northern Saskatchewan to fix the patio steps? Likely not and if you shop around there's a good chance of finding a better cost alternative for someone equally willing to "make it right".

There is no question that planning and developing a higher quality web site that addresses your business goals is not something you want to engage your friend's nephew working out of the basement while finishing High School. You look to the vendor and partner eco-system for the best qualified to take on such important tasks. But before you get swept up by flashy presentations and bubbly personalities do your homework. Look around and ask:

• Does your approach include a strategy engagement that will directly tie business strategy to online strategy? And don't just stop after they offer a quick and assuring "Yes, of course". Ask for evidence with other customers who had their business positively impacted by the work delivered. Ask about their strategy processes in detail as it's the most critical part of the project engagement. A pretty web site with a good IA is of no value if it doesn't map to business strategy and engages the intended audiences.
• Is your organization willing to work with our staff to share knowledge and look at creative ways of keeping costs in line? A consulting organization that wants to do everything and not share the knowledge is likely working towards their best interests, not yours.
• What are your rates (hourly, daily, fixed cost, etc)? $200/hour is not expensive if that person can finish their tasks twice as fast as the competition. However, AND THIS IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT DISTINCTION, if your service provider is providing high hourly rate resources for the same or similar duration as the competitors at 50% less you are not receiving value. It does not matter if that person has worked at 10 other high profile customers. All other things being equal, a consultant's value comes from being as efficient as possible. Experience is important but learning from good experience to be as efficient as possible is where the value is . If you are comparing one service providers apples to another's the costs should not be 50 – 100% higher.

I have been consulting for over 15 years and, without bias, have been impressed with how non-linear creations keeps their customers best interests, and money, at heart. NLC also has over 15 years of expertise in delivering on the value promise. Delivering value is more than adopting what is read in business books; its providing the evidence of that experience and ensuring the service provider truly cares about your business success.

I took a clip from a New York Times article that hits home why Microsoft should never fail. This is directed at all those who constantly deride everything Microsoft does like they could do better (ha).

Some people take joy in Microsoft’s struggles, as the popular view in recent years paints the company as an unrepentant intentional monopolist. Good riddance if it fails. But those of us who worked there know it differently. At worst, you can say it’s a highly repentant, largely accidental monopolist. It employs thousands of the smartest, most capable engineers in the world. More than any other firm, it made using computers both ubiquitous and affordable. Microsoft’s Windows operating system and Office applications suite still utterly rule their markets.

The company’s chief executive, Steve Ballmer, has continued to deliver huge profits. They totaled well over $100 billion in the past 10 years alone and help sustain the economies of Seattle, Washington State and the nation as a whole. Its founder, Bill Gates, is not only the most generous philanthropist in history, but has also inspired thousands of his employees to give generously themselves. No one in his right mind should wish Microsoft failure.

FAST Enterprise Search and non-linear creations

Enterprise Search has too often been an overlooked asset by organizations in achieving their online business objectives.  Whether the online strategy is inside or outside the firewall, Search is a powerful component in the overall web strategy of any organization.

non-linear creations has been helping organizations with their online and search strategies for well over a decade.  Gartner has ranked Microsoft as a leader in the Enterprise Search field and non-linear has a proven track record in delivering solutions on the Microsoft platform, including FAST.

Please see the attached document and contact me if you have any questions.  NLC and Microsoft will be hosting a Search Strategies event in Regina on Friday, December 11th and we're still welcoming anyone who can attend.  Details for the event are available at http://www.nonlinearcreations.com/events/2009_siies_regina.htm.

Download FAST_Non Linear PSB5

Is SharePoint the answer to everything?

The question in the subject line is obviously rhetorical. SharePoint will not slice, dice, and mop up spills or the hundred other things Vince sells on television. However, it is an awesome platform for delivering everything from document management services to social computing applications. SharePoint is arguably Microsoft's most successful product to date, and with good reason.

However, a recent demonstration of the Content Management Solution platform from Sitecore has made me ask the above-mentioned question in context of building an external web presence. If you were shopping for a sports car with great handling and acceleration it wouldn't make much sense to shop for an SUV. There is nothing wrong with wanting a SUV but it wouldn't satisfy the sports car aficionado. Select the product based on requirements.

SharePoint is great but comes with challenges. In certain situations (i.e. dynamic external websites) it can be difficult and costly to develop custom solutions to fit requirements. SharePoint doesn't always provide the best possible solution for content editors (publishing easy to use and workflow). Anyone requiring deep web analytics may be disappointed with out-of-box visitor reports. The overall licensing costs can also be prohibitive, depending on the architecture required (external connector licensing per server). It is not known how much of this will change with SharePoint 2010 but, for now, businesses looking for CMS solutions must select a solution that addresses organizational and web goals.

I was extremely impressed with the Sitecore solution and found myself surprised I hadn't heard of the solution before now (embarrassed might be a better description). Some early observations:

• The editing capabilities for content owners are outstanding and dead-simple to use
• Out of box CMS features and functionality (that which doesn't require huge investments in custom development) far outweigh what comes with SharePoint
• Web analytic information, out of the box, is very sophisticated and provides sales and marketing people a great tool for drilling deep into visitor habits and helps improve accessibility to relevant site content, where required
• Sitecore has a SharePoint connector and integrates with existing SharePoint deployments. This is a plus in situations where internally deployed SharePoint sites can publish to a Sitecore Internet solution
• The editing toolbar looks identical to the ribbon in Office 2007 and is easy to use
• The out of box workflow toolkit is more extensive and easier to use than workflow tools in SharePoint

Admittedly, I just had my first glimpse of the product this morning. However, based on almost a decade of experience with web content management systems, this is by far the most impressive I've seen to date. I can't wait to dive into Sitecore more and get a better understand of this great product!

New Job

It's been a summer of change! After much thought and contemplating my career path I am excited to announce that I have joined Nonlinear Creations as a Senior Account Manager. I have enjoyed all that was available to be experienced at Habañero Consulting as well as the opportunity to develop business opportunities in Saskatchewan. Regina is a great place to live and I will be staying here in my new role at Nonlinear.

I've been absent from the Blogsphere but am looking forward to writing about many new exciting prospects and topics as things progress in my new role. I wish Habañero all the best in future endeavours and give a big thanks to Wendy and Sue for helping me along this new path with Nonlinear. More to come....