Greetings everyone! It's nearly summer here in the northern hemisphere and time to start thinking about the beach, hiking, picnics and barbecues. And, now that I've finished writing my second book, I'm hoping to kick back and relax a little and enjoy the warm weather!
My new book will be entitled: Profiles in Performance: Business Intelligence Journeys and the Roadmap for Change and will be released by John Wiley & Sons in October. It's available now for pre-order.
I started thinking about writing a second book awhile ago. Originally, I had conceived it as a best-practices guide for Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) - a sort of sequel to my first book, The Performance Management Revolution. However, as I began my research, I came to realize that “culture”, and not technology, was the deciding factor for success or failure. By culture I mean people and groupsof people - their beliefs, motives, attitudes, organization, customs, processes, etc.
As a result, I changed the focus to what I call "performance-directed culture" (e.g., transparency and accountability) and a small number of organizations that seemed successful in creating and sustaining one. To this end, I developed a new maturity model, which I call the Performance Culture Maturity Model. This model employs six dimensions and four levels - which help determine the state of an organization’s achievement towards a performance-directed culture. I used this model as a filter to select candidate organizations and as a lens to study them.
Once the model was created, I began the process of speaking with innumerable organizations of varying size and industry. Out of all of this process came four extraordinary subjects: one each in health care, hospitality, manufacturing and public broadcasting. The names of these organizations and the personnel that participated are openly shared in the book.
The four finalists all agreed to an on-site study, for several days, with access to all key personnel. This entailed a “360 degree review” with in-depth interviews of C-level executives, other management, and individual contributors – across all functions. This approach gave me an opportunity to develop a relationship with the people and a deeper understanding of their businesses and cultures than would have been possible had I employed a more traditional method.
The result is a rich account of each organization’s journey towards the goal of becoming a performance-directed culture. Each case study and analysis is unique, detailing the challenges, achievements and – most importantly - lessons learned.
My goal for the reader is enable them to find themselves in one of these case studies, map their own progress on the maturity model and initiate (or reinvigorate) a program for performance-directed culture.
Between now and the end of the year, you'll be hearing a lot more about the book - including related interviews, presentations and book signings. Check my website for updates at http://www.howarddresner.com.
Okay. I know that I haven't written about BI and EPM very much. Sorry about that. But I have some good reasons.
Most notably, I've been busy since the beginning of the year writing my second book - on enterprise performance. It'll be published by John Wiley & Sons at the end of 2009. The book focuses on a number of very in-depth case studies with some extremely interesting and innovative organizations. For me, it's been a great journey and an education. I've learned quite a bit about some key industries: health care, hospitality, manufacturing and TV and radio. I've also been exposed to some of very well run organizations, with superior leadership, focus and execution. So, even in these dark times, there are organizations that continue to thrive. My hope is that, when the book is published, other organizations - large and small - will be able to apply many of its principles - and improve their own performance.
More to come...
Best,
Howard
Check out my websitefor details on where I'll be speaking, presentation abstracts, articles, my book and more!
Hello again and Happy Spring (to those of us in the Northern Hemisphere)!
It's been awhile since I've provided an update on our renewable/green energy systems.
Everything has been operational for several months now and working quite nicely. It took quite a bit of effort, though, to get the local utility to straighten out billing. However, that's now behind us and we should see some pretty amazing savings. On an especially windy day it's fun to go outside and observe the electric meter as it spins backwards - during those times when we produce more electricity than we consume.
Now that it's spring and the angle of the sun is more direct, the solar PVs have been doing their part. Yesterday, I noted that they were generating about 1,150 watts in the late afternoon. I can't wait until the summer! Of course, it's likely going to be less windy then. So, things tend to balance out.
Here's a video that I shot yesterday of the windmill doing its "thing". You might be able to detect a gentle "whirring" sound as it speeds up.
Well, the moment we've been waiting for finally arrived. This past weekend we raised our wind turbine (video below) and, along with the solar array, started generating electricity!
There were some tense moments as the wind started to pick up, but everything went smoothly. Combined, the tower and turbine weigh about 1,000 lbs. (450 Kg.) So, you can imagine how unwieldy it might have become if hit with a gust of wind.
We'll find out in the next week or so, how well its performing. The turbine has a wireless (zigbee) interface which should provide us with regular performance statistics. And, of course, we'll start to see the impact on our monthly electric bill, as there is state mandated "net metering" - which literally runs the electric meter backwards when we're generating more power than we consume.
Special thanks to Gary and Jared Bergeron from PlanIT Green Renewable Energy. (to my left in the photo). They were great to work with and I highly recommend them for any renewable energy projects!
With the holidays and 2008 behind us, I thought I’d take a moment a review my predictions from 2008 to see how accurate I was. Of course, nobody is perfect and I certainly missed a few. However, I managed to get a couple right. Below are my 2008 predictions along with my 2009 commentary:
January 2, 2008: The Economy: In my opinion, the “Big Kahuna” of predictions has to do with the economy. I may not be an economist, but I’ve been around long enough to know the signs of recession when I see them. A quick look in the local (US) newspaper tells part of the story: numerous housing foreclosures and auctions. I haven’t seen that since 1992. In addition, rumors a of a weak holiday retail season abound. Coupled with the current and unfolding lending crisis, a dismal Q4 earnings report could seal it. If I’m right, this means that 2008 budgets will be flat to down – especially for IT. The rest of my predictions are either caused by or accelerated by this prediction.
January 12, 2009: When I made this prediction, I had no idea how right I was going to be. From where I sit right now, I would suggest that we’re on the brink of an economic “depression” (aka “severe recession”). Having recently read Paul Krugman’s “The Return of Depression Economics”, I’m hopeful that, with appropriate intervention, things will stabilize by the second half of the year, even though it’ll likely be at a much lower level of economic activity. Earnings announcements due out soon will tell us how bad 2008 really was and will set the tone for the first half of 2009.
January 2, 2008: Market consolidation: As everyone is already aware, 2007 was a year of massive consolidation for BI and EPM software vendors. Although Hyperion, Business Objects and Cognos are gone, the fun’s not over yet. As the big guys feel even more pressure to boost revenues and profits, I believe they’ll gobble up any remaining, above-average software vendors of size (> $100M USD).
January 12, 2009: I was less accurate on this one. Acquisitions were far fewer than expected in 2008. This was likely due to a general lack of available credit, which made acquisitions harder to fund. The only BI/EPM acquisitions worth noting for 2008 were FAST and DATAllegro – both by Microsoft and few assorted smaller ones by Oracle (e.g., ATV). Not much else has happened on this front – even though there are some pretty good bargains out there. Perhaps as credit starts to flow again, the hunt for acquisitions will resume in 2009. Of course, I’m not suggesting that this is necessarily a good thing but, instead, a market reality.
January 2, 2008: Leveraging Existing Investments: With a combination of lower budgets and real urgency to improve business performance, I expect many organizations to try and get more value from software and systems they already own. This would be especially good news for systems integrators – especially those with deep expertise in key vertical and functional areas. So, I would anticipate consultancies become even busier than in 2007 and for a whole new crop to emerge in 2008. Caveat Emptor!
January 12, 2009: Certainly, doing more with less was a central theme in 2008 and will continue to be throughout 2009. However, I’m not sure that consultants have been the main beneficiaries. Budgets are flat to down and less will be spent during 2009 than in 2008. I saw a recent study from an analyst organization suggesting a 50% decrease in IT spending in 2009. I find that difficult to fathom. I believe a decrease of 10 – 20% is more likely. In spite of this, BI and EPM are still top priorities and organizations will concentrate efforts upon these and other critical business challenges - while working to save money whenever possible.
January 2, 2008: Rise of the Business Buyer: I don’t want to give Nick Carr (Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage - Harvard Business School Press) too much credit, but many IT Departments have become alienated from the business and less relevant than they could or should have been. An exclusive focus upon the largest software solution providers doesn’t help. In defense of IT, much of this may not be their fault and they may find themselves in an impossible situation. Nevertheless, emerging software vendors and consultants have caught on to the trend and are focusing selling efforts on business management – with the promise of implementing business solutions faster than IT can. Of course, these vendors may eventually have to deal with IT, but will avoid it (if at all possible) until business management is “on board”.
January 12, 2009: While some on the business side continue to seek BI and EPM solutions independent of IT, I have seen greater pragmatism on the part of some organizations and a more conciliatory approach between IT and business users. Having said that, BI and EPM initiatives will continue to be driven by both business and IT departments (often independently) with economic buyers and influencers varying by organization. Irrespective of who drives the initiative, I expect that there will be greater urgency and immediacy associated with it.
January 2, 2008: New Approaches Map to the Emerging Market: On-demand, open source and software appliances have been around for a few years and have experienced varying rates of adoption and success. However, with the above forces changing the shape of the market in 2008 – these options - offering lower cost and fast deployment - become vastly more appealing – especially to business users! Expect to see lots more of each at the expense of traditional software offerings.
January 12, 2009: Given the current recession, I’ve observed a growing interest in open source and Software-as-a-Service as alternatives to traditional enterprise software. Interestingly, some of the enterprise software providers have taken steps to address this by offering to match the open source total cost of ownership (TCO). However, given the different economics surrounding the two business models, I remain skeptical that they can succeed. In general, I believe that 2009 will be a good year for solution-providers offering rapid time-to-value, and a lower cost structure. Right now Software-as-a-Service is my top pick.
Best wishes to you and yours for a healthy and prosperous 2009!
For those of you interested in the progress of our green energy project, we're happy to report that our solar array is now in place!
It's hard to tell the size of the array from the photo. But, it's pretty large - measuring about 3 meters x 5 meters (10 ft. x 16 ft.).
Our SkyStream wind turbine has also arrived. Now we're just waiting for the 15.2 meter (50 ft.) tower that it'll be mounted to. There will be a great deal of ceremony and fanfare when the wind turbine is finally raised! Expect photos and a video to be posted.
We've come a long way since October and we're still on target to go "live" in January.
Notice the patch of white in front of the array. That's right. It's a bit of snow. Winter has arrived!
Most of us have been fixated on the current economic crisis that seems to worsen by the day. But, how many have used this as an opportunity to revisit strategy? At a moment when we're all riveted to current events it's also the perfect time to think about the future.
By way of an analogy, here's a quick update on my green energy initiative. BTW, thanks to those of you that have given me such positive feedback on it.
As you can see from these photos, we're continuing to make great progress and should be generating electricity very soon. The concrete pad is now sufficiently cured, the base of the tower is ready and the frame for the photovoltaic cells is in place. We already have the photovoltaic panels on site and are awaiting shipment of the tower and wind turbine - which should arrive within the next few weeks. And, the paperwork for "net metering" is being submitted, which will enable us to sell excess electricity back to the local utility.
The second photo offers a view to the west - the dominant source of wind. We're very fortunate to have such a great site - with an average wind speed of 10 - 12 mph! If you look closely, you might be able to see the the wind turbines (there are 12 of them) from New Hampshire's first commercial wind farm, which is about 10 miles away. This wind farm recently went online and will soon be generating 24 megawatts of electricity - enough for 10,000 homes! Our wind turbine is the first residential one to be constructed in our town and will generate about 3KW. Like the commercial wind farm, ROI won't be achieved for 30 or more years!
As I mentioned in an earlier post, this is our investment in the future and an important contribution to our community and the world. It is "strategic" - in the truest sense of the word. In light of the current economic maelstrom, it is tempting reduce costs and scale back our efforts. However, I am not willing to retreat or change my "strategic plan" for green energy. Of course, in parallel, we've also been (tactically) pursuing energy conservation. For example, we've replaced most incandescent lights with fluorescent or LED equivalents, we unplug appliances when not in use, and we've super-insulated the house and updated the heating system for optimal efficiency.
Likewise, in the business world, it's tempting to completely abandon long-term strategy in favor of short-term tactics (e.g., cost reductions). However, I believe that we can't allow ourselves to lose sight of our goals for the future. Do you expect your company to be around in 25 years? If so, what sort of future do you envision? How will you achieve your vision? What sort of scenarios have you developed to help think about the future?
In fact, I believe that the current crisis is the perfect time to revisit strategy, and to update, enhance or totally recreate it. In my book, The Performance Management Revolution, I cite strategy as one of the four tenets of any performance management initiative. The use of scenarios - which consider political, economic, social and technological possibilities - will help direct any strategic thinking exercise.
With a compelling and credible strategy, the current crisis need only present a temporary set back, instead of allowing it to redefine the enterprise, ultimately hampering its future.
Best,
Howard
Check out my websitefor details on where I'll be speaking, presentation abstracts, articles, my book and more!
ing about writing a second book awhile ago. Originally, I had conceived it as a best-practices guide for Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) - a sort of sequel to my first book, The Performance Management Revolution. However, as I began my research, I came to realize that “culture”, and not technology, was the deciding factor for success or failure. By culture I mean people and groups of people - their beliefs, motives, attitudes, organization, customs, processes, etc.
