Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Quote of the Week
ZuCom
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Situational Leadership
Situational Leadership
I was reminded today of the importance of situational leadership. As a management consultant I often meet with trusted partners and clients who are experiencing some sort of organizational shift. Whether or not it's an entity that has good development programs there is always a need to maintain situational leadership styles.Many organizations invest in programs on this subject and almost any MBA program includes some form or review on the practice. It's not a particularly difficult concept to understand and it's based on the work from Robert Tannenbaum and Warren H. Schmidt (1958, 1973) who put forth the notion that a leadership style should be born from the circumstance and therefore leaders should have a range of styles in their arsenal.In the technology industry many leaders rise to management on the backs of technical skills, and some ascend very quickly (Gates, Wozniak, Jobs are great examples). A good leadership development program can teach situational leadership and experience can mature these skills such that anyone can become a "4 Tool Leader"™. This is all great stuff to review and somewhat fundamental so what is new here? What I was reminded of today was the maintenance that accompanies this skill set and the responsibility we are empowered with to use it appropriately. To effectively utilize this practice you must employ a healthy introspective review of situations, styles and results. I will go as far as to say that getting feedback from other leaders familiar with the organization is also another diligence that should accompany your review. Some leaders feel threatened at the thought of considering any post analysis of their leadership. Many will realize value in it and nearly all who engage in the practice will grow from the experience.How do you maintain and grow your situational leadership?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
HP buying 3Com
"By acquiring 3Com, we are accelerating the execution of our converged infrastructure strategy and bringing disruptive change to the networking industry,"
LINK TO FULL ARTICLE
HP executive VP Dave Donatelli
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Tim Sanders - Cloud Computing
-Tim Sanders (former Yahoo exec)
Monday, November 09, 2009
Zero-day flaw found in web encryption
Is TLS in your basket? What are the reasons you've not gone down that road?
ARTICLE
-ZuCom
Monday, October 19, 2009
One Reason NOT to upgrade to 64bit Mode in Snow Leopard
After posting the roundup of issues with the release along with the hint on how to force 64bit mode a number of readers and colleagues noted that VM support was absent in the musing. After some post analysis it does appear that the Virtual Machine market in the 64bit host arena is very weak when it comes to this support.
Crossover Mac (the WINE port), has a number issues while VirtualBox, VMware Fusion, and Parallels may not even launch and this is not to mention the few others that are in the consumer market. Suggestion for now. If you need to run a consumer virtual machine on your Mac, then wait to force your copy of Snow Leopard to boot into 64Bit mode. Let it run in 32bit mode and you will be fine for now. Those who use these tools in the enterprise will find that the running VMware Fusion and Parallels does have support under the Snow Leopard Server version but this would not be something a consumer wants to tote around on a MacBookPro.
Stay tuned more to come
-ZuCom
Monday, October 12, 2009
Boot Snow Leopard into 64Bit Mode
Snow Leopard Roundup
Friday, October 09, 2009
Apple, the iPhone and Mobile, The Barbarians are at the gates.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Project Management Quote of the Week
Monday, September 21, 2009
The Changing Face of the Enterprise Desktop
The Changing Face of the Enterprise Desktop
Capital investments in enterprise desktop infrastructure are often a sizeable part of an IT department’s budget. Add in the cost of maintaining the hardware, OS, software stack, etc. and the total cost analysis would shock most. Technology leaders who are savvy enough to understand this, have already adopted alternatives that present a much smaller impact and address some evolving pressures in the industry.
Many shops have developed a strategy to address recurring desktop costs by involving a blend of thin client and virtualization. These solutions can present an enormous effect on a budget and overall support costs in a short amount of time. With products from WYSE and HP being very popular here in the US these solutions offer zero or minimal configuration, which can be done by unskilled labor, and within an enterprise network offer more than adequate performance standards. Because these clients don’t perform much in the way of processing or storage they have a very low cost, and offer some additional security benefits as a consequence. Many studies place the utilization of these types of systems at about 20-50% of a work forces’ desktop computing needs. In these environments a strong network management component is important for success, something you will see is a theme that is developing in the industry.
As data centers reduce in size and hosting applications on private or public Cloud solutions evolves it’s impact on the enterprise desktop has already seen a dramatic impact. While it’s rare there are studies where the elimination of a desktop product (thin client, thick client) was not only possible but also more efficient. A biotech research company eliminated desktop clients for it’s sales force, replacing what they carried into a sales call with an iPhone based solution utilizing Google Apps for it’s needs. While this is not typical it’s representative of what is possible and where the face of enterprise desktop will go. Application hosting is another article entirely, but the consumer success of Google Apps, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN and those of the like are undeniable. Cellular based networks are maturing in the US making this a viable option in the enterprise desktop market and something to consider.
The change we have seen in the enterprise desktop space has been dramatic. Gone are the days were the only option was Wintel or Mac OS and a piece of hardware. As the economy tightens and applications migrate to a web based platform opportunities become more available, cost effective and efficient. Some day we may look back at the days of sitting in front of a computer as archaic and unnecessary. Where will your enterprise desktop roadmap take you?
Robert Zullo
Vice President, Technology Consulting
ZuCom
www.zucom.com
rzullo@zucom.com
518-496-2592
Friday, September 04, 2009
When Green became Chic!
I received a call from a colleague today who manages a large data center in North Carolina. About a year ago we toured this facility and while impressive and modern it was far from what someone would call "GREEN". Over the past year they have undergone a major change in thinking and have undertaken a program to make all of their IT operations and functions GREEN aware. From easy items like solar panels to more difficult items like monitoring cooling and air flow the change has been palpable, not just in technology approach but also the the bottom line.
Of course there is the savings against utilities and general facilities costs but there is also government subsidies that can make the whole pill a little easier to swallow. In most states their are programs that can help take advantage of tax breaks or incentives for for embarking on a GREEN effort. In this case the correlation from the incentives to the return was immediate and for most enterprise data centers this has to be at least a fundamental consideration at this point even with energy costs leveling off.
Whilst this was a great example of industry (and government) making a change for the good, advising clients to GREEN outside the data center space is often a more challenging situation. Government subsidies are targeted at energy and not hardware per-say. Client based GREEN efforts have come of age, and they've done so without similar government subsidies. As most know client computing has been dramatically effected by the move to the Virtualization and Mobile platforms. While clients often see an immediate impact on budgets by a reduced cost for hardware the GREEN impact of not having to run additional hardware is often lost in the fray. Making hardware refresh decisions today often is an opportunity to explore the impact of GREEN on IT as well as the efficiencies of new technology.
No matter what size organization, there are options to let GREEN find it's way into your organizational thinking for IT. Virtualization, Alternative Energy, Mobilization, and even Cooperative Cloud Computing are just a few examples and efficiencies in this space are growing every day.
Robert Zullo
Vice President, Technology Consulting
ZuCom
www.zucom.com
rzullo@zucom.com
518-496-2592
Friday, August 28, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Zig Ziglar
Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days. | ||
- Zig Ziglar |
Monday, August 24, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Observations on Hope and Optimism
Optimism is the belief that things will get better
Hope is the belief that together we can make things better
Optimism is a passive virtue
Hope is an active virtue
It takes no courage to be an Optimist
but it takes a great deal of courage to have hope
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
VC and today's Leadership / Management Approaches
Management Consultants with industry experience can help keep the wolves at bay what is your approach?
-Robert Zullo
Management Coach @ ZuCom
Monday, August 17, 2009
TOMTOM Application is Out!
See the App in the AppStore at http://tinyurl.com/oyt8bq
Cool accessories at http://iphone.tomtom.com/
At $99.99 (strange price) it's a little steep even for iPhone owners. Reviews from ZuCom and SMMC are on the way.
-ZuCom
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Publish iCal Calendars Privately w/MobileMe
LINK
http://www.osxfaq.com/tips/pohlmann/index.ws
ZuCom
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Remove those pesky AutoComplete addresses in MacOS X Mail
Ever have someone send you an e-mail from an address they only use once in a while. Now when you type their name in you get a match with that address instead of the one that you have in your address book.
These addresses are known as AUTO-COMPLETE addresses. They exist in just about every mail client today and can be a blessing but also a horror if you get one in the way of one you use regularly.
Mac OS X Mail allows you how to remove them. Here's how
1) Create a new message in Mail
2) Type the problem e-mail address in the recipients pane
3) Once this e-mail has been addressed to the problem e-mail address click on it, you will receive a drop down menu
4) Chose Remove From Previous Recipients List
Done
Mac Tips Brought to you by ZuCom
Monday, August 10, 2009
Outsource your Social Media Marketing Campaign
We'll Tweet for you!! List and update your Facebook, YouTube, Blogger, LinkedIN or ???. Why spend hours trying to improve and manage your online Social Market when we can do it for you.
Contact ZuCom today at http://www.zucom.com. Accepting new commercial and consumer clients.
ZuCom
Friday, August 07, 2009
ZuCom at SES
ZuCom
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Success and Dreams
Success is hard and often difficult to understand....
Paul Harvey says "you can tell your on the road to success, it's uphill all the way" So if your successful and you can't figure it out and your going WHEEE HOOOO (having a great old time), then your .....asleep, .. and when your wake up you'll have to go to the bathroom...
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
iPhone 3.0GS User Agent Detection - Updated
Looks like the new one is
HTTP User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16
ZuCom staff will be developing and posting the update.
-ZuCom
Friday, May 29, 2009
Mike & Harry - A Journey Within a Dream
Mike and Harry
A Journey Within a Dream.
It’s 4am, and the flight to San Francisco leaves in an hour. As I walk through the Airport it dawns on me how recluse the travel experience has become. Stowed away in our world of mobile entertainment most travelers would do better to simply not experience most senses. Airport announcements and creative displays fade into the soundtrack that drives our lives.
Throughout my morning the sense of how many travelers are “tuned out” to their surroundings was palpable, so much so that it made one think of ways we should adapt for the experience. Should we create visual alerts for travelers, perhaps SMS subscriptions’ for alerts at the airport of your choice? The possibilities are endless.
We each have our reasons for escaping into this world while we travel. Whether it’s a relegation to the sweet sounds of our favorite tunes or the avoidance of casual conversation, the comfort is one many enjoy. Today my reason was a book. I had recently picked up “Put Your Dream To The Test” by John Maxwell. In this book John asks you 10 questions that drive you into an introspective look at your own dreams and your motivation to achieve those dreams. It’s truly a great book, and I completely recommend it to all.
Pretty soon I looked up and noticed that the monitor had my flight listed as "boarding". Whoa, I thought!! What would someone with a hearing impairment do? Must they stand in front of that monitor just waiting to see that announcement? It was one of those moments. I boarded the plane (now without my headphones on) and took my seat. Thankfully my preference for a window seat was fulfilled. As I walked down the aisle I noticed that there were two 70 something gentlemen in the outside seats. What luck I thought. As I approached my seat I reached into my bag and grabbed my iPhone and prepared for the 5 hour flight to SFO. Quite, reflection I thought. When I reached the seat the taller of the two introduced himself, “hello, my name is Mike and this is Harry”. Pretty soon we had struck up a conversation. Mike and Harry were WWII veterans, on their way home to their “beautiful brides”. They had stories of being in the Navy and Air Force that were just bubbling to get out. Mike and Harry were on their return trip from a doubles Bowling Tournament where they took 2nd place with a combined score of 227. They had a 3 hour bus ride home from SFO to where they lived and had to hurry to catch the BART because they needed to make that bus ride. The next day the pair were competing in a 5k run and as Mike put it "we need to be well rested". Now I’ve known folks this age who have done things I’d heard on this flight. It’s uncommon but not unheard of to find those of advanced age having partaken in life passions such as high diving (Mike) or even skeet (Harry). Even president Bush went skydiving at the age of 80. There was just something in there attitude that was captivating. Not only did I rebuke the temptation of my iPhone, I actively sought their story for the full 5 hours. See Mike and Harry were blind. Not “partially sighted” as Mike put it but..... blind.
As I listened to their stories the irony of the situation became apparent. Here I was intentionally traveling with out the sense of hearing and identifying with two gentlemen who were disabled themselves. By the way if you ever meet Mike and Harry don’t use the word “disabled”. Mike will tell you that it’s not something they appreciate. These two have been everywhere, and through their travels have undoubtedly touched many lives.
The experience itself is one to inspire even the staunchest traveler to tune in to the rhythms of life over the beat in the headphone. Not that there’s anything wrong with that :-) . Now Mike and Harry continued on to their destination and are undoubtedly living their dream, with or without consideration of their situation. I arrived in SFO to meet a colleague from Denmark. Upon sharing the experience with my colleague he quipped "...if your not careful you can become a passenger of your own life, watching it rather than living it". It was with this I knew my journey was truly complete.
It makes one think………….. have you reached your destination like Mike and Harry?
-RZullo
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Alligators and Swamps
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
iPhone OS 3.0 (beta 3) Support
-ZuCom
WWDC SOLD OUT!
-ZuCom
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Maximum Impact Simulcast - Albany
We have been involved in these simulcasts for the past six years. The value from these events is unprecedented. Attendees get access to a premier collective of brilliant minds intent on communicating the art and science of whole leadership.
-ZuCom
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Oracle Siebel CRM OnDemand - IPhone App
Well designed, thought out, and priced just right, this application will be a requirement for anyone living in the Oracle application space. While we did find the application more useful than trying to use the web interface, we found that the smooth transmission of data can be an quirky on EDGE/3G networks. This comes into play when the application has to quit and may represent an area where Oracle (like many others) made design concessions due to the pull back of the original "Push" features. Thankfully Apple is offering this feature in the coming 3.0 iPhone OS and many of us will be eager to upgrade to these new capabilities for transmission of data.
Overall the recommendation is "thumbs up" on this application as any ability to connect back to the office from the road is a boon for productivity and convenience.
-ZuCom
Sunday, March 22, 2009
iPhoneOS 3.0 - Edge vs 3G Support!!
Time to upgrade?
Probably not yet, given the OS will not be public till June it's almost a sure bet that we'll see a new model then. Given Apple's history, and the fact that most of us early adopters will be out of our contract in June, it's liable to be a whopper of an upgrade.
-Z
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Money and Success
Money will by you a bed, but not a good nights rest-Zig Ziglar
Monday, March 09, 2009
Load Test Application (OSX) - ZuCom
Friday, February 27, 2009
Fear...
"Courage isn't an absense of fear, .... Courage is what you do with fear.... doing something in spite of fear"
-Reggie Smith
Monday, February 23, 2009
Web Marketing in the 2009 Social Economy
I’ve recently had a number of business owners approach me seeking advice on how best to market their small business on the web. As the economy continues to drag many business owners are looking for cost effective alternatives to classic advertising and marketing avenues, many which have seemingly ceased to work.
Herein lies a comparison that has less to do with economic fortunes of a nation but may just represent the passing of the torch unto what I will call the “digital generation”. Nearly twenty years ago a number of colleagues and I embarked on a road trip from New York to Florida. For anyone who has made this trip and taken the I-95 corridor through the south you will undoubtedly remember billboards for the venerable Pedro, and his South of the Border destination. As you enter North Carolina you begin to see billboards whose ad copy is vague but yet bold. Before you know it there is a character named “Pedro” who has been added to the campaign and product placements begin to appear. Mile after mile these billboards cover the roadside, increasing in frequency until you’ve reached this attraction. Once you’ve passed the holy grail of the Carolinas you are reminded of the experience for about the next 50 miles as the billboards continue. They use all the characters and content that has built up to remind motorists that they can always turn around if they “missed Pedro”.
Lasting impressions like this are a commodity, and in today’s environment your opportunities to make an impression like this are limited, but not impossible. In a car on I-95, as in the story above, there is approximately a four-hour period where advertisers could have an almost uninterrupted access to a consumer. This is a dream situation for anyone wanting to market or advertise a product or business. As the Internet age has matured more and more people are online for longer periods of time. According to the 2007 PEW Internet Survey, 70% of Americans use the web for an average of 1.5 hours a day. This data confirms similar findings from Gartner and Forrester research as well. Add to this mobile browsing, which has exploded with the launch of the iPhone and 3G networks, and one can begin to see an opportunity not unlike the one Pedro enjoys.
Now this is not to suggest that someone surfing the web is as captive as someone stuck in a car on I-95. Certainly the marketing on the web presents a different challenge, as its “drivers” aren’t restricted to any specific road. This is where many business owners are beginning to ask questions. Most companies have a corporate website, some even purchase web ads, but very few are able to effectively drive results from these activities. This is where I say; you must use all the tools available to you to create online assets (or “roads”) that can work for you in a multitude of places. Using tools such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace are now becoming a necessity for businesses, because it’s where your consumers are spending their time. Creating assets in these systems to further your exposure can dramatically increase your visibility and make your other web marketing activities (e-mail lists, blogs, ads etc) much more effective.
Let’s face it, the web continues to add new “roads” for its drivers every day. The challenge in marketing on this medium is designing a campaign that crosses those roads your clients are on so they can be reminded about your digital destination.
-by Robert Zullo
rzullo@zucom.com
Follow on Twitter
www.zucom.com
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Marc Andreessen on Charlie Rose
http://tinyurl.com/c4zuue
ZuCom
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Down the Road
The journey is often more about the path you choose than the destination you seek
--???
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Patients and...
..learn to "Cockpot" things in life and business. Too many try to microwave things, and every time you zap something like that you end up with a "pop-tart" result..
-JCM