Collected perspectives

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Collected perspectives

Our complete interviews with the engaging and inspiring

What do two legendary newsmen, a venture capitalist, and the co-CEO of Research in Motion have in common? They've all given their perspectives on information and the way we can use it to improve performance.

Whether it's to be an "extreme leader," ride the "Green Wave" to higher profits, or to break through political silos, our speakers are always engaging, insightful, and at times, inspiring.

Mark Smith: Data stewardship and data strategy

"You can't have Operational Performance Management without a solid information management foundation."  —August 15, 2008

Chris Grange: High-performance metrics in higher education

"We're trying to change the way the business makes decisions. The technology is a means to an end. The justification for what we're doing lies in how the business responds."  —August 15, 2008

Ade McCormack: Can IT grow up?

"Many IT departments today are like well-behaved puppies. The industry needs to move from obedient supplier to strategic partner."  —March 24, 2008

Clay Johnson: A mandate to perform in the public sector

"Employees are changing. There is a tremendous amount of natural energy flowing in the direction of performance management because it's good for them and the agencies they serve."  —July 9, 2008

Tina Jonas: Billion-dollar dashboards at the U.S. DoD

"I was determined that the decisions I put before the Secretary of Defense, or other senior leaders in the department, be based on good information – on real data."  —July 9, 2008

Don Tapscott: The Wiki Workplace

Organizations need to set a strategy that clearly defines the role of IT in reaching goals...[A] clear path to migrate from legacy systems to the new collaboration systems they need."  —July 9, 2008

Mark Jeffries: What's up with your handshake?

"There is a whole science behind a handshake and you've got to get it right. Most people don't know that the ideal duration of a handshake is two seconds."  —March 24, 2008

Andrew Winston: Riding the "Green Wave"

"Smart companies are using the Green Wave to drive revenues by creating new products and services, and building intangible value through stronger brand loyalty."  —February 5, 2008

Martha Rogers: Maximizing your "return on customer"

"Customers are really the only source of revenue for a company. Even if you have great employees, terrific products and services, and a great brand, those things do not pay us money. Only customers bring us revenue."  —October 24, 2007

Tim Sanders: Love, likability, and being "good" in business

"When I think about how I lead and manage people, my job is to participate in the end of their suffering. The same is true in our approach to customers and partners."  —August 29, 2007

George Will: Media and Moneyball

"People always say baseball doesn't have a clock but it does. There are twenty seven ticks. They're outs and the object of the game is to not make an out."   —July 11, 2007

Patrick Lencioni: Four obsessions of the extraordinary executive

"Whether you're a company, a department within a company, or a small entrepreneurial venture, the first obsession must be to make sure your top team is cohesive."  —July 11, 2007

Bob Woodward on "bacon-coolers"

"This is the story that is so good, arresting, and important that the bacon cools on your fork while you're reading. We need more stories like that."  —May 30, 2007

Patrick Lencioni: Death by Meeting

"Good meetings are where the real work gets done. When people perceive meetings as something they do instead of work, that's a big problem."  —April 18, 2007

Seth Godin: Everyone's in Marketing

"The biggest thing today is to push the entire organization to realize that the product and the process are now part of the marketing."
  —April 18, 2007

Steve Farber: Extreme Leadership

"An extreme leader is somebody who is really acting as a leader beyond their position or their title. True leadership is about act of transformation."   —March 7, 2007

Guy Kawasaki: How to drive your competition crazy

"It's not what you do to your competition. It's what you do for your customer. The best way to drive your competition crazy is to succeed."  —March 7, 2007

Kevin Smith: Google, Cognos, and enterprise search

"Technologies get adopted when they help users. I think the ability to easily find information and then have useful analysis done on that information will be very popular with users."  —January 24, 2007

Michael Curry: IBM, Cognos, and enterprise information

"Organizations need consistent and trustworthy enterprise-level information. And today, they really need to assemble that using a range of technologies. We believe we're at a tipping point."  —November 29, 2006

Jim Balsillie: Business intelligence goes mobile

"When you take a session pull environment like e-mail and make it sessionless push, you take orders of magnitude out of the latency of collaboration. The same opportunity exists for virtually all time-sensitive corporate applications, and none is greater than BI."  —October 18, 2006

Shelly Metzenbaum: Performance management in the public sector

"Performance management illuminates: it shares the who, what, and where. It helps monitor conditions, locate problems, and find successful solutions that governments can replicate."  —July 12, 2006

Marc Andrews: IBM, Cognos, and enterprise search

"When companies start treating their information as a real asset they can create competitive differentiators and drive significantly more return on their IT investment."  —July 12, 2006

Michael Friedenberg: Aligning IT with the business

"CIOs are very focused on developing managerial and leadership qualities as opposed to the traditional technology experience. Being a good communicator, and proper project and process management skills are absolutely essential."  —July 12, 2006

Ted Koppel: Separating facts from "truth"

"Being able to put something on the air live is a triumph of technology, but it has nothing to do with journalism. Journalism is about sifting through the information, checking the facts, and putting it context."
  —May 31, 2006

Patrick Lencioni: Silos, politics, and turf wars

"Competitive advantages in intellectual property and strategy are harder and harder to maintain. The organization that can break down internal barriers will create a clear advantage over their more political and dysfunctional rivals."   —April 19, 2006