There's a critical moment in enterprise governance that ties to when we start taking decisive executive action. I like to think of it as the "lifeboat" moment. It's when we determine that the challenges we face are too great to overcome and that we need to start salvaging what we can before the entire organizational "ship" goes under.

There's a critical moment in enterprise governance that ties to when we start taking decisive executive action. I like to think of it as the "lifeboat" moment. It's when we determine that the challenges we face are too great to overcome and that we need to start salvaging what we can before the entire organizational "ship" goes under.

I'm conflicted about this topic, so it's a good thing Cutter promotes debate. I'm having one with myself, and you can watch.

The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially "The Games of the XXX Olympiad" (I don't want the IOC branding police after me), have finally concluded, but the buzz about NBC's coverage in the US still goes on.

Back in late November 2009, I was conducting a group coaching session and the topic was how to keep staff motivated when, because the economy was so bad, the participants were unable to provide an elaborate party, gifts, or bonuses by end of year. After much brainstorming and discussion, one of the things that everyone agreed to do was to hand-write a thank you note to each of their direct reports.

Mobility is becoming increasingly important to business as the BYOD movement brings powerful tablets and smartphones to the enterprise. Mobile business intelligence has proven popular in recent years, principally by offering a means for busy executives and salespeople on-the-go to carry with them instant access to important indicators. Mobile BI capable of reaching back to analytics on the corporate server or in the cloud could be served up from dedicated apps on mobile platforms or accessed through mobile-friendly webpages.

Mobility is becoming increasingly important to business as the BYOD movement brings powerful tablets and smartphones to the enterprise. Mobile business intelligence has proven popular in recent years, principally by offering a means for busy executives and salespeople on-the-go to carry with them instant access to important indicators. Mobile BI capable of reaching back to analytics on the corporate server or in the cloud could be served up from dedicated apps on mobile platforms or accessed through mobile-friendly webpages.

Mobility is becoming increasingly important to business as the BYOD movement brings powerful tablets and smartphones to the enterprise. Mobile business intelligence has proven popular in recent years, principally by offering a means for busy executives and salespeople on-the-go to carry with them instant access to important indicators.

Mobility is becoming increasingly important to business as the BYOD movement brings powerful tablets and smartphones to the enterprise. Mobile business intelligence has proven popular in recent years, principally by offering a means for busy executives and salespeople on-the-go to carry with them instant access to important indicators.

In the high-pressure retail environment of the 21st century, industry leaders looking for every competitive advantage are increasingly relying on analytics. This Executive Update explores how to blend analytics with behavioral research for operational success.

In the high-pressure retail environment of the 21st century, industry leaders looking for every competitive advantage are increasingly relying on analytics. This Executive Update explores how to blend analytics with behavioral research for operational success.

Methods mirror the complexities of work that occur in organizations. However, the value of a dedicated method for a specific area of work within the business is limited to that area of work.

Organizations, especially large and global ones, are inundated with methods for everything. There are methods, processes, standards, frameworks, guidelines, and policies that apply in development, quality, governance, project management, and architecture — at varying levels in an organization. These methods and their variances are “owned” by roles.

When you first started to talk, after "Dada," "Mama," "cat," and "dog," your parents probably taught you the importance of saying, "please" and "thank you." For most toddlers, "please" comes fairly easily. When you say "please" you're more likely to get what you want. The cause and effect is immediate. But "thank you" -- as I'll explain in this Executive Update -- is another story. "Thank you" is about goodwill -- and the future.

Do you want to lead an organization that's nimble and flexible so it thrives under conditions of change, complexity, and uncertainty? Of course you do. So first you'll want to distinguish change as a noun from change as a verb (stay with me here, you'll get value from this, I promise).

For more than a century, the business world has been conducting a huge, uncontrolled experiment in motivating people. In parallel, the world of academia has been scientifically researching the same subject.

Consumerization is the trend for new technologies to first emerge in the consumer space and subsequently make their way into the enterprise world. As enterprise users start comparing the quality of the user experience with consumer applications versus their enterprise counterparts, the demand for better enterprise applications will continue to soar. When designing and architecting new business applications, enterprises need to keep the following considerations in mind:

Everything in life is a game. Someone is always keeping score. We're all being measured, whether we like it or not. Gamification is a technique that business leaders need to become familiar with in order to take advantage of this fact, since it takes measurement, behavior analysis, and engagement into the business setting in ways that can enable organizations to meet their objectives.

I've been reading a lot of articles lately about investors and analysts having lost faith in social media companies, particularly Facebook. Now, I readily admit that Facebook has made mistakes -- especially its hugely stock-deflating IPO debacle.

I've been reading a lot of articles lately about investors and analysts having lost faith in social media companies, particularly Facebook. Now, I readily admit that Facebook has made mistakes -- especially its hugely stock-deflating IPO debacle.

You may not like what you are about to read. Most senior executives are steeped in a way of thinking that was already obsolete when you learned it. It’s not fair, but that’s the way it is. More on how it happened below, but first....

Dear Agilist,

Everywhere I go I hear the same thing: "Culture and management are the major impediments to enterprise agile adoption."

After several major software failures, the chairman of a Fortune 500 manufacturing company decided to embark on a corporate-wide software risk-reduction program.

After several major software failures, the chairman of a Fortune 500 manufacturing company decided to embark on a corporate-wide software risk-reduction program.

After several major software failures, the chairman of a Fortune 500 manufacturing company decided to embark on a corporate-wide software risk-reduction program.