links for 2008-08-12 [delicious.com]

• "What business are you in?" -- Hoover's Business Insight Zone                
  my moment of illumination in regards to business capability and technology matching, now immortalized by Tim Walker of Hoover's.  And yes, this led me to SOA -- at the time we called it services based architecture -- and exploring product line management & portfolio concepts.  And honestly, how cool is it (and totally unlikely) that I'd be mentioned in the same post as Drucker and Einstein.  I might be done now.
                 
  (tags: drucker business_capability soa elemental_links)
              

• Forrester's Jeremiah Owyang on Understanding Gartner'€™s "€œGeneration Virtual"               
  this post is interesting for it's content, but even more so because it's from a Forrester analyst on Gartner research with Gartner analysts contributing to the discussion in the comments.  Shows the power of social media for breaking down walls and spurring conversations.  As for some of the mentioned customer community roles, Patty Seybold (my former boss) speaks at length about these in her 2005-06 work, Outside Innovation.
                 
  (tags: analysts gartner forrester social_media outsideinnovation)
              
• The Era of Inspiration                
  I often cringe when listening to folks talk about EA & SOA governance that relies on "command & control" and "positional authority".  I talk about creating environment of compliance rather than enforcement. This article talks about a way to get there, via inspiration. How are you inspiring people to participate in SOA & EA initiatives for group success?

  "Unlike coercion and motivation, the source of inspired conduct is intrinsic and internal. Inspired employees act on something they believe in; they are in the grip of ideas; they are compelled by a deeper purpose and propelled by values they hold fundamental. Unlike carrots, beliefs are largely free—and they can be shared. Because they can be shared, they spur collaboration and serve as the glue that keeps people aligned and energized. This is particularly important in the face of current economic times, where external stimuli (carrots and sticks) are not as readily available. In short, values are sustainable."

                 
  
  (tags: leadership governance inspiration commandandcontrol)
  
              
• IT oversight bill gains support
  from the it's about time category: "Bill S. 3384 ... would require agencies to report regularly on significant deviations in cost, schedule and performance...“The bill’s requirement to report cost and schedule breaches means that agencies will need to be more transparent with and accountable for their poorly performing projects,” Powner said."
                 
  
  (tags: government IT accountability)