Technology

Technology Drives Change

By Brandon W. Jones on May 13, 2016 1

Technology drives change in every aspect of life. It has been the case since the beginning of time. In recent times, however, technology has increased at an exponential rate. It has been said that 80% of the technological advances since the beginning of time have happened since 1900.

Technological changes are happening at an ever-increasing rate because each time a technology is advanced it creates more possibilities for other technological advances.

Recent technological advances

Technology has changed life dramatically in the last 30 years and 30 years is a very small amount of time when compared to the history of human beings. The following list contains just a few technological changes that have dramatically changed life.

Internet
Cell phones
Flat screen TVs
Laptop computers
Video conference technology
Fiber optics
Advanced video cameras on portable devices
Smart phones
GPS
Onboard computers in cars

This list only shows ten technological advances out of the hundreds that have occurred in every industry known to man. Each advance, however, has changed the way we live life. [Read more…] about Technology Drives Change

How To Make Technology A Smart Investment

By Brandon W. Jones on November 11, 2014 2

Have you gotten the latest iPad, tablet, or smartphone? Have you upgraded to the newest operating system yet? What technology do you use at your company? Technology is a very valuable tool when used properly and at the right time. On the flip side, however, when technology is not used at the right time it can be destructive for any company or organization. The key is making technology a smart investment.

Making Technology a Smart Investment

All new investments start and end with leadership. As leaders, you must invest wisely in technology so your company is successful and maintains stability. I would like to suggest three factors to consider when investing in technology so that you make technology a smart investment.

1. How does it effect productivity?

First and foremost, leaders must look at the productivity of a particular piece of technology. How much will the technology increase productivity? Will it eliminate the need for other resources? If the technology will increase the productivity of the group than it may be worth the investment. As part of productivity, sometimes it is important to invest in technology just to s

2. Is it costly to implement?

If the increase in productivity is significant, then you must look at the cost of implementation. Will the cost prohibit the implementation? Are there going to be recurring costs associated with the technology? Are there high upfront costs with limited to no maintenance costs in the future? How long will you have to use the technology to recover your return on investment?

Technology can be a very significant investment, so you must carefully review all associated costs. Adopting a new technology cannot be something done in haste because it could cost you for many years. You must be very careful when investing in technology because if you make a wrong choice, it could put your company out of business.

3. Is the implementation timely?

When determining the timeline for the implementation of a new technology, you must look at the market and where other companies are going. If many other companies are investing in a particular type of technology, you may need to invest in it just to stay on pace with the competition. At the same time, if you are the very first company to invest there is a great risk. If the technology becomes big you will be able to capitalize on the fresh new market, but if it does not go big you may end up spending a lot of money on a failed product.

Each of these factors has a major bearing on the success of a new technology within a company, organization, or business. If you don’t think about productivity, cost, and timeliness of the implementation you could make a major mistake. You could end up getting into a situation that leads to failure.

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What Titanic Disasters Teach About Leadership?

By Brandon W. Jones on July 15, 2014 2

This is a guest post by Ali Jafra. Throughout his professional career Ali has been associated with globally recognized consulting firms, including PriceWaterHouse Coopers & Mercer consulting where he has undertaken a number of Business Process Reengineering (BPR) assignments, which has given him a diverse and unique perspective on Change Management. He has successfully managed relationships for blue chip companies, such as, Pepsi International, Microsoft, General Motors, Standard Chartered Bank, Polycom, Du Pont & Al Ghurair Group.

He has also worked as a Lead Project Manager for United Nations (UNDP) project to build capacity of Ministry of Economic Affairs Team in Pakistan to strengthen their online presence and virtual coordination for technology cooperation among developing countries.

In his passion to facilitate dissemination of knowledge with ease, he has moderated more than 100 Live Webinars on MILE’s platform by successfully engaging speakers from Top Academic Schools in the world and Global Consulting firms, such as Harvard, Columbia, Oxford, INSEAD, London Business School, Wharton, Babson, Yale, Standford, Carnegie, IESE, Cranfield, Oliver Wyman, Strategy&, United Nations Chief of E-government and many more.

Ali is a Certified Practitioner of Personality & Preference Inventory program (PAPI) which is a Psychometric tool developed by Cubiks an entity of PA Consulting U.K.

Ali holds a BSc. Degree from Elon University, North Carolina, USA.

Sinking of the Titanic in a cold night on April 14, 1912 will go down as one of the greatest tragedies in the history of mankind. The incident instantly became the epitaph for the lives of more than a thousand people who died. The ship was definitely doomed and slowly but surely sinking into its boundless water grave. Have you ever thought what caused the most advanced and largest ship of its time to sink.

Anyone who has seen the movie or read stories about the disaster would know that the Titanic did not sink because of the iceberg, but it was actually the failed leadership that sent the unsinkable ship to the depths of water. The ship now rests in the bottom of the ocean, but the calamity can certainly teach everyone a lesson about how to become a good leader.

A Leader Has to Take the Responsibility:

You cannot become a leader by acquiring a senior position in an organization, job title or by becoming a figurehead. A leader should be motivating, involved, engaging, training others, removing obstacles and always ready to explore new opportunities.

Captain James Smith was heading to an easy life as it was his retirement trip. One wonders why he ignored 7 warnings about icebergs both from his crew and other ships. A leader should be held responsible for everything an organization does and its success and failure. [Read more…] about What Titanic Disasters Teach About Leadership?

The Power Of Faith In Leadership

By Brandon W. Jones on May 7, 2013 2

In leadership, the principle of faith is understated and underemphasized. Faith allows you to accomplish great things. You can make miracles happen in your leadership with just a small amount of faith. Dan Black, at Dan Black on Leadership, said regarding faith that, “The start of any good vision is rooted with faith.”

There are many leaders that start out with a dream. They imagine or picture something in their minds that they want. Some of them even have a strong desire to obtain it. Is that desire or want enough? No, they need the power of faith to realize their dream. That desire alone is not enough to accomplish anything. Without faith, many leaders fail to realize their dreams. They start working towards their dreams, but they fail to follow through enough to achieve their dream. They let it stay dormant within themselves and don’t do anything about it. There are, however, leaders that become great by making their dreams a reality.

There is no obstacle to too great , no challenge too difficult, if we have faith. ~ Gordon B. Hinckley

The Power of Faith Realized

So what is the difference between the leader that has a desire and does nothing about it and the leader that makes their dreams a reality? The difference is faith. The dictionary defines faith as, “Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but are true. Faith is a principle of action and of power. All true faith must be based upon correct knowledge or it cannot produce the desired results.” The leaders that are successful obtain their success because they have a great amount of faith. They have faith in themselves. They also have faith in their coworkers, employees, and leaders. Most importantly, many great leaders have faith in God. [Read more…] about The Power Of Faith In Leadership

Lead With Integrity

By Brandon W. Jones on May 2, 2013 4

When you are a leader, it is very important to lead with integrity. If you lead with integrity people will trust you. If you don’t lead with integrity, people will distrust you. To lead with integrity, you must be honest, true to your word, and trustworthy.

A little while back I was on a quest to learn about how to lead with integrity. I picked up a book called Leading with Integrity: Character Based Leadership by Alan Kolp and Peter Rea. The authors mentioned many great points on how to lead with integrity.

The authors make three points that you may not think of when you think of leading with integrity. They were globalization and technology, servant leadership and competence, and teaching character. Each of these sections is very relevant to understanding what it means to lead with integrity.

Globalization and Technology

In today’s world the use of technology and globalization is growing faster than ever before. Innovation continues to increase technology is most countries throughout the world. Companies are outsourcing more work to countries with less expensive labor. They are also building offshore warehouses to produce their goods. With the technology, they use telecommunication systems to conference call from one location to another across the globe. As the book points out, the number of overseas phone calls has dramatically increased over the last decade.

[Read more…] about Lead With Integrity