I’d like to take a minute, skip the usual “lessons learned” and simply reflect on 5 key project areas I saw over the last 12 months.

1. Committed Team
If you’ve been part of an IT project, it usually starts with a feel good “Kick-off” meeting. We talk about the project, the timeline, the people and how great this is going to be. Most of the time, people have never worked with each other and are expected to hold hands and get along for the ride. This time it was different. The project manager set the tone with a high-level plan, tangible milestones and a meeting that lasted less than 30 minutes.

You came out of this meeting feeling like “We’re going to kick some ass!”.

2. Engaged and Trusting Leadership
It’s not enough to just be the boss, sit at the head of the table and listen to project status. You have to be engaged, able and willing to make tough calls, and above all, trust your team. That’s what leadership is and that’s what the team saw.

3. Focus on Results not Blame
Is it going to be the smooth ride we’ve been promised? You bet it won’t be! So, let’s check your ego at the door, don’t look for blame and find ways to help your teammates. In most IT projects too much time is wasted on blame going around. Some people thrive on the resulting chaos, which not only results in delays but fragments a team and lowers the morale. Stop the blame and let’s move forward. This team understood this from the get go.

4. What Turf War?
Technology is going to change. You have to be ready to change with it. Protecting your turf from change using all kind of excuses is not helping your organization. If you are not ready to embrace the changes, your position will be commoditized. Instead, understand what is needed, how you can help, and make it happen. The only turf I saw here was the one the team was playing on!

5. A How-To Attitude
Do I really need to explain? If so, you can learn from these guys!

There you have it! LCS is proud to have been able to participate and watch the events unfold. Great teamwork and looking forward to the next successful migration!

Imagine the impact this little sentence can have for an entire day.

Imagine you are at the height of your game.

Imagine getting things accomplished.

Imagine you can get one step closer to your goal.

Imagine the feeling of a great day.

Now, stop imagining and start tomorrow like “It’s Showtime!”

Well, did they really?

There seem to be a very important dimension missing from this experience.  The opportunity.  Not considering the opportunity in the equation, will lead to use the product for its sole purpose only and we are missing the potential that it could enable.  When purchasing a camera, think not only about the priceless moments you will capture but also the potential some YouTube videos or a personal web site could make to enhance your career.  When purchasing a service, make sure the team you are going to hire shares your vision of the end result.  A set of resumes associated with hourly costs alone is not enough to bring this vision to life.  When you start to look at the opportunities, the price becomes just another feature.

Recently, one of my customer said “You guys make this place fun to work at again!”.  This is not something that could have been put in a resume or factored in a price.  Having a team that is engaged and ready to embrace success is an opportunity you cannot afford to miss.

Today, the team and I went to a Bakery & Cafe for lunch.  It is about 5 minutes from the site where we work, it is convenient, and we are fairly regular customers.  One of my colleagues and I just love their Spicy Thai Chicken Soup.  If you haven’t tried it, do so next time.  It’s a treat and comes in a small bowl as well as a larger one.  That’s my favorite and all I need for lunch.

Over the past few months we have noticed less and fewer customers at lunch time.  You hear everywhere that the economy is bad, so one may draw the conclusion that it must be the economy’s fault.  More people may pack their lunch and stay in their cube.  At least this was my initial thinking.  The bright side for us customers, there is less waiting in line and no problem finding a quiet spot to sit down for lunch.  Simply awesome!

Over the same period of time I noticed that my large bowl would get less and less soup, and I mean noticeably.  I felt cheated somehow.  I understand economics, less customers, lower profits, time to cut… but then again, didn’t think much of it, until today.

I would like to share with you the following exchange when I stepped to the cashier for my order:

- Stephane: “Hi, could I get the large Spicy Thai Chicken Soup and an Ice Tea for here?  Could you please fill the soup all the way for a dollar more?  I’m willing to pay a bit extra.”

- Cashier: “It’s because the bowls are bigger. It’s going to be $8.03“.

- Stephane: “…”

My first thought?  Arrogance.  I don’t think I need to say more, but let me paint a different picture, one that I was ready for but never happened.  One that happens in the Thank You Economy that Gary Vaynerchuk talks about.  One where businesses care about their customers.  One that LCS applies to it’s own business.

- Stephane: “Hi, could I get the large Spicy Thai Chicken Soup and an Ice Tea for here?  Could you please fill the soup all the way for a dollar more?  I’m willing to pay a bit extra.”

- Cashier: “Absolutely, let me make sure of it! It’s going to be $8.03“.

- Stephane: “Thank you so much!”  (BTW, I leave the $1 that I was ready to spend as a tip).

From here I go sit down, I reach for my iPhone, launch the Foursquare app to check-in.  I make sure to leave a tip for the place that says: “Best customer service in town. You gotta come to lunch here next time!  You guys rock!“.  There you go, I press “Send” and this message is launched through my Twitter account and ends up on my Facebook page for all my friends and followers to see.  What best advertising a company can ask for?  What do you think the return on investment of that little bit of soup amounts to?  It is much more than your Excel’s formula could dream of.

My question to you, as a business or as a employee, are you prepared to make more soup if you are going to hand out bigger bowls?  Think about it…

Please comment and let me know if this resonates with you and how you  are doing business.

Our team’s success has been in the press lately and as a result we’ve received lots of resumes in the mail. We have been growing and hiring and are looking forward to continuing. As we grow, we add new jobs and opportunities that benefit the local community. That’s great right? So… why are you dropping the ball on me?

I’d like to take a moment to talk about why you may not be finding the right job and help out. Over the years, I have interviewed countless numbers of candidates. I came to the conclusion that I don’t believe your resume anymore. Add in the fact that I’m simply not interested in what you did in the past. I’m certain that you have exaggerated some area of expertise and taken credit for the results of a team effort. I have seen it and I’m not interested in hearing about it. Don’t waste your time, and don’t waste my time. You see, the game has changed, but the rules have not been published yet.

What I’m really interested in is what you are bringing to the company today, what you will bring tomorrow and over the next years with us. Yes, I want to hear what You will bring to us. In today’s world, there is enough information online to find out what we do. Instead of a resume, draft and share the plan that will make you successful within our company. Make an impact, write a story, create a plan, and be creative. Comment on our blogs, engage, start the conversation. I may not have the position right away, but I will work as hard as you to find it.

You are probably wondering where you dropped the ball. Let’s say we meet or we talk on the phone but unfortunately the position has been filled. I will ask you to connect with me on LinkedIn. From there we can stay in touch, I will learn more about you; you will have access to my connections and a broader set of opportunities. So why are you not reaching out? Why don’t you connect? Why is your profile not updated? Why are you dropping the ball on me?

It happens every time and it is frustrating. Your resume is dead, but don’t kill the conversation!

Yes, You, it’s time to step out!

Over the last few years, a popular misconception has been that thinking outside the box will help someone discover new ways, new ideas and become more creative. Innovation is the new promised land. The problem is that for most people, the thinking is confined to their education, past experiences and various habits developed over many years. How can someone be in a position to innovate when his or her environment is safe, well known and above all just plain comfortable? Innovation takes risks, creativity takes talent and confidence takes accountability. All of which are required, but none can be performed inside a box.

The economy is not only changing, it is changing radically and fast. The things and ways we know are now behind us. Waiting for a time to be back to “normal” is foolish at most. Stop looking backwards. Normal is gone. Just over the last 10 years, large corporations have vanished because business was as usual – and usual meant to look to the next quarter. While decisions were made based a proven track record, most of the time it was the safest option, but not always the smartest one. Today, the rules are changing. We are connected more than ever before. Information about any products, services and even people are readily available directly from your smart phone – anytime – anywhere.

Boxes are starting to move and you don’t want to be caught in one when someone ships it somewhere else. It will be too late. It is time to adapt to the situation and look for new ways. To stay ahead, you have to step out. Engage in the conversations, share information, be yourself and above all be all in!. You have no idea how much your contributions will mean if you never try.

I’ still a bit puzzled by why Oracle hasn’t yet developed a way to spawn parallel processes in their PLSQL language, a bit like Java does with the Thread class. I’m not talking about the “Parallel Query Option” in SQL, but a true parallel feature, with thread synchronization APIs, etc. LCS has already developed it’s own version with a simple framework that we use to run conversions and batch jobs up to 10x faster. Our customers have enjoyed a mini software version of Exadata where a single job runs with concurrent threads to process the data. We’ve been able to demonstrate performance ratios of 10x, 12x and even 16x based on the underlying hardware.

Can’t wait to run this framework on Exadata soon. Are we looking at 10×10 performance increase? I’m sure that PLSQL will have some kind of parallel processing at some point. In the meantime, let us know if you want to boost your current jobs.

What you doing to increase the performance of your long running jobs?

The Conference spawned over 3 days, with some amazing speakers and keynotes (more details later). There wasn’t a dull moment that I can recall. From breakfast at 7am, powering through lunch and later the 10pm cocktails, people were networking and having a good time.

So, how do you get a backstage pass for these types of event? Enter Twitter. Picture this: You can listen to hundreds of conversations all at once wherever you are. Using Twitter in real-time opened an amazing new dimension to the Conference at the social interaction. You were able to follow people you’ve never met before, learn their stories, participate in dozens of concurrent discussions and topics all from your mobile device. Like working on big puzzle, each piece revealing more about the whole picture – one conversation at a time, one hash tag at a time. People would come to me with “Hi Stephane, I saw your tweet about Gary!”, at the same time we were able to connect with people the night before the event. Even today, more a week after the Conference ended folks continue to post messages, thoughts, comments and reaching out for ideas. The conversation doesn’t stop, it is still going…

If you are not on Twitter yet, stop procrastinating and jump in TODAY. Create your account and join the conversations that interest you. Make sure to not stay in your corner alone, just lurking at us – CONTRIBUTE! Next time you attend a social event, any social event, go ahead and ENGAGE. You will be amazed at what or whom you will discover!

Follow me on Twitter @StephaneCome. Be social, be active, participate! Leave a comment.