While there were some big IPOs in 2011, Zynga and Groupon among them, overall it was a disappointing year for IPOs. Will 2012 be any different? As the first tech IPO of the new year, Guidewire Software certainly hopes so. Back in September, the insurance software company joined MobiTV, Angie’s List, Brightcove, and Jive, filing its S-1, announcing plans to raise up to $100 million and to sell approximately 7.5 million shares at $10 to $12 per share, in advance of its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.

Guideware ended up exceeding its initial targets, pricing its IPO yesterday above its target range at $13 a share, selling 8.85 million shares and raising $115 million. The company has officially begun trading on the NYSE this morning under the symbol “GWRE” — after granting underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 1.3 million additional shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, if any — and again proceeded to beat expectations. Guidewire stock jumped to $16.75 upon its first trade, up 29 percent. Since, it has gone as high as $18, and currently sits at around $17.25 per share.

Founded in 2001, the San Mateo, California-based company is a software vendor for insurance companies that provide property, casualty and workers compensation to their customers. The company offers a web-based claims system that supports personal, commercial, and workers’ compensation insurance, and enterprise app for coordinating and executing transactions, as well as underwriting and policy administrations systems for these carriers. In other words, Guidewire has sought to enable insurance companies to replace their core legacy systems and automate their businesses through web-based software.

After struggling through not-so-profitable early years, the software company managed to turn a profit in the last two years, seeing its first quarterly profit in 2010. In fiscal 2011, revenues rose to $172 million, with the company seeing a net income of $35.6 million compared to $15.5 million in fiscal 2010 — although current financials are not as strong, as revenues have been on the decline in recent quarters.

That being said, sales increased 51 percent to $52.4 million in the most recent quarter, perhaps due to a loyal customer base, as Chief Executive Marcus S. Ryu told the WSY, “No customer has ever left Guidewire. That gives us a lot of security, and allows us to plan our budgeting and investing.” (Check out The Deal Pipeline’s interview with Ryu this morning here.)

While the company counts more than 100 customers, including major insurance companies like Nationwide, CNA and American Family Insurance, Guidewire believes that the available market for their software is far bigger. Gartner, for example, found that insurance carriers spent $4 billion on software and $10.5 billion on IT services in 2010, and many of those are still using outdated technology systems.

And in another good sign for Guidewire, according to the Wall Street Journal, two of its leading investors, U.S. Venture Partners and Bay Partners, have indicated that they are not interested in selling, but buying more stock — as many as 400,000 shares of common stock at its IPO price. (The WSJ actually reported that Battery Ventures, another of the company’s investors, has purchased an additional 400,000 shares of common stock.)

The company is seeing some strong adoption of its software, especially its claims system, and both profits and sales are on the rise. Thus, the immediate outlook for Guideware seems positive, so keep an eye on its stock this week — it, too, may be on the up-and-up.

And just in case you want to see a bunch of people clapping:

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Well, it’s been an interesting last few weeks (and last few years, for that matter) for Israeli-headquartered video-conferencing specialist, RadVision. Acquisition rumors are currently swirling around the company, based on Israeli newspaper Globes’ report that the company is in ‘advanced’ talks with Avaya, a business collaboration and communications company, for a sale of approximately $200 million.

The official word we’ve received from RadVision spokespeople is that, of course, they do not comment on “rumors or speculation”. But our Israeli sources did say, without confirming, that an acquisition will very likely happen, even if it doesn’t end up at $200 million. As Globes points out, RadVision has been looking for a potential acquisition candidate since late 2009, when its largest client, Cisco Systems (which accounted for about one-third of its revenue), bought its Norwegian videoconferencing rival, Tandberg, for $3.3 billion.

Since then, RadVision has been on the defense, looking for — but not finding — the right candidate, losing money, as further talks with HP broke down last year when the two could not agree on price. Yet, over recent weeks, RadVision’s stock has gone from sinking to soaring, up 108 percent since November 29th on acquisition rumors, and holding a market cap of about $180 million. (Of course, after hours trading was not so kind to the company, as shares tumbled 12 percent Wednesday.)

As to Avaya, it announced plans for an IPO back in June, but the public offering has been repeatedly delayed. Meanwhile, over the last year, Avaya has made a number of acquisitions of late, and with quite a few unified communications products, video conferencing among them, RadVision would be a nice pick-up — if they can be convinced it’s worth $200 million.

Interestingly, amidst all this coverage and speculation, RadVision quietly announced today that it is ramping up its offerings for SMBs, rolling out a suite of video solutions that is intended to bring the company’s enterprise video solution to startups and small business for a much lower cost than traditional, full-scale solutions.

RadVision is clearly hoping that by offering high definition audio, video, and content sharing, like HD video room system capabilities with embedded multi-party conferencing, desktop conferencing with firewall traversal, and support for mobile in packaged solutions, it will be able to find a new audience for products and boost revenues.

The leg-up for RadVision is that they have a robust suite of enterprise-grade conferencing products, especially for the European market, but startups like AnyMeeting are also offering web-based video conferencing and webinar services — for free.

Granted, they don’t have the same scale or number of features, but with its recent announcement that it is now offering Google Apps integration to enable web conferencing to Google users in a single sign-on solution — on top of six-way video conferencing, the ability to host meetings of up to 200 attendees with no time limits, screen sharing, app sharing, recording, and social media integration — the competition from U.S. startups is at least moving in the right direction. AnyMeeting is just one example.

RadVision still has a robust suite of communication tools, and expanding to offer support to SMBs certainly helps its case, but we’ll see what happens to the price as it attempts to ink a deal with Avaya. We’ll update as we learn more.

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Stephen Ibaraki

Dr. Lecia Barker is a Research Associate Professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas in Austin and a Senior Research Scientist for the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT). Barker’s research and evaluation studies fall in two areas:

1. Attracting, retaining and advancing groups under-represented in professional computing and science careers, both industry and academic; these studies focus on social climate, identity/belonging, faculty adoption of alternative teaching and curricular practices and sustainable organizational change.
2. Educational technologies from the viewpoint of learning outcomes and user studies; these studies focus on how situational factors influence use and usefulness of the technologies.

Some current projects include NSF Broadening Participation in Computing Alliance, intending to retain minority students in majority institutions; a project to diversify the user base of TeraGrid in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, and disciplinary field; study of use of video lectures with automatic indexing by a traditional, diverse, and urban student population; and study of tacit learning based on choice of browse terms in a digital library collection.

Prior to joining University of Texas in 2008, Barker was the founding director of the ATLAS Assessment & Research Center at the University of Colorado, which had two foci: adoption, uses, and implementation of innovative technologies in higher education; and recruitment, retention, and advancement of under-represented groups in computing. Barker and colleagues collaborated as evaluators on many exciting educational outreach projects, such as outcomes assessment for a Knee Anatomy learning module using the Visible Human data set (with Center for Human Simulation at the University of Colorado), formative evaluation of Web Weather for Kids (with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research), train-the-trainer workshop of GLOBE (with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research), and evaluation core center for the Digital Library for Earth System Education (with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at University of Colorado).

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:49:
Lecia shares a typical week and then month in her schedule including her activities, outcomes, and lessons learned.
“….You can find all of our National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) resources at http://www.ncwit.org….”

:04:05:
What can you tell us about yourself that few know?
“….People may not know that very little things bring me great happiness….”

:04:58:
What were the biggest obstacles in your career and how did you overcome them?
“….I’d say that the encouragement and support that I’ve gotten from other people have been a huge benefit to me….”

:06:34:
What are the milestones in your life and why?
“….I think milestones are marking out stages of life or somehow changing life’s path….”

:07:50:
You are an internationally recognized authority on diversity and education, so let’s drill down further into this area. How would you define unconscious bias and can you provide examples?
“….Scientists say that we are exposed to as many as 11 million pieces of information at any given time but can only consciously pay attention to about 40 – so that the way we deal with this is that we interpret and interact with the world according to what social scientists call knowledge schemas….They are based only on our experiences as we walk through our lives through cultures, society, being raised in certain families, school systems and all of our human experiences….Some people call them implicit biases….”

:10:38:
Can you talk about the negative effects of unconscious bias?
“….Negative effects can be shown in the case of gender schemas or unconscious gender bias…..It’s really important to stress that this isn’t just something that happens to women, it’s something we all do to ourselves and to each other and to recognize that we all carry unconscious biases and we use them to make judgments…..”

:16:40:
In my last discussion with Maria Klawe, President at HMC, she talks about some best practices on how she is able to achieve more than a 40% enrolment rate of young women into her programs. What are your recommendations in this area?
“….We’ve recently produced a workbook for developing a strategic recruiting plan and this is available for free at the http://www.ncwit.org website….”

:20:21:
If you have women enrolled, what can be done to keep them?
“….Create opportunities for student interaction in and outside of classrooms….It is important that examples given in lectures and meetings and as the basis for assignments be about things the students are interested in – especially ways that students can contribute to society….Revise the curriculum or add classes that are more interesting to students’ career goals….Make sure that students and faculty have opportunities to talk to each other….Evaluate results, find out what works on your campus and what does not work. Let us know at NCWIT, we are always interested in success stories and new ideas to share with our members. We also have a guide book and a summary of how to strategically plan for retention on the ncwit.org website ….”

:26:16:
Can you define “Classroom Climate” and its relationship to retention and learning?
“….Basically ‘Classroom Climate’ is the social aspect of the learning environment, though it can be influenced by the physical layout of the room….”

:30:34:
Lecia expands further on her work with middle school kids and the solutions that are being implemented.

:35:02:
What are the best resources for learning more about the issues we discussed?
“….http://www.ncwit.org….http://www.diversitybestpractices.com….”

:36:32:
What lessons can you share from your other roles and past experiences?
“….There is something to be learned from every situation….To ask for help even when I don’t think that I need it….”

:37:21:
You are quite engaged in the community through volunteer roles. Can you describe why you contribute and if others should engage?
“….There are some important competencies that I think I can share and which are very expensive to buy (for example, people don’t have time to go out and learn about program evaluations). People in non-profit organizations are making huge efforts with their own lives and they don’t have time to learn new things or to implement them even if they had time to learn. Yet they need program evaluation as much as any organization and have limited resources for doing them….”

:38:56:
You’ve participated in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Education council meeting recently, and in the future computing summit. What kind of value do you get from those kinds of activities?
“….I’m a social scientist, an outsider to the computer science world, and it’s important for me to get a deeper understanding of people whose work and opinions are so important to my work….”

:40:23:
What top lesson can your share from the projects you have worked on?
“….Be open to disbelieving my own interpretations….Be open to surprises….”

:41:50:
Please make your predictions for the future in educational technologies, their implications and how we can best prepare?
“….Information retrieval systems are going to be improved based on increased data capacity and storage, and as scientists in the information field come with new ideas about what kinds of words and ideas tend to go together we can use new technologies to do better searching and get more information on particular topics….”

:48:10:
If you were conducting this interview, what questions would you ask, and then what would be your answers?
“….’What do you mean by gender parity?’….’Why are women under-represented in computing in so many countries of the world?’….’Who are some other interesting people who have stories to tell about other under-representation in computing?’….”

:50:50:
What do you see as the top challenges facing us today and how do you propose they be solved?
“….When I think about serious challenges facing us in the world today I don’t think that these are new challenges….People have the inability to accept different ideologies as valid, and that humans often are dogmatic and this leads to war….Peoples’ inability to share wealth….”

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Stephen Ibaraki

Maggie Johnson is a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science at Stanford University, and Director of Education and University Relations for Google. Her extensive past and present roles include: Assistant Chair, Director of Educational Affairs & Undergraduate Studies, Stanford Computer Science 2003-2006; Software Litigation / Expert Witness; Executive Vice President and Director of Research for Metricnet (1999-2004); Member, ACM Education Board and Council; Member, ACM Professional Development Board; Member of Governing Board, NSF NSDL Computing Pathway; Member, Advisory Board of UCCP (University of California College Prep).

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:48:
Maggie profiles her education, training and her many past and present roles.

:02:10:
You have a background in music – do you see a relationship with mathematics and computing?
“….The way that I think about it is that you get wired a certain way in learning (especially the kind of music I was and still am interested in – Bach and baroque). There are mathematical tendencies in that music – a lot of underlying math and music theory that have connections – but I think it’s a little bit more about how your brain is wired….”

:02:58:
What can you tell us about yourself that few know?
“….Probably the music background….”

:03:27:
What were the biggest challenges in your career and how did you overcome them?
“….One of the biggest challenges was being a woman in a field of mostly men. I’ve often felt the need to over-achieve and over-perform in order to be taken seriously in certain situations. It may have been my perception that pushed me to do that but there have been times where I had to do more than a male colleague in order to get to the same place in the end….”

:05:04:
What are the milestones in your life and why?
“….My family is really important to me….Getting my PhD….Getting the academic position at Stanford…Coming to Google – that was a significant change in direction….”

:05:39:
What evidence is there that benchmarking produces value?
“….If I am a CIO of a company, I certainly know how much I spend each year, how many are on my staff, the processing power of all the computing resources, etc….Once I have those basic metrics there are some interesting ratios, things like how much does IT spend versus revenue, what does IT spend per employee. There are those kinds of ratios which are interesting metrics and benchmarks. They also map against all the published benchmarks that are available….”

:07:54:
Why are critical failure factors so important?
“….There have been a lot of lessons learned from failures and benchmarks….You want to be careful about making decisions based on really high level data or incomplete data….”

:09:15:
What is “benchmarkable” and what aspects of IT should be considered?
“….Anything really obvious and easy to collect is usually easy for others to collect. Once you have a lot of people collecting the same thing, then you can start creating these published benchmarks and you have a basis for comparison….”

:10:11:
What are the common measures that have produced value?
“….The more granular you get the better. There are a lot of different perspectives that we’ve taken when looking at the different kinds of data that characterize an IT organization or the services it provides….”

:11:18:
How can benchmarking be turned into a sustainable process and integrated into the “business of IT”?
“….It’s not just about benchmarking….The real message is how you can use data creatively to make those decisions….Data should be used wherever it’s possible to better understand the current state that you are in and the future state that you might want to be in….”

:13:18:
What does the future of benchmarking look like?
“…It’s getting more granular, it’s getting more detailed – which is really helpful….Also this whole notion of more innovative use of the data to support decision-making is another thing that we are seeing more actively and more explicitly done….”

:13:58:
Do companies need to do benchmarking periodically or will it be another form of “market data feed”?
“….I think it depends on the company or industry….”

:14:38:
What are the best resources and tools for benchmarking?
“….One of the most prominent experts on IT benchmarking is Howard Rubin….Partner Group, a consulting group in IT, do a lot of studies in this area….”

:15:18:
Where else can we go to get more information?
“….If you want to learn the basics of getting started there is a certification course offered at Stanford in IT Benchmarking…http://scpd.stanford.edu under the Degrees and Certificates….”

:16:01:
What lessons can you share from your role as an expert witness?
“….Software systems really stretch traditional intellectual property laws in that you have trade secrets, copyrights and patents and those are the standard methods of protection for intellectual property. There has been a lot of interesting adjustments that have had to be made to these traditional forms of protection to work with software….It’s interesting to watch and to be part of the process….”

:17:48:
You are quite engaged in the community through volunteer roles. Can you describe why you contribute and if others should engage (how and why)?
“….I serve on a number of different boards that relate to the work that I’ve done at Stanford and that I currently do at Google. It’s really important to have networks outside one’s immediate environment in order to learn what’s going on in the outside world….Those relationships are key and it’s a great way to give back to the community as well….”

:18:33:
What are the top priorities in computer science and computing education?
“….The first is, thinking about Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics (STEM) education in K-12 – we really need to improve this….I feel we have to completely change the way we do education and we need to expand it to go way beyond what happens in the schools….The second is the enrollment crisis in computer science and IT at the undergraduate level….We have a serious image problem in computer science and IT – the field is not attractive to students and we have to try to fix this….”

:21:24:
You are an outstanding teacher. What qualities make for good teaching and teachers?
“….Respecting your students and really listening to them to try to get a sense of what they are understanding and what they are not understanding and using that information to improve….You need to know your stuff cold. You need to have the knowledge of the material to get and maintain the credibility….”

:22:16:
Maggie shares her top best practices for corporate training.

:25:14:
How do relationships play a role in IT?
“….It’s not something that is specific to computing and IT….It’s an absolute critical part about being in the business world….”

:26:14:
What lessons can your share from the projects you have worked on?
“….Define the problem carefully….Think of an ideal but achievable end space that will solve that problem….Understand clearly why you are doing something and who is asking and why. Sometimes analyzing the motivation behind a request might uncover a completely different issue and the different issue might call for a different solution….”

:28:33:
Please make predictions for the future, their implications, and how executives and IT professionals can best prepare?
“….My perspective is really geared toward education right now….We need to fix our K-12 education system by loosening that really archaic structure….”

:30:29:
What do you see as the top challenges facing us today and how do you propose they be solved?
“….Lack of interest in our young people to pursue technical careers….There is a really strong presence of cloud computing and all the benefits of economies of scale that it provides, but one of the challenges we have is the security and privacy around the data that people are putting in the cloud….”

:31:33:
Please provide your quick comments on the IFIP IP3 program on professionalizing the profession? [http://www.IPThree.org].
“….It’s a long standing question in the IT and computer science field as to whether or not credentialing, certification or even licensing can help build public trust in software engineering and information technology….What IFIP is trying to do is making great progress because I think the profession has matured and evolved enough now….”

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Enjoy,
Stephen Ibaraki

Dr. Lecia Barker is a Research Associate Professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas in Austin and a Senior Research Scientist for the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT). Barker’s research and evaluation studies fall in two areas:

1. Attracting, retaining and advancing groups under-represented in professional computing and science careers, both industry and academic; these studies focus on social climate, identity/belonging, faculty adoption of alternative teaching and curricular practices and sustainable organizational change.
2. Educational technologies from the viewpoint of learning outcomes and user studies; these studies focus on how situational factors influence use and usefulness of the technologies.

Some current projects include NSF Broadening Participation in Computing Alliance, intending to retain minority students in majority institutions; a project to diversify the user base of TeraGrid in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, and disciplinary field; study of use of video lectures with automatic indexing by a traditional, diverse, and urban student population; and study of tacit learning based on choice of browse terms in a digital library collection.

Prior to joining University of Texas in 2008, Barker was the founding director of the ATLAS Assessment & Research Center at the University of Colorado, which had two foci: adoption, uses, and implementation of innovative technologies in higher education; and recruitment, retention, and advancement of under-represented groups in computing. Barker and colleagues collaborated as evaluators on many exciting educational outreach projects, such as outcomes assessment for a Knee Anatomy learning module using the Visible Human data set (with Center for Human Simulation at the University of Colorado), formative evaluation of Web Weather for Kids (with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research), train-the-trainer workshop of GLOBE (with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research), and evaluation core center for the Digital Library for Earth System Education (with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at University of Colorado).

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:49:
Lecia shares a typical week and then month in her schedule including her activities, outcomes, and lessons learned.
“….You can find all of our National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) resources at http://www.ncwit.org….”

:04:05:
What can you tell us about yourself that few know?
“….People may not know that very little things bring me great happiness….”

:04:58:
What were the biggest obstacles in your career and how did you overcome them?
“….I’d say that the encouragement and support that I’ve gotten from other people have been a huge benefit to me….”

:06:34:
What are the milestones in your life and why?
“….I think milestones are marking out stages of life or somehow changing life’s path….”

:07:50:
You are an internationally recognized authority on diversity and education, so let’s drill down further into this area. How would you define unconscious bias and can you provide examples?
“….Scientists say that we are exposed to as many as 11 million pieces of information at any given time but can only consciously pay attention to about 40 – so that the way we deal with this is that we interpret and interact with the world according to what social scientists call knowledge schemas….They are based only on our experiences as we walk through our lives through cultures, society, being raised in certain families, school systems and all of our human experiences….Some people call them implicit biases….”

:10:38:
Can you talk about the negative effects of unconscious bias?
“….Negative effects can be shown in the case of gender schemas or unconscious gender bias…..It’s really important to stress that this isn’t just something that happens to women, it’s something we all do to ourselves and to each other and to recognize that we all carry unconscious biases and we use them to make judgments…..”

:16:40:
In my last discussion with Maria Klawe, President at HMC, she talks about some best practices on how she is able to achieve more than a 40% enrolment rate of young women into her programs. What are your recommendations in this area?
“….We’ve recently produced a workbook for developing a strategic recruiting plan and this is available for free at the http://www.ncwit.org website….”

:20:21:
If you have women enrolled, what can be done to keep them?
“….Create opportunities for student interaction in and outside of classrooms….It is important that examples given in lectures and meetings and as the basis for assignments be about things the students are interested in – especially ways that students can contribute to society….Revise the curriculum or add classes that are more interesting to students’ career goals….Make sure that students and faculty have opportunities to talk to each other….Evaluate results, find out what works on your campus and what does not work. Let us know at NCWIT, we are always interested in success stories and new ideas to share with our members. We also have a guide book and a summary of how to strategically plan for retention on the ncwit.org website ….”

:26:16:
Can you define “Classroom Climate” and its relationship to retention and learning?
“….Basically ‘Classroom Climate’ is the social aspect of the learning environment, though it can be influenced by the physical layout of the room….”

:30:34:
Lecia expands further on her work with middle school kids and the solutions that are being implemented.

:35:02:
What are the best resources for learning more about the issues we discussed?
“….http://www.ncwit.org….http://www.diversitybestpractices.com….”

:36:32:
What lessons can you share from your other roles and past experiences?
“….There is something to be learned from every situation….To ask for help even when I don’t think that I need it….”

:37:21:
You are quite engaged in the community through volunteer roles. Can you describe why you contribute and if others should engage?
“….There are some important competencies that I think I can share and which are very expensive to buy (for example, people don’t have time to go out and learn about program evaluations). People in non-profit organizations are making huge efforts with their own lives and they don’t have time to learn new things or to implement them even if they had time to learn. Yet they need program evaluation as much as any organization and have limited resources for doing them….”

:38:56:
You’ve participated in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Education council meeting recently, and in the future computing summit. What kind of value do you get from those kinds of activities?
“….I’m a social scientist, an outsider to the computer science world, and it’s important for me to get a deeper understanding of people whose work and opinions are so important to my work….”

:40:23:
What top lesson can your share from the projects you have worked on?
“….Be open to disbelieving my own interpretations….Be open to surprises….”

:41:50:
Please make your predictions for the future in educational technologies, their implications and how we can best prepare?
“….Information retrieval systems are going to be improved based on increased data capacity and storage, and as scientists in the information field come with new ideas about what kinds of words and ideas tend to go together we can use new technologies to do better searching and get more information on particular topics….”

:48:10:
If you were conducting this interview, what questions would you ask, and then what would be your answers?
“….’What do you mean by gender parity?’….’Why are women under-represented in computing in so many countries of the world?’….’Who are some other interesting people who have stories to tell about other under-representation in computing?’….”

:50:50:
What do you see as the top challenges facing us today and how do you propose they be solved?
“….When I think about serious challenges facing us in the world today I don’t think that these are new challenges….People have the inability to accept different ideologies as valid, and that humans often are dogmatic and this leads to war….Peoples’ inability to share wealth….”

Tweet This Post

Enjoy,
Stephen Ibaraki

Dr. Lecia Barker is a Research Associate Professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas in Austin and a Senior Research Scientist for the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT). Barker’s research and evaluation studies fall in two areas:

1. Attracting, retaining and advancing groups under-represented in professional computing and science careers, both industry and academic; these studies focus on social climate, identity/belonging, faculty adoption of alternative teaching and curricular practices and sustainable organizational change.
2. Educational technologies from the viewpoint of learning outcomes and user studies; these studies focus on how situational factors influence use and usefulness of the technologies.

Some current projects include NSF Broadening Participation in Computing Alliance, intending to retain minority students in majority institutions; a project to diversify the user base of TeraGrid in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, and disciplinary field; study of use of video lectures with automatic indexing by a traditional, diverse, and urban student population; and study of tacit learning based on choice of browse terms in a digital library collection.

Prior to joining University of Texas in 2008, Barker was the founding director of the ATLAS Assessment & Research Center at the University of Colorado, which had two foci: adoption, uses, and implementation of innovative technologies in higher education; and recruitment, retention, and advancement of under-represented groups in computing. Barker and colleagues collaborated as evaluators on many exciting educational outreach projects, such as outcomes assessment for a Knee Anatomy learning module using the Visible Human data set (with Center for Human Simulation at the University of Colorado), formative evaluation of Web Weather for Kids (with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research), train-the-trainer workshop of GLOBE (with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research), and evaluation core center for the Digital Library for Earth System Education (with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at University of Colorado).

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:49:
Lecia shares a typical week and then month in her schedule including her activities, outcomes, and lessons learned.
“….You can find all of our National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) resources at http://www.ncwit.org….”

:04:05:
What can you tell us about yourself that few know?
“….People may not know that very little things bring me great happiness….”

:04:58:
What were the biggest obstacles in your career and how did you overcome them?
“….I’d say that the encouragement and support that I’ve gotten from other people have been a huge benefit to me….”

:06:34:
What are the milestones in your life and why?
“….I think milestones are marking out stages of life or somehow changing life’s path….”

:07:50:
You are an internationally recognized authority on diversity and education, so let’s drill down further into this area. How would you define unconscious bias and can you provide examples?
“….Scientists say that we are exposed to as many as 11 million pieces of information at any given time but can only consciously pay attention to about 40 – so that the way we deal with this is that we interpret and interact with the world according to what social scientists call knowledge schemas….They are based only on our experiences as we walk through our lives through cultures, society, being raised in certain families, school systems and all of our human experiences….Some people call them implicit biases….”

:10:38:
Can you talk about the negative effects of unconscious bias?
“….Negative effects can be shown in the case of gender schemas or unconscious gender bias…..It’s really important to stress that this isn’t just something that happens to women, it’s something we all do to ourselves and to each other and to recognize that we all carry unconscious biases and we use them to make judgments…..”

:16:40:
In my last discussion with Maria Klawe, President at HMC, she talks about some best practices on how she is able to achieve more than a 40% enrolment rate of young women into her programs. What are your recommendations in this area?
“….We’ve recently produced a workbook for developing a strategic recruiting plan and this is available for free at the http://www.ncwit.org website….”

:20:21:
If you have women enrolled, what can be done to keep them?
“….Create opportunities for student interaction in and outside of classrooms….It is important that examples given in lectures and meetings and as the basis for assignments be about things the students are interested in – especially ways that students can contribute to society….Revise the curriculum or add classes that are more interesting to students’ career goals….Make sure that students and faculty have opportunities to talk to each other….Evaluate results, find out what works on your campus and what does not work. Let us know at NCWIT, we are always interested in success stories and new ideas to share with our members. We also have a guide book and a summary of how to strategically plan for retention on the ncwit.org website ….”

:26:16:
Can you define “Classroom Climate” and its relationship to retention and learning?
“….Basically ‘Classroom Climate’ is the social aspect of the learning environment, though it can be influenced by the physical layout of the room….”

:30:34:
Lecia expands further on her work with middle school kids and the solutions that are being implemented.

:35:02:
What are the best resources for learning more about the issues we discussed?
“….http://www.ncwit.org….http://www.diversitybestpractices.com….”

:36:32:
What lessons can you share from your other roles and past experiences?
“….There is something to be learned from every situation….To ask for help even when I don’t think that I need it….”

:37:21:
You are quite engaged in the community through volunteer roles. Can you describe why you contribute and if others should engage?
“….There are some important competencies that I think I can share and which are very expensive to buy (for example, people don’t have time to go out and learn about program evaluations). People in non-profit organizations are making huge efforts with their own lives and they don’t have time to learn new things or to implement them even if they had time to learn. Yet they need program evaluation as much as any organization and have limited resources for doing them….”

:38:56:
You’ve participated in the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Education council meeting recently, and in the future computing summit. What kind of value do you get from those kinds of activities?
“….I’m a social scientist, an outsider to the computer science world, and it’s important for me to get a deeper understanding of people whose work and opinions are so important to my work….”

:40:23:
What top lesson can your share from the projects you have worked on?
“….Be open to disbelieving my own interpretations….Be open to surprises….”

:41:50:
Please make your predictions for the future in educational technologies, their implications and how we can best prepare?
“….Information retrieval systems are going to be improved based on increased data capacity and storage, and as scientists in the information field come with new ideas about what kinds of words and ideas tend to go together we can use new technologies to do better searching and get more information on particular topics….”

:48:10:
If you were conducting this interview, what questions would you ask, and then what would be your answers?
“….’What do you mean by gender parity?’….’Why are women under-represented in computing in so many countries of the world?’….’Who are some other interesting people who have stories to tell about other under-representation in computing?’….”

:50:50:
What do you see as the top challenges facing us today and how do you propose they be solved?
“….When I think about serious challenges facing us in the world today I don’t think that these are new challenges….People have the inability to accept different ideologies as valid, and that humans often are dogmatic and this leads to war….Peoples’ inability to share wealth….”

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Stephen Ibaraki

Alex Lin Yong Qing is the leading international business and information technology authority, founder and CEO of ChinaValue.net, the largest top-ranked online business media, professional social networking service, and business marketplace intelligence service. In late 2009, the London School of Economics (LSE) profiled Alex in “Blazing Trails”, due to his unique success as an entrepreneur and visionary innovator transforming the world.

• Alex brings an extensive history of accomplishment and successes to his many ventures. Previously in China, over a period of seven years as Intel’s senior executive, he built and then managed the world’s largest IT sales channel. Moreover, as Deputy General Manager and VP of Marketing, he supported the growth of the “TOP 3″ PC maker in China, TsingHua TongFang Computer Ltd.
• Alex was the first MBA (XiaMen University) with Intel (China), and the first global EMBA in China from the prestigious TRIUM program jointly sponsored by the London School of Economics and Political Science, New York University Stern School of Business, and the HEC School of Management Paris (www.triumemba.org, Ranked No.2 amongst Global EMBA programs by the Financial Times).
• Alex is a special advisor to the MII (Ministry of Information Industry), which controls the IT industry in China. He also advises CIW, and CCID, the two major official outlets. CCID manages the only official IT research group in China. One of the Alex’s key executives is the father of the Internet in China – Hu Yong. Hu contributed as a visiting scholar at Berkeley due to his recognized standing.
• In late 2009, Alex was a special nominee and CEO delegate to the World Economic Forum (WEF) and then to the Global Leaders Summit in New York held concurrently with the G20 Summit attended by President Obama and President Hu of China.

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:39:
Alex, you bring an incredible background of innovation, business, and technology success to our audience. Considering your very busy schedule, we thank you for doing this interview with us. Tell us a little about ChinaValue?
“….ChinaValue is the first “Real name verification website in China in which the members are required to prove their identity in order to build a creditable and trusted business environment online. We are also the first professional social media community providing information for different levels of business executives in China. Professionalism is one of our core competences which differentiates our value from others….”

:02:31:
You were recently invited to participate at the World Economic Forum (WEF). Share your insights and experiences?
“…In the past 3-5 years, there were many Chinese companies “going out” to increase the growth rate and explore more business opportunities for business expansion and development in North America and European countries; however, you can see today China has been one of the biggest foreign capital destinations and it became the major topic during the World Economy Forum….”

:04:24:
In September, you participated in the global leaders forum in New York City which was held concurrently to the G20 summit. Share your sights and experiences from this work.
“…The conference was jointly organized by the UN Assembly and Foreign Policy Association of US. The conference invited some top global leaders in politics, industries and finances. They were discussing critical global issues like financial crisis, climate changes and new energy development during the conference….”

:08:00:
Due to your standing as a noted innovator, you are invited to provide your views on the world’s largest television network, CCTV. What insights can you share from this work?
“….From a long term perspective, I think governments should open the market of the TV industry in order to enhance competence and knowledge through competition….”

:09:28:
Can you share your key lessons from building the world’s largest sales channel for Intel?
“….I learned two key lessons from Intel. First, you have to believe everything is possible. You also have to set a higher goal and vision than normal standard and try your best to achieve it. Second, an opportunity was given by Intel for me to broaden my horizons….”

:11:49:
Alex, can you talk about the TRIUM program, your fellow alumni, and share your best practices that you gained from the experience?
“….TRIUM program is jointly organized by the London School of Economics (LSE), HEC Paris and NYU Stern. Financial Time ranks it as the world’s number two, three and two in 2007, 2008 and 2009 EMBA program respectively….The program is very helpful and valuable and it really helped in my career path. It also opened my mind and broadened my horizons and I gained much knowledge and expanded my inter-personal relationships. It gave me the confidence and belief that Chinese entrepreneurships are also capable of changing the world and becoming the business leaders….”

:15:06:
You regularly talk to global leaders. Can you choose 3 of them and insights that you want to share from them?
“…When I talked to global leaders, such as John Naisbitt, Jim Rogers and Don Tapscott, they gave me so much enlightenment….Now is the time for globalization and to learn from others from all over the world, and it is very helpful to talk with them and to learn from their insights or their observations….”

:20:12:
What were the initial drivers behind your founding of ChinaValue in 2004?
“….Our position is to be the professional business media and social community which can provide knowledge and a business networking platform for Chinese online….”

:21:57:
What are the major accomplishments of ChinaValue now?
“….There are over five hundred thousand members registered in ChinaValue. They are not only reading the information and articles; they also contribute content for the platform. ChinaValue has fifty million to sixty million professional readers ranging from undergraduates to the managing directors of listed companies….We have proposed the draft for legislation to Chinese Congress and even though the proposal has been rejected, it showed our determination to the real name system on the Internet and drew attention from the general public….”

:25:14:
When comparing with other web2.0 sites worldwide, what are the key innovations of ChinaValue?
“….We have built a new model of a web2.0 ecosystem in China. From the standpoint of ChinaValue, it means every member can fully utilize the functions and environment that are created by ChinaValue to build relationships and more importantly, to contribute to the community by making use of their expertise and knowledge. In addition, ChinaValue provides a series of functions that members can get most of the information they may need in one single website. In my view, web2.0 is not a product or technology innovation, but a system innovation…..”

:30:28:
Please share your views about the entrepreneurship of Chinese people?
“….Most of Chinese entrepreneurships are at the grass-roots level…On one hand most Chinese entrepreneurs are very diligent and hardworking, but on the other had I think the entrepreneurs here need to be more critical thinking and need to be more innovative…..”

:34:49:
What do you think is the role of ChinaValue in China and in the world?
“….China will be the center of world economy in the 21st century. If knowledge is the most powerful asset, ChinaValue is trying to become the engine of China economy….The power of professional knowledge and collective wisdom will help ChinaValue and China’s economy….”

:38:13:
What do you see as the key trends shaping the planet?
“….Buddha states that today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s world. We can see that the world is built based on humans’ thoughts. In addition, the world is flattening by the speed of the development of networks across the world. People have more exchange due to the ease of communication. It also creates a favorable environment for globalization and cultural exchange….”

:42:06:
Can you describe some of your other activities that shape China and the world?
“…I actively participate in youth education because the youth generation will be the pillars of our future. I think Chinese youth should learn more from the traditions both in the West and in China. Many local universities have invited me to be the speaker to share my experience and thoughts on how to become a successful entrepreneurship. In addition, ChinaValue has helped many foreign publishers and authors, translating their books into Chinese version as we think it may help Chinese youth to better understand the key factors for their success. I am also the general advisor of the biggest student organization – AIESEC in China…..”

:45:39:
You are a distinguished mentor-advisor or professor for the top business schools in China including Beijing University, Beijing Normal University, and Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. You are also a lecturer on Chinese Entrepreneurship to the Peter Drucker Academy. What 3 tips can you provide on entrepreneurship?
“….The mission and vision of a company is more important than just making a profit….Everything is possible, you need to believe in yourself and insist your belief….The best way to predict or estimate the future is to create it instead of just following it….It is better and more efficient to learn from others’ success than from your own failure….If we all know the fundamental concept of entrepreneurship means building something from zero, you’ll realize that knowledge is the most critical and only asset in a knowledge-based economy…..”

:49:31:
What questions would you ask and what would be your answers if you were doing this interview?
“….’What is your philosophy in your life?’….’What should China continuously learn from this world?’….’What will be the role of China in this world?’….”

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Rohit Talwar is an award winning futurist speaker, entrepreneur, specialist advisor and strategic change agent and the founder of the research and consultancy organization Fast Future. He was profiled as one of the top ten global future thinkers by the UK’s Independent newspaper. He spends his time traveling the world, researching the ideas that will shape the future and meeting the people and organizations behind them. Rohit has spoken to audiences of leaders around the world. His book Designing Your Future was published in August 2008 (http://tinyurl.com/5trt4x). His next book FutureTweet 2012 will be published in the spring of 2010. His study for the UK government on future directions in science and technology and the implications for ‘The shape of jobs‘ to come was published in January 2010.

He is currently in high demand for his inspirational speeches on Global Trends, Innovation, Winning in a Downturn and Future Focused Leadership. He has consulted with leading corporations, associations and government agencies globally on scenario planning, development of future strategy, and driving innovation and change.

He also has a particular interest in the evolution of China, India, their emerging economies and the future of associations, travel, tourism, meetings and events. Rohit partnered with ASAE & The Center on the Association of the Future research program – the first output of which was the book Designing Your Future. He has also led a major study on the Future of Travel and Tourism in the Middle East and on the mega-real estate developments across the region. Rohit has also completed major global studies on the Future of China’s Economy – The Path to 2020 – and is working on scenarios for 2030 and the implications for global migration.

Rohit has spoken and consulted on 6 continents and in over 40 countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mauritius, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, The Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA and Zimbabwe.

In government he has worked with the US Department of Defense, the Singapore National Horizon Scanning Centre, the Saudi Government, The Finnish Foresight Programme and in the UK – the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, Defense Science and Technology Laboratories (DSTL), Home Office, Environment Agency, Foreign Office, Health Modernisation Agency, Ministry of Defense and Office of Science and Technology and the Departments for Constitutional Affairs, Trade and Industry and Environment Food and Rural Affairs.

His clients include 3M, ABN Amro, Aerovista, Alliance and Leicester, The BBC, BT, British Aerospace, Bayer, Berwin Leighton Paisner, Chloride, Citibank, DeutscheBank, Diamond Trading Corporation (De Beers), DHL, EADS, Electrolux, Ernst & Young, GE, HBOS, Hyundai, IBM, ING, Intel, Intercontinental Hotels, KPMG, Linklaters, Marks and Spencer, Morgan Stanley, Nakheel, Nokia, Nomura, Novartis, Ocean Spray, Orange, Panasonic, Pepsi, Pfizer, Playtex, PwC, Qatar Airways, Royal Bank of Scotland, Samsung, Saudi Supreme Commission for Tourism, Shell, Siemens, Siraj Capital, Thames Water, Travelport, Wragge and Co. and Yellow Pages and governments in the US, UK, Finland, Dubai, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Singapore.

Rohit’s association and events industry clients include: Academy for Chief Executives, ASAE & The Center, Arabian Travel Market, Association Management Company Institute, British Business Group Dubai, California Workforce Association, CEO Club, Chief Executives Network, Confex, Corporate Responsibility Group, EIBTM, Entrepreneur’s Organization, The European Food Service Network, Green Meetings Industry Council, ICCA, IMEX, Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland, Institute of Directors, International Bridge Tunnel and Turnpike Association, International Special Events Society, Meeting Planners International, The Middle East Duty Free Association, National Association of Broadcasters, Pacific Asia Travel Association, PCMA, Securities and Investment Institute, Travel Agents Association of India, and the World Student and Youth Travel Confederation.

Rohit has previously worked in research and consulting roles for GKN, BT, Andersen Consulting and BMS Bossard.

Education
MBA – London Business School – 1992
BA (Hons) 2:1 Electronics and Computer Science – University of Keele 1984

For more background on Rohit’s Key Projects: rohit_talwar_projects.html

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:55:
You have an unusual job title – can you tell us a little about how you came to be a futurist and what your role involves?
“….I’ve always been very interested in economic developments and how economic power is shifting around the world and how the balance between developed and developing economies changes….I realized that there was an opportunity to help people think about what forces, in fact, were shaping the future and I discovered this whole field called futures research, foresight and the profession of being a futurist….”

:04:57:
Can you share some of the most important issues and challenges you’ve addressed over your lifetime and the essential lessons you wish to pass on from these experiences?
“….One is around childhood….The goal is to have a really positive conversation about the future we want to create for children and young people….The second one we are working on is in Nigeria, in the Niger Delta, one of the hardest hit areas in Bayelsa State. The state governor there says, “If you look out of my window it is completely acceptable to say that there is no future for these people. 70% of my people are unemployed, most earn less than a dollar a day, and if the past is anything to go by, they have no future prospects.” His view is – why don’t we give ourselves permission to believe that some other future might be possible for them….So we’ve been working with them on it….”

:12:47:
You talk about 10 global patterns of change that are shaping the future – can you tell us about them – what are the implications and what should we do to leverage your predictions?
“….The first is the demographic shift (the most important shift of all)….The second is the economic shift….The third pattern of change is a new level of geo-political complexity – a big shift where power sits on the planet and in how we deal with issues….The fourth area is that organizations themselves are going into a whole new era of how they design themselves. We are increasingly in a global world where we are just starting to learn how we truly manage on a global basis….Another set of challenges is understanding how our consumers and how our society has changed….The next area is the rate of evolution of science and technology….Another pattern of change is this whole expansion of communications technology….The next area is what needs to happen with talent, education and training in our world….Another area is the generational impact in an aging society….The next patterns of change are that attitudes are changing all over the world….The final big patterns of change are around natural resource challenges….”

:35:16:
What other key trends and emerging issues should we focus on for the next few years?
“…One is that there is a big power shift going on….The emerging economies have much more say….The second is that there has been a big shift in the way critical resources are being competed for….The third big trend is that there has been a big outflow of investments from developed economies to developing economies particularly during the downturn….A fourth critical trend is the embracing of social media….Another trend is on the political front and the social front; as I travel around the globe one of the things I see is a very uneven distribution of hope….The final trend is the notion of hyper-competition where in every sector we are seeing a downward pressure on pricing….”

:42:14:
Rohit comments on the youth demographics worldwide.

:45:54:
You have recently completed a study looking at science and technology developments over the next 20 years and the new jobs that could emerge as a result – can you tell us about the most interesting developments and jobs coming out of your research?
“….The nano-bio-info convergence….Developments that are coming in agriculture. We know that food demand is growing at twice the rate of production so we are going to need some very radical techniques for how we grow food and how we farm….An example is the notion of vertical farming….”

:54:41:
What are your top predictions for European Union (EU), North America (NA), Asia (particularly China)?
“….The challenges for China going forward….infrastructure….the environmental footprint….How it moves it forward with all fronts together is a very difficult one. I think what it’s showing is that it is entering a new era and none of us really knows what the rules of the game are and China is one of the leaders in creating those rules….A lot of countries in the EU see a big value in the EU in terms of creating foreign policy, in terms of saving them money at the national level….The real challenges now to the EU are what are the right models going forward….In the US there are some encouraging noises coming about the reform of the banking system because we’ve all understood that it’s very hard to grow a full economy without confidence….We must not forget that it is still the biggest economy in the world and everyone is hugely dependent on the US in many ways….”

:01:05:18:
Can your share your insights about the Future of China’s Economy – The Path to 2020?
“….We did this study a couple of years ago where we asked people around the globe to give us their views about China’s economy and their own plans for China. What was very clear from everyone who we surveyed (the vast majority) was that they were very clear that they were expecting China to be the world’s biggest economy by 2030. Some of the most interesting things that came out were differences between the aspirations of businesses and the expectations of people coming from Asia versus Europe….We also saw some interesting things in terms of people expecting China to exert significantly more influence in key areas such as setting of product standards, expecting to see more Chinese leaders in global business that weren’t run by Chinese businesses – but also to see more takeover businesses in other economies by Chinese corporations and bringing in a very different style of Chinese management…..”

:01:07:24:
Looking at the top companies for market capitalization there are several Chinese companies in the top ten which were not there ten years ago and three of the top four banks are based out of China. What are the implications of all this?
“….I think it is a real challenge for us. We really don’t understand China at all. Most of the analyses I’ve seen about China and Chinese policy starts with the position of either being very pro-China or anti-China or treating China as though it were another country in Europe or a city in the US, and not really understanding that there is a very different culture there, a very different political motivation, a very different history….”

:01:10:58:
What projects do you have in terms of that whole region?
“….We try to take projects that are cross regions, going by industry. What we are doing at the moment is looking at the whole future of the convention industry which cuts across every country on the globe. We are looking at the issues of how these industries grow….That is the kind of work that we tend to do – advisory work for other people looking to get into China, where we use our knowledge on the ground and people we know on the ground to give us the inside insights; to advise others who are trying to break into the Chinese market or to operate there….”

:01:13:48:
What are the key findings of the research you did for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on scenarios for 2030 and the implications for global migration?
“….The study was looking at about fifty different countries that are heavy producers of migrants to OECD countries. We looked at a number of different scenarios on how the global economy could play out over time….The challenge now is in domestic economies where there is a strong need for migrants; how do you deal with the policy issues how do you deal with the social integration issues. Most of the research over the years has demonstrated that migration also drives innovation (brings new ideas and skills)….”

:01:21:21:
What top lessons and tips can your share from the projects you have worked on?
“….Change your assumptions….Think the unthinkable….Have the conversations about the big undiscussibles….Industry timelines for the future….Be explicit about assumptions, and think about a range of possible futures….”

:01:24:05:
If you were conducting this interview, what questions would you ask, and then what would be your answers?
“….’How should we be educating our children to prepare them for the future?’….’How can we avoid a future economic meltdown of the scale we have just witnessed or worse?’….’How can we deal with big global governance challenges in the age of the internet?’….’Given the failure of the COP-15 climate change summit – what should we do next?’….’We have lived with an assumption that economic growth is essential – can this continue?’….”

:01:32:01:
Rohit shares his views on the IFIP IP3 program on professionalizing the IT profession. [http://www.IPThree.org].

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Stephen Ibaraki, FCIPS, ISP, ITCP/IP3P, DFNPA, CNP, MVP

John Oxley is a multiple-award winning Director of Technical Audience Marketing and ICT Evangelism at Microsoft Canada. In this role, John leads and manages a team of Technical Audience Marketing Managers and Senior Technical Advisors that reach out and connect across the ICT industry. Business success, as his mandate, is measured by the technical professional’s satisfaction and platform adoption. His team of select Evangelists, Advisors and Marketing Managers are Microsoft Canada’s ambassadors to the ICT community; connecting, supporting and enabling the technical professional and industry. From Academia and across the Industry, his team focuses on driving industry awareness, education, training and adoption of Microsoft solutions through events, industry/community involvement and direct engagement. His globally No. 1 ranked team of Advisors and Marketing managers work exclusively in reaching out to diverse communities leveraging social media, community connections and more.

John is very well respected at Microsoft Redmond and at Microsoft Canada, plus in the overall Canadian and global community. John is an acknowledged top-ranked speaker, blogger, web-caster, business executive and international thought leader.

To illustrate, since 2007, he was achieved many major awards and recognitions:

• Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) Gala Award for outstanding contributions.
• Vice-President of the Industry Canada Chartered CIPS, Canada’s official representative to the UNESCO Consultative Body and UN-founded International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP).
• Invited to the Board of Directors and serving as key strategist for the Information Communication Technology Council of Canada, the Federally-funded Sector Council representing the ICT sector in Canada.
• Judy Elder Award for his impact to the MS organization and to the overall community.
• DPE Top Global Manager Award, as the top manager worldwide in the participative web and community programs he runs.
• Invited to the prestigious global Microsoft High Performance Team for special senior leadership fast-track development and support.
• Due to John’s extensive internationally acknowledged leadership and innovation in both business and technology, John hosted the first full international OECD Participative Web Conference “Strategies and Policies for the Future” in Ottawa, where top global leaders in government, business, academia, and media presented.

In addition, John created the IT Manager Connection blog in 2006, which in one year was ranked in the top 10% of TechNet blog properties worldwide. This blog was featured in every issue of Computing Canada in 2006 and 2007 in the editorial column Blogged Down, received a Top 10 spotlight from Computer World Canada in 2008, and in a press release a Top 7 highlight at the 2008 Global MVP Summit with the speech and profile of MS CEO, Steve Balmer. John and his talented top-ranked team led the development of the very successful Energize IT Conferences, was the creative inspiration behind the online and interactive national Academic forums bringing in faculty and academic leaders, and the very successful Ignite Your Career series plus TechDays Conferences running across the country. In addition, John has been a key participant and invited international advisor in enabling the UN-founded, IFIP International Professional Practice Partnership (IP3), receiving full support and ratification for implementation [in conjunction with Microsoft] at the IFIP World General Assembly in August 2007. This IFIP IP3 initiative, which provides for a global professionalism and certification program, launched in 2009 and is the first of its kind in the world!

Joining Microsoft in 2000, John started in the Consulting Services group delivering enterprise solutions to many large and medium organizations. From Technology consultant, leading Enterprise strategies to his current position, John has grown his experiences in driving business accountability and others success. Prior to Microsoft, John has been a senior consultant and manager for over 8 years, working with many professional services companies including EDS. Previous to that, John spent many years in the Canadian Air force in technical and leadership roles which have taken him across Canada and around the world, plus adding to his broad competency set as a skilled pilot. His varied senior-level and in-depth technical experiences have given him a unique insight and fuelled his passion for Business, the IT Industry, community, service, and connection. Technology and Thought Leadership is not only a career for John, it is a mission leveraging his experiences to reach out and support the community.

John, his wife and two kids can attest that he is a techie at heart as he is always bringing home some sort of new technology gadget. There are no bounds and no matter if it is the latest software or hardware from Enterprise applications, home automation to cool devices, John will seek it out and share his experiences with others.

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:52:
How would you differentiate project management and leadership?
“….Management is a set of processes that can keep a complicated set of people and technology running smoothly. Important aspects of management include planning, budgeting, organization, staffing, controlling and problem-solving. Leadership really defines what the future should look like and aligns people with that vision and inspires them to make it happen despite the obstacles. Leadership is the intangible versus the explicit processes and activities that get done, and you just can’t be a leader without being a manager but you can be a manager without being a leader….”

:08:54:
We talked about project management, management and leadership and what differentiates between these different roles, what are the benchmarks for success for each one of these?
“…For the individual – you are always learning and going forward….For an organization – outcome and your team’s performance….Externally – how other’s see you and how they rate you….”

:11:19:
When some people want to take leadership positions, they may be constrained by their own fears. How do you manage that?
“….There is no master lesson of how you are going to increase confidence, other than by doing….I always made sure I surrounded myself with people who were supportive, who built on my strengths instead of highlighting my weaknesses, and I put myself in situations where it didn’t always feel secure. But I always went forward….Taking action is the core of how to grow your set of experiences, your leadership skills, and your competences….”

:14:38:
Can you share some leadership lessons for success from the notable thought leaders and authors with whom you’ve had the opportunity to get in touch and form relationships?
“….Find what you are passionate about and as you grow, your leadership skills will come naturally out of it….When you are in a leadership position, step on the gas….Business accountability….”

:17:34:
From his many experiences, John shares an enlightening example of leadership lessons.

:23:19:
What would be your recommended resources and tips for growing leadership skills?
“….Get out there and get involved….Surround yourself with good people….Learn….”

:26:29:
How is Microsoft involved in supporting leadership growth, strategies and actionable programs?
“….Internally we provide a framework of competencies and career growth planning to help our employees grow….Externally we run programs like Ignite your Career, Microsoft Most Valuable Professional program, some external training, help our partners grow through different activities as part of the partner program. We let Microsoft employees get involved with the community supporting the Boys and Girls Club of Canada. Myself, I’m on the Board of Directors of ICTC – Microsoft gives me the time to give back to the community….”

John invites any feedback from this conversation to contact him at john.oxley@microsoft.com.

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Stephen Ibaraki, FCIPS, ISP, ITCP/IP3P, DFNPA, CNP, MVP

Lynette Wallach started her IT career at Vancouver Coastal Health as a co-op student in early 2000. Since then she has provided technical, process and general knowledge of complex health care systems working on such projects as email migration, Novell migration, Patient Care Information System rollout, and regional login. She has worked with the Vancouver Acute Desktop support team which is responsible for the integrity and reliability of over 5000 desktop computers for acute care and business professionals. She is a source for knowledge of the clinical and technical systems, the environment, and the people who work at Vancouver Coastal Health. Always striving to find efficiencies in the health care system, she is a strong advocate for collaboration and building relationships between people and departments.

The health care system is changing constantly. It is changing more so now with the Shared Services initiatives to amalgamate the health authorities in BC. Lynette recently completed a Masters in Leadership with a focus on health care systems from Royal Roads University. She wrote her thesis on frontline staff engagement in organizational change researching how trust, relationships and engaging frontline staff in major organizational change improves the chance for increased process and spending efficiencies as well as increasing employee morale. The literature supported how trust, relationships and connectedness are essential for the success of organizational change.

Lynette believes that with education comes experience and opportunities for learning. In addition to her MA, she has completed the Project Management Professional (PMP) designation and ITIL Foundation certification. A Business Computer Co-op [CIPS accredited program] graduate from Capilano University, Lynette is also a CIPS (Canadian Information Processing Society) scholarship award recipient.

As noted by Lynette:
“Academics are just a foundation for me. Life experiences are also learning opportunities. Like everyone, I have had many life challenges. It is what I have taken away from these challenges that makes me the person I am today. I believe it is important to stop, look, consider and reflect on experiences. This is how you learn, change and grow. Focus on the positive impacts of these challenges and how they can improve your character and your life.”

Lynette’s personal strengths are connectedness, adaptability, ideation and futuristic thinking. Realizing how working toward personal strengths gives people energy she believes it is important to learn and to know the strengths in other people in order to make a better system.

“Learning, whether it is academics or life experience, is a continual process throughout my life. Being open to learning and change is what keeps me motivated. Change starts with me and works outward. My goal is to be a positive influence on the people around me and to hopefully inspire others.”

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic

:00:34:
Can you talk about your education, training, and work experience in healthcare?
“….I provide support for the Acute care environment as a Senior Analyst and I liaise, coordinate and facilitate with vendors, internal IT, business and clinical users. I have had the opportunity to work on many projects as they relate to the desktop, providing quality assurance and compatibility testing. It is a very challenging and dynamic environment to work in….”

:01:49:
What were the biggest three obstacles in your career and how did you overcome them?
“….I would say the three obstacles I personally had are frequent management changes within my department, hierarchy (red tape, politics, competing priorities) and resistance to change….”

:03:50:
Please share your lessons on organization change.
“….My thesis was written on how to make organizational change successful by getting frontline staff involved. Some key themes that came out of the research was that frontline staff involvement in organizational change, relationships, trust, collaboration, team building and engagement creates buy-in, understanding, awareness and improved efficiencies. It’s like the collective rather than individualistic or silo approach to change….”

:05:17:
How does creativity play a role in IT?
“….There is definitely a lot of creativity in IT that goes into problem solving, coding and development….We need to pay closer attention to other learning styles and try to incorporate these styles whenever possible….”

:06:12:
What are the value and best practices of communications in leading teams and working in teams?
“….Being able to communicate effectively requires emotional intelligence, self awareness and personal reflection. You have to challenge personal bias and mental models and recognize diversity. Effective communication also involves being open and curious….”

:07:36:
You talked about emotional intelligence, what do you mean by that?
“….Being very self aware of who you are….”

:08:12:
Any time you have any kind of hierarchy what are some of the barriers or challenges that can occur with regards to communication?
“….Oftentimes if you are not at a managerial or executive level you do have to follow a chain of command. The chain of command would create filters….”

:09:04:
What can be done to manage these filters?
“….I would suggest having more collaborative forums or having more exposure to the leaders…”

:09:56:
How do relationships play a role in IT?
“….Research shows that relationships have the capacity to empower people and the organization. Knowledge and productivity are developed with relationships. There is no organization without relationships so they need to be cultivated as much as possible….”

:11:36:
What are your lessons around Systems in Healthcare?
“….The key points of a system are the interdependence and interrelationships between each group or person within the system. Each part of the system is reliant on the other to function….”

:12:20:
You have your PMI certification. What are your top tips for project management as related to the Healthcare industry?
“….I would say develop relationships and teams, challenge the status quo, review lessons learned from other projects and have a comprehensive risk and communications plan….”

:14:10:
You used the term PMBOK – can you define what that means? And getting back to PMI what does that mean?
“….PMI stands for Project Management Institute and is an organization for project managers. PMBOK is the book that the project managers rely on that has contains information about common procedures, common practices and is the foundation of project management….”

:15:40:
You have your ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) certification. What is the value of this education and how do you use it?
“….Having the awareness of having a common language and how even IT people refer to processes and systems differently. We need to make information more readily available than is already the case….”

:16:34:
What is the value of your Masters and how are you using it?
“….The program I took at Royal Roads University was on leadership with a focus on healthcare systems….I can see problems as more of a systems issue that is all related or linked somehow rather than as individual issues….Team building was an important theme with the program….On a personal level….I learned my strengths, my triggers, and how I react. I learned about personal style and how I and others approach things. I learned what is important to me, what my values are and what I would or would not compromise on….”

:19:50:
What lessons can you share from the projects you have worked on in healthcare?
“….Talk to the frontline staff who know the environment….Communicate to the staff, stakeholders and end users….Be persistent….Know the strengths of people on the team as well as the people who may not be on the team but can contribute to the project….Have a comprehensive risk management plan and strategy….”

:21:17:
What are the best job resources for IT professionals?
“….Network as much as possible….Get involved in professional networking organizations such as CIPS or PMI….Create connections through social networking tools such as LinkedIn….Get out with people and make connections wherever possible….”

:21:55:
How do you manage change?
“….You have be open and willing to roll with change….You can’t always control change but you can change how you deal with it….”

:22:29:
Please make predictions for the future, their implications, and how business executives and IT professionals can best prepare?
“….There are no certainties in today’s economy. You have to be as flexible and open to change as possible. You have to examine your mental models of the world, step back and take a systems view of your environment….”

:23:30:
What do you see as the top challenges facing us today and how do you propose they be solved?
“….Change resistance and culture….Most people are afraid of change or don’t know how to deal with it….One aspect of culture is that society needs more people who challenge the status quo….Another challenge of today’s culture is an individualistic way of thinking…..”

:25:11:
If you were conducting this interview, what three questions would you ask, and then what would be your answers?
“….’How do you find balance in your life?’….’What do you value the most?’….’What are your personal values and how do you ensure you stay true to these values?’….”

:26:21:
Please provide your views on the IFIP IP3 program on professionalizing the profession and how it could improve the healthcare industry? [http://www.IPThree.org]
“….I strongly believe in having standards and an extended knowledge base. The Shared Services amalgamation initiatives of the health authorities are focused on standardization. Having standards reduces duplication of work effort and increases efficiencies. It also decreases spending which benefits the tax payer and the Canadian health care system overall….”

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