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Tag: thought leaders

  • From Thought to Leadership

    From Thought to Leadership

    Thought leadership is a term that those of us in the industry hear a lot. A thought leader is a person who has ideas/thoughts that push the edge and brings great ideas to the rest of us. Most vendors want to be seen as thought leaders—and some do, through the agency of rocking individual employees.

    We all benefit from true thought leaders. They dream up new ways to do things (such as DevOps and agile), or find new uses for things (such as adapting agile practices to operations) that, in the long run, we can all benefit from. Good thought leaders (in any space) either look outward and see how what we’re doing today can be used to greater benefit tomorrow, or look inward and make us think about ideas and where we are in accepting them.

    This Isn’t About Talking Heads and Vendors

    The thing is, if you are establishing or attempting to expand DevOps operations in your organization, you are a thought leader. And that’s what I’d like to discuss.

    Those of you who say, “No, not a thought leader; I’m showing how long-established DevOps practices can improve the organization,” are wrong. The key to thought leadership is that you are there, and your audience isn’t. If those long-established DevOps practices were acknowledged in the organization then there wouldn’t be a need for DevOps leaders to establish or expand. Everyone would agree and it would just happen. After sufficient meetings, of course. (The definition of “sufficient” varies by organization and falls somewhere between zero and infinity.)

    In short, a thought leader must simply see what others do not (yet) see. If the audience is internal and resistant, then a DevOps leader is indeed a thought leader for that audience.

    So, What is Required?

    It is true that a big chunk of DevOps is communications. I’m an “automate first, streamline communications after” kind of DevOps person, but acknowledge that the opposite route is also valid. But increased communications are going to be required for long-term DevOps success. Part of that communications is with other managers both in and outside of IT. There is no better time to start than the present, by acting like a thought leader.

    Target the next application/portfolio you think would greatly benefit from DevOps. Sit and refine where you think improvements and/or savings would occur, get the buy-in of line-of-business leaders responsible for the application or portfolio, and go on a PR blitz.

    Thoughts are Great …

    But leadership is better. Be the leader, advocate for what you believe to be right. There are those who will tell you DevOps is inevitable, and it’s not a big deal once there is at least one project in the building doing DevOps. I could not disagree more. Change—any change—doesn’t happen without a champion. If you are in charge of DevOps, yes, take the DevOps Institute Leadership Certification (Disclosure: I have written paid promotional material for this certification. But it’s good material, so I’m mentioning it here anyway), but also look outward. Bring the organization to the table; be visible; be driving.

    But don’t be annoying. Know when to back off, or maybe target a different application first. And know how the existing system reporting and deploying will be mirrored in a full-on DevOps environment, so you can answer important questions such as, “How will we get through test and deploy if we re-target the application?”

    Do I think DevOps is inevitable? No. But I do think it will have a lasting impact on the way we develop and deliver software, even if a particular shop doesn’t claim to be a DevOps shop, deployment automation, test automation, enhanced defect and runtime monitoring, increased communications. These are coming because they’re good ideas. It’s best to have a plan, be a thought leader and get it rolled out so the organization can reap the benefits.

    — Don Macvittie

  • THOUGHT LEADERS OR NAVEL GAZERS?

    THOUGHT LEADERS OR NAVEL GAZERS?

    I get tired of hearing what is DevOps? It just tells me that no one really has got it exactly right, but everyone longs to be the authority on the topic. Everyone writes their perceived answers ad nauseam. Reading all the different definitions is kinda like listening to infomercials. An individual puts themselves out there as an expert simply because they have an audience and the topic is in vogue.

    But before I go any further let’s put the “What is DevOps?” questions to bed once and for all. Of course the only real source to turn to is Wikipedia, as that is the definitive source and because it’s on the Internet you know it has to be true. Did I tell you I was a French model; bonjour.  Now to the definition you have been anxiously anticipating:

    DevOps (a portmanteau of development and operations) is a software development method that stresses communication, collaboration and integration between software developers and information technology (IT) operations professionals. DevOps is a response to the interdependence of software development and IT operations.

    There you have it; DevOps is a methodology not an industry. Now that that question has finally been answered, I hope that I never hear about it again, let’s turn back to those thought leaders. Let’s go back to time when many of today’s thought leaders were still asking what the internet is. Once again I refer to my expert source Wikipedia:

    A thought leader can refer to an individual or firm that is recognized as an authority in a specialized field and whose expertise is sought and often rewarded. The term was coined in 1994 by Joel Kurtzman, editor-in-chief of the Booz & Co magazine Strategy & Business, and used to designate interview subjects for that magazine who had business ideas which merited attention.

    Everything on the internet is about branding and the marketing of the brand. Thought leaders typically write a blog, column, book, record a podcast or webinar.  As long as the message resonates they don’t care about the delivery mechanism. So called thought leaders are simply marketing their brand whether they truly have the expertise to do so or not.  It is a simple process when you have a topic that is loosely defined in an early stage of development, as there is no objective measure of what is correct.

    Thought leaders typically are an individual or firm that profit from being recognized as such. I submit many are truly mere navel gazers, as a navel gazer is derived from the phrase “contemplating one’s navel” or “navel-gazing” if you will, typically referred to in jocular fashion, to refer to self-absorbed pursuits. Please someone explain to me the difference between thought leaders and navel gazers?

    We have so many self anointed thought leaders I am beginning to wonder is there anyone out there actually practicing DevOps or is everyone just talking about it to make a fast buck. If you are a thought leader why can’t you tell me if and when DevOps is going to cross the chasm?

    What have I learned from all this? DevOps needs an infomercial to cross the chasm, not thought leaders. Don’t even get me started on chasms.

    If you would like say something; email parker@devops.com and don’t forget to comment here.