Tom Rodden

A poet and linguist who fell in love with technology, my mission is “boundaryless partnership,” extending the role of IT beyond the 4 walls of the enterprise

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

@Samguptausa Sam, once again, you present a clear and thoughtful assessment of an critical systems choice many smaller businesses must face. Your analogy of QuickBooks vs ERP to the choice between a Honda Civic Coupe vs an SUV is both appropriate and amusing. Thanks for the readable insights.

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

@Samguptausa Fascinating point, Sam. If some vendors have enabled ERP transitions from old to new offerings, even just within their own portfolios, that could be a big deal. I recently met with a company planning an SAP ECC to S/4 change and they are planning to sacrifice history.

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

@Samguptausa Sam, I agree with your basic points and have to say that your breadth of the options (eg, Acumatica or Infor CloudSuite Industrial or Syteline) in addition to your solid focus on process and integration is impressive.

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

@Samguptausa Outstanding article on the challenges and possible approaches in a transition from ETO to CTO. The belief that a business is so unique and its processes cannot be standardized in any way is usually not true. The opportunities in cost savings & time to market could be substantial.

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

Mark, your comment about "focusing on strengths" and helping our people build on their strengths resonates with me. Good book--Feed Your Eagles--makes that very point. #CIOChat

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

A3: I have worked with my mgmt team to identify the top 10% (hipots) and (a) get them some project mgmt opps (give "people mgmt" resp w/out salary and review responsibilities), (b) get them more face time with leaders (eg, skip levels), (c) public speaking training #CIOChat

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

Great thought, Mark. I was thinking about investments in financial training and business process training to complement the IT skills that a new IT person would have and be building. But I also am just now re-doing Meyers-Briggs and that is a good item for newbies too #CIOChat

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

Hi gang, Tom Rodden here from Varian Medical, joining for 2nd time. Good topic today #CIOChat

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

My tip would be--get people who know the "as-is" process but who also might be open to blowing up the "as-is" to create a radically new "to-be" process. Digital can enable transformation IF we bring or develop the right mindset. #wbsrocks

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

On the question of whether team churn is always bad, of course the answer is "no, not always." One reason is you may have weaknesses on the team that should be addressed. But also different stages of a prgm may require different resources, so churn could be "natural" #wbsrocks

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

Sneha, I love your points--sometimes the "churn" is driven by people feeling lost, dissatisfied, wanting "out". In addition to managing stakeholders and preventing people being pulled, we also need to ensure that is not the cause of the churn. #wbsrocks

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

The meaning of "churn" here is key--are we talking about people turnover? The usual reason for that is a new business need where a stakeholder decides to pull someone out. Strong relationships with stakeholders and agreement on prgm value are vital in this case. #wbsrocks

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

I would say a combination of vision statement and quantifiable metrics (DSO reduction, inventory turns, margin improvement, cycle time reduction, etc...) are solid methods of bringing a group together--understand the mission and what success looks like very clearly #wbsrocks

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

Or are we talking about the actual project/implementation team? In that case, people with hands on experience, willing to roll up their sleeves, able to build relationships...all that makes perfect sense. #wbsrocks

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

Just catching up now, reading thru the Q&A. On Q#2, I would add that "champion" needs more context--are we talking about launching a program? That requires more senior leaders who carry weight and can pull strong resources into the project team. #wbsrocks

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

Hi Sam and group, Tom Rodden here, joining late, coming off another call. Varian Medical systems, https://t.co/baTw9sONAQ Glad to be here #wbsrocks

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

A5: one of the key cons for me is the dependency you develop, using consultants tends to slow the development of your in-house team

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

A4: i would add that the larger consulting firms can bring project mgmt skills, change mgmt skills and more, that the software vendor usually does not #wbsrocks

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

A3: pro's are--deepest knowledge of the software, quickest access to dev team to fix bugs/get patches, one throat to choke. #wbsrocks

[Tom Rodden @TomRodden9]

A2: at least the software contract and an SI contract if you use consultants. But the software contract will cover licenses/subscriptions plus maintenance right (upgrades/patches) plus support. #wbsrocks