Vol. 2 Issue 3
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in this issue...
-- IT (Business) Assessment
-- Business Improvement
-- Book Report
-- Project Management - a short course
-- You can quote me on that!
-- Is your project old news?
-- Coming Next Issue. . .

Greetings!

Welcome to another issue of The Value Manager.

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Read on!

IT (Business) Assessment
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IT assessment is not just about your company's technology. Performed properly, it is actually an overall business assessment that determines the extent to which the IT organization is supporting the objectives of the company.

Contrary to what most people would think, the IT department is actually the last place you want to go searching for information. But before you start analyzing your company, you need to understand the true purpose behind an IT assessment and how to make sure you've asked the right questions to get the critical information you need.

More info...

Business Improvement
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When processes and systems can no longer meet the requirements of a growing business, the current systems must be improved either by making extensive changes or by replacing those systems entirely. Either alternative does not come without risk and a high rate of failure.

Read about the Value Management approach.

Whitepaper (PDF)...

Book Report
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A forthcoming book explains that Arthur Andersen's haughty attitude fueled its spectacular implosion. "Final Accounting: Ambition, Greed and the Fall of Arthur Andersen," (Broadway Books/Random House) is an Enron-inspired tell-all authored by ex-Andersen ethics consultant Barbara Ley Toffler with ex-Business Week reporter Jennifer Reingold. The book presents an ugly picture. The stop-me-before-I-gouge-the-client-again stories will reinforce certain stereotypes. More importantly, the book explains the inherent hypocrisy of mixing accounting and consulting services -- and what happens when advisors put profits ahead of clients. Perhaps the story is obvious to some of us, but it's a tale worth repeating.

More Info...

Project Management - a short course
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Projects don't get done on time and within budget just by chance. Careful management is vital in any but the simplest project.

Obtain the knowledge or expertise relevant to completing a project successfully. Here's a beginning on the basics of PM.

A short course. . .

You can quote me on that!
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"When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die."
    --Eleanor Roosevelt

"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give."
    --Winston Churchill

"Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving."
    --Dale Carnegie

Is your project old news?
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In today's high-speed world of innovation and rapidly advancing technology, long duration projects should include frequent decision points asking:

• Is our project still relevant?
• Is our strategy still relevant?
• Should we proceed?

Unfortunately, some long duration projects proceed without asking these crucial questions along the way and succeed in rolling out a new product that's as fresh as last month's news.

To prevent this from happening on your project, make it a practice to take the company's pulse and the industry's pulse on a regular basis.

Coming Next Issue. . .
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Do you have a problem with a project or business process you would like to see addressed? Just reply to this email or visit the contact us page on our website. We'll be happy to address it in an upcoming Value Manager issue.

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