Comments on: IT Leadership – Caught between Two Realities?

By: Reality 2.0: Instant IT « Designing and Leading Instantly Responsive Organizations

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:50:56 +0000

[...] 14, 2010. Filed under: Uncategorized | My friend and former colleague, Vaughan Merlyn, wrote a blog about IT Leaders and the challenges they face as their organizations transition from what he calls IT Reality 1.0 to [...]

By: itorganization2017

itorganization2017 — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:26:32 +0000

Understood, Jon. But I’ve posted before on the concepts of ‘Core’ and ‘Edge’ (see http://vaughanmerlyn.com/?s=core+and+edge) and I believe the 2.0 world lends itself to the ‘edge’ possibilities. That allows us to keep the ‘core’ as is (for now) and use 2.0 capabilities to tackle the ‘edge’ opportunities, which is where many high value opportunities lie.

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:13:04 +0000

The reason that many of us are still in 1.0 world is that we can;t just switch it off. Our businesses rely on these systems to operate and they can’t just be changed overnight.

Another reason that we can’t move to 2.0 is that our lords and masters hold us responsible if something doesn’t work. The 2.0 world makes the assumption that everything works and those of us who work in IT know that this isn’t the case.

So do we have to rethink how we go about designing and implementing IT systems.

Answers on a postcard please!

By: itorganization2017

itorganization2017 — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:28:40 +0000

Thanks, Rich! I like your “leveling playing field” analogy – and that the field is a rubber sheet! Great imagery!

By: itorganization2017

itorganization2017 — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:27:15 +0000

Good observation Tim – this is not just an IT issue. But I feel that IT leaders are in a special position that can either accelerate or inhibit the shift to the new reality. I’m trying to do my little bit to prod the inhibitors!

By: Rich Holland

Rich Holland — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 03:08:45 +0000

Vaughan,
Very nice piece. I think you are spot on about the current world not knowing exactly if they are in Reality 1 or Reality 2 – in fact they are in the separate reality that is characterized by IT becoming a business partner. As they shed their “ivory tower” persona, and leverage the tools they have put in place, they move toward real partnership. Non-IT managers have also increased their sophistication when it comes to IT tools and capabilities. The playing field is becoming more level, but to your point – it’s still a rubber sheet.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:11:27 +0000

Vaughan,
I’m a user so I’m 2.0. This description applies not just to IT but to companies as a whole. It also makes me think of companies that claim to be 2.0 but operate at 1.0, thinking their 2.0 employees won’t notice. They are headed for a dismal fate as well.