Pilgrims's Process

Getting through the bureaucratic gauntlet at any institution of higher learning can be challenging. I managed to complete the RPG-style quest to obtain my ID card, a login to the online registration system, and an in information systems (email, web access, blackboard) account.

The process was slightly more difficult than I expected, but manageable. However, the structure of their IT department is wildly out of date.

A couple of examples:

After showing up for a canceled class, I decided I wanted to set up email forwarding. Apparently this is only possible if you use Internet Explorer. That’s right the web-based interface will only show certain functions when one uses IE.

Undaunted, I downloaded IE for my Mac. No dice, it has to be IE 6 (Apple stopped at 5).

Ok, granted, they use Microsoft Outlook Web Access, so it may simply be a compatibility issue. Still, zero usability points.

However, the process one must go through to change an email/info-systems account password gets minus points for usability.

Here is the opener: “You can change your password by opening a Telnet session and logging in to one of the UNIX file servers.”

Excuse me? How about, “To change your password, click here.”

If you want to read the rest of the lucid instructions, check out this pdf.

Perhaps there is an untapped market for a comprehensive university communication solution…

Yesterday, I ran a training session for some of our employees. One of my job responsibilities is to manage (I prefer “lead” ala Seth Godin’s Tribes) a group of about one hundred contract workers. This was my first training that I’ve done in this role and I will do a couple of more next week.

Wanting to make sure we were all on the same page, I thought it would be good to address our vision as a team.

A definition that I like for vision is “the future we hope to see” (I believe someone shared that with me on Twitter). It seems important that the vision be clear in everyone’s mind. If it’s not, how do we know if we’re successful in what we do?

I think sometimes we mistake movement for progress.

“Are we moving forward?” is a common question to ask in evaluating effectiveness. The question that needs to be asked in order to answer, however, is “Where is forward?” If we don’t know where we’re going, it’s going to be difficult to know if we’re getting there.

Assuming that everyone knows the direction we’re supposed to be heading will create an environment similar to a children’s soccer game rather than a running club. The location of the ball controls all of the children. The location of the destination guides the pack.

Getting all of these geographically disparate (all over Southern California) people running the same way and keeping them going will be a difficult task. I have some ideas to accomplish this, but if you have any suggestions, please share.