You can’t run away from technical debt
It could be poor architecture because IT leaders picked the less efficient path
to a solution. Perhaps they went with a specific vendor, even a cloud provider,
for the wrong reasons, such as a preexisting relationship. This led to a
solution that functions but adds instead of removes technical debt. I’ve
heard the excuses: A decision was made to expedite solution delivery for an
urgent business purpose. However, that’s almost never the case. Most of the time
technical debt accumulates from misguided decisions; the company could have gone
in a direction that did not create technical debt but did not. Indeed, many of
the better solutions would have cost less money and taken less time to
deploy. In other words, most of the technical debt is a collection of
self-inflicted wounds, usually caused by leaders who don’t bother to understand
the bigger picture and take technological shots in the dark. Of course, “it
works,” but it significantly increases technical debt. I’ve second-guessed a
great many of these in my 40-year career.
Australia’s Banking Industry Mulls Better Cross-Collaboration to Defeat Scam Epidemic
The Australian banking sector, for its part, has already been looking for ways
to work together to combat fraud. In May, 17 banks announced that, thanks to a
collaboration between them, they had been able to halve the time it takes to
identify and block payments to scam operators. This effort is powered by the
ABA’s Fraud Reporting Exchange. This initiative cross-matches data between
participating banks and allows for nearly real-time communication of fraudulent
transactions across the network. Other government initiatives, meanwhile,
include the new National Anti-Scams Centre, which went live on July 1. This
organization will enable faster sharing of information, so police and regulators
can act on scams more quickly. There will also be an Australian Sender SMS ID
registry that will provide a “whitelist” of phone numbers that can be used to
block scam calls and SMS messages that supposedly come from government
agencies.
6 ways CIOs sabotage their IT consultant’s success
Here’s a promise made during negotiations that’s often DOA once the project
starts: The client will provide the consultant with the information necessary
for the project to move forward. Of course, once the project starts, it turns
out that nobody in the client organization can provide that information. Why
would the client make a promise like this? One reason: Whoever in the client
organization is responsible for providing the information isn’t willing to admit
that they can’t, either to their boss or to the consultants. In the short term
it’s safer to make the promise and kick the can down the road, until the project
has been going on long enough to shift the blame to those damned consultants who
keep on making unrealistic requests of IT staff who are already overworked and
underpaid. (Take a deep breath.) There’s another reason some clients can’t
deliver information on demand: They’ve outsourced the IT functional area
responsible for the information needed, and the outsourcer isn’t willing to help
out consultants they see as likely competitors.
Technical vs. Adaptive Leadership
While technical leadership is essential, it does come with limitations. Relying
solely on technical prowess can lead to a narrow focus, overlooking broader
organizational dynamics and human factors. Additionally, in an ever-changing
environment, technical skills can become outdated, necessitating a constant
commitment to learning and adapting. Adaptive leadership, on the other hand,
revolves around the ability to navigate uncertainty, ambiguity, and change. It
is a leadership approach that focuses on guiding teams and organizations through
transformational periods. Adaptive leaders are skilled at fostering resilience,
encouraging creative problem-solving, and inspiring a culture of continuous
learning. Adaptive leaders excel in communication and emotional intelligence.
They possess the capacity to connect with their teams on a deeper level,
empathizing with their challenges and aspirations. This ability to understand
and relate to individuals creates an environment of trust, openness, and
collaboration.
Why big tech shouldn’t dictate AI regulation
Formed initially of Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI, the Forum is
presented as an industry body which will ensure the ‘safe and responsible
development of frontier AI models’. While not defined by the Forum’s initial
press release, ‘frontier AI models’ can be understood to be general-purpose AI
models which, in the words of the Ada Lovelace Institute, ‘have newer or better
capabilities’ than other models. The forum’s objectives include undertaking AI
safety research; disseminating best practices to developers; and collaborating
with parties like academics, policymakers, and civil society bodies to influence
the design and implementation of AI ‘guardrails’. Membership, meanwhile, will be
restricted to organisations which (in the Forum’s eyes) both develop frontier
models, and are committed to improving their safety. Admittedly, questions
around the safe and effective development of AI will not arrive without
investment, so it is encouraging to see a commitment to this collaborative
approach amongst prominent AI vendors. Likewise, effective AI regulation will
rely on input from those with real domain expertise: the industry’s doors must
remain open to governments and policymakers.
Introduction to Apache Arrow
Apache Arrow is a framework for defining in-memory columnar data that every
processing engine can use. It aims to be the language-agnostic standard for
columnar memory representation to facilitate interoperability. Several open
source leaders from companies also working on Impala, Spark and Calcite
developed it. Among the co-creators is Wes McKinney, creator of Pandas, a
popular Python library used for data analysis. He wanted to make Pandas
interoperable with data processing systems, a problem that Arrow solves. ...
Another benefit of Apache Arrow is its integration with Apache Arrow Flight
SQL. Having an efficient in-memory data representation is important for
reducing memory requirements and CPU and GPU load. However, without the
ability to transfer this data across networked services efficiently, Apache
Arrow wouldn’t be that appealing. Luckily Apache Arrow Flight SQL solves this
problem. Apache Arrow Flight SQL is a “new client-server protocol developed by
the Apache Arrow community for interacting with SQL databases that makes use
of the Arrow in-memory columnar format and the Flight RPC framework.”
How to develop an intrapreneurial culture
A company that wants to inspire intrapreneurship needs to have the ability to
mobilize resources across the organization to support the opportunities it
surfaces, which can carry execution and reputational risks. But because of the
substantial potential upsides, encouraging intrapreneurship should be central
to an organization’s mission. Take the example of the Happy Meal, which has
been pivotal to the growth of McDonald’s: the idea came from a maverick
internal team. The Sony PlayStation became the first gaming console to ship
over 100 million units—though it required internal champions to pick up the
pieces from a failed external partnership. Southwest Airlines’ humorous safety
announcements—pioneered by the airline’s founder as an integral part of the
business model—have enhanced its customer experience and business. When
intrapreneurship is encouraged, there’s evidence that people enjoy greater
autonomy and a stronger connection to the organization’s purpose; not
surprisingly, this leads to higher productivity and engagement. What does it
take to develop more of this culture, and then to apply it? It’s not an exact
science, but there are ways to give your intrapreneurs a leg up.
How Emotional Connections Can Drive Change: Applying Fearless Change Patterns
The Fear Less pattern suggests that you can appreciate their opposition. Ask
for Help from the skeptic because they see the innovation in a different way
than you do - therefore, they may be able to provide useful information you
haven’t considered. You will learn from them and, in the process, they may
begin to shift from the act of resisting to rethinking. You may not be able to
convince them and trying to do this will likely take more time than you have.
But you can seek the places where you agree and, perhaps, create some unique
ideas that begin with those points of agreement. Most importantly, when you
ask for their thoughts on the upcoming change, they will begin to become
involved in the initiative, rather than simply complaining on the sidelines.
They will recognize you care about what they can contribute and, as one of our
Fearless Change readers pointed out, it doesn’t make it as much fun for them
to complain. You may even want to seek out some skeptics to become a Champion
Skeptic, taking on the official role of pointing out flaws and challenges at
strategic points throughout the change initiative.
India Data Protection Bill Approved, Despite Privacy Concerns
The bill specifically states that the data fiduciary shall give the data
principal the option to access such request for consent in English or any
language specified in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. That
final part has proved to be a tricky point though, as a PwC insight called
this a "much-debated mandatory localization" as the central government may
notify such countries or territories outside India to which a data fiduciary
may transfer personal data. Cavey says the concerns about the bill are that
this draft is more relaxed than the previous draft, and that fiduciaries will
have more power over the data principals. "Less protection means that
detection and investigation will be harder for the regulatory body," he says.
The bill also states that the central government holds the authority to select
the members of the Personal Data Protection Board, thus compromising its
independence. Cavey says this is a main concern about how the Data Protection
Board operates, how independent it will be, and how it will work in
conjunction with the government.
Using creative recruitment strategies to tackle the cybersecurity skills shortage
Traditionally, there’s been an assumption that to begin a career in
cybersecurity, you must have a specialized education and resume. However, the
expanding threat landscape has forced the industry to reconsider what makes
great talent. This includes emphasizing soft skills and varied backgrounds
above all else, especially when it comes to combating the next big threat.
Internships and apprenticeships can then offer the additional training needed
to build a successful cybersecurity career. Education should also be
continuous in the cybersecurity field, so organizations must ensure they are
making an active effort to train the next generation of the workforce. This
consists of supporting their current employees and also encouraging their path
to learn in the best way possible. External and internal internships and
apprenticeships are key to achieving this. They not only create more awareness
around what it actually takes to have a job in cybersecurity but also help
those within and outside of organizations develop the necessary skills to meet
the needs of the evolving threat landscape.
Quote for the day:
"Leadership is a journey, not a
destination. It is a marathon, not a sprint. It is a process, not an
outcome." -- John Donahoe
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