Friday Flicks: "What The Heck is a Tech Nowist?"

Carlos Dominguez is a Senior Vice President in Cisco’s Office of the Chairman of the Board and CEO and a technology evangelist, speaking to and motivating audiences worldwide about how technology is changing how we communicate, collaborate, and especially how we work.

He describes himself not as a "futurist," but as a "Tech Nowist," which is to say someone who is interested in understanding what technology is available today and then using it to it's best advantage.

Dominguez will be presenting the keynote presentation "Becoming a Change Maker: What Technology Can Do to Bring You into the Future" on Wednesday, November 16th, 2011 at Project World and the World Congress for Business Analysts. In this session you'll gain insights on how to become a change-maker and create a culture that’s adaptable, agile and understanding of the virtual and global work environment and how you can leverage technology to advance your projects, portfolios and value to your organization.

Check out this video for a sneak peek of his presentation style:


To get started on improving your collaboration technique now, try these seven tips from a post on his blog:

1. Experiment – Many large enterprises have very strict processes and guidelines on the adoption of new company-wide technology deployments. I suggest adopting an approach of experimentation. Without experimentation you may miss a game changing technology.
2. Start Small – Engage in three to four small technology deployments and see what works.
3. Measure / Learn – At the onset of these experiments make sure you figure out a way to capture and measure the impact of these technologies. The data/results are key in gaining support from the executive team.
4. Executive Sponsor – Find an executive sponsor who is interested in technology or can gain the most from it. Keep them informed on a regular basis.
5. Expect Failure - Not everything will work. Keep documentation on what failed and why.
6. Trust – This is one of the key things to understand. Nothing replaces face-to-face meetings. The key human characteristic that enables or hinders collaboration is trust. Technologies like high definition video will have a significant impact on trust since facial expressions and body language are recognized. That makes HD video a valuable tool if the teams have never met or if their personal relationships are limited. Inversely, audio conferencing has very little impact on building trust. Use the right tool for the job!
7. Inside/Outside Company – To maximize the potential of any collaboration effort, consider how to get people outside your company to participate. Consider suppliers, partners and customers as potential participants and contributors. Some great things may happen!

Read the whole post here for more.

To learn more about Project World and the World Congress for Business Analysts, download the brochure here. Readers of our blog receive an exclusive 15% discount off the standard registration rate with code PW11BLOG. Register here.

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