IT Governance Blog on IT governance, risk management, compliance and information security.

 Essential Time Management and Organisation is a new pocket guide that will help you transform the way you work and regain control of your working day. This clear and concise guide offers tried and tested techniques for organising your time and achieving your goals.

This guide will help you:

• Accomplish more in a working day
• Reduce stress levels
• Get things done efficiently and effectively
• Transform your methods of working

Manage your time more effectively with this pocket guide! >>

	Essential Time Management and Organisation: A Pocket Guide Price: €11.95

With the help of clear diagrams, checklists and models, this pocket guide will enable you to:

• transform your methods of working
• prioritise your tasks
• follow the 4D model for dealing with e-mails
• take full advantage of your most productive time of day
• manage interruptions
• eliminate timewasters
• delegate effectively – including upwards!

Manage your time more effectively with this pocket guide! >>

Free Webinars From IT Governance

We are holding 3 free webinars over the next month. Each webinar is presented by a subject matter expert who has expert knowledge within their field. We invite you to register for any webinar you may find useful.

Uncover the secrets of an award-winning IT function and apply them to your business with our latest ITG release!

Global management, technology and outsourcing company Accenture has achieved incredible results through the transformation of its IT function. It has doubled its revenues in ten years, significantly decreased its IT spending despite an increase in workforce of nearly 300%, and its number of satisfied customers is growing and growing. Discover how it has achieved this, and how you can realise similar benefits in your organisation.

	Running IT like a Business: Accenture’s Step-by-Step Guide by Robert E. Kress Our Price: £29.95
	Running IT like a Business will show you how your IT function can provide much more than products and services and add real value to your business. With clear strategies, helpful diagrams and real-life examples, this book will give you the keys to unlocking your IT function’s hidden potential.

This book will show you how your IT function can:

• use the latest technology developments to help your organisation to do things better, faster and more cheaply
• take advantage of communication and collaboration technologies to facilitate networking across the enterprise, leading to greater synergy and higher productivity
• identify and analyze business risks and apply measures to reduce these risks
• implement technologies to diversify and grow your business
• develop vital communication skills and techniques to facilitate the change process
• realise cost savings across the organisation

Buy this book and see how Accenture’s strategies will work for you, too! >>

Managing your time effectively could save you hours every single day but it’s easy to get distracted by interruptions and prioritising tasks can seem a daunting task.

Essential Time Management and Organisation is a NEW! pocket guide that will help you transform the way you work and regain control of your working day. This clear and concise guide offers tried and tested techniques for organising your time and achieving your goals.

By reading this book you will:

• Accomplish more in a working day
• Reduce stress levels
• Get things done efficiently and effectively
• Transform your methods of working

Pre-order for only €11.95!

Pre-Order this pocket guide today and see how much you could achieve! >>

Manager: A person responsible for controlling or administering an organisation or group of staff

(Oxford Dictionary)

Being a manager in the IT field can be a fulfilling yet demanding role. You quite often need to be in two places at once, be firm but fair, inspire and encourage. You need to know how to communicate effectively, manage projects productively and be time efficient.

We’ve gathered 10 top tips together to seeing you well on your way to becoming a top manager.

1. Be effective

Understand the characteristics of being a high-performance manager. Assess where your strengths and development areas lie and create a plan of action for realising your management potential.

Recommended reading: The Effective Manager, by Sarah Cook

2. Lead for Success

There is no point leading for failure, so lead for success. Develop effective communication skills and inspire and enthuse your team. Create a team vision, shaping future goals by focusing on the team’s earlier successes and give the members of your team the sense of responsibility that will motivate them to achieve excellent results. This will help ensure your people perform to their full potential.

Recommended reading: Leading for Success, by Sara Cook

3. Presentation is Key

Deliver presentations that will engage your staff and make your ideas and arguments memorable. Your technical skills and professional expertise are evidence of your ability to accomplish difficult tasks.  The ability to present articulately to customers, management, peers and others can significantly enhance your credibility, clout, and professional status.

Recommended reading: Presentation Skills for Technical Professionals, by Naomi Karten

4. Communication is Crucial

Being able to communicate with your staff is crucial for you in building an effective team. You need transparency within your staff, so you always know what exactly is going on and who is doing what. The same applies with you – you need to be transparent with your staff. If you let your staff know what is going on behind the scenes (where appropriate) this will help build up trust  and respect between both parties.

 Recommended reading for project managers: Focus on Skills: Communication Skills for Project and Project Managers, by OGC

5. Time Management

Learn how to be more productive with your time. It can be all too easy to get distracted by a phone call or an email, rather than getting on with the job in hand. You, as a manager, will have a million and one things that need doing, so it is important that you prioritise your workload and organise your time effectively.

Recommended reading: Essential Time Management and Organisation: A Pocket Guide, by Sarah Cook

In order to succeed in the modern world it is necessary for organisations to stand out. Bold describes how 14 organisations, including Virgin Galactic, Innocent, O2, Air Asia and Burberry, have gone building their brands by being bold in thought, execution and in measuring their success.

Each of the stories in Bold is told by the executives involved. The book reveals what the common aspects are that all these organisations share and that you can take away employ in your organisation in order to be bold and win.

	Bold: How to be brave in business and win (eBook) by Shaun Smith and Andy Milligan Price: £16.99 Buy this book to build a successful brand and to hear the stories of how some well-known organisations have delivered authentic experiences and turned their customers into brand advocates.

You might also be interested in the following eBooks…

Waltzing with the Elephant (eBook) by Mark Toomey

Managing Business Transformation: A Practical Guide (eBook) by Melanie Franklin

Everything you want to know about organisational change (eBook) by Brian Johnson

Visit our online store for more titles >>

They are highly successful and we read about them in the news every day. They have reshaped their industries and, thus, shaped the world we do business in today.

28 Business Thinkers Who Changed the World will lead you through the knowledge necessary to emulate today’s leading business gurus and mavericks. Absolute must-have!

	28 Business Thinkers Who Changed the World (eBook) by Rhymer Rigby Price: £14.99 28 Business Thinkers Who Changed the World – a guide of how to emulate these business gurus and mavericks – buy your eBook today!

More to explore …

The Effective Manager by Sarah Cook

Cut Costs not Corners by Colin Barrow

Tough Tactics for Tough Times by Patrick Forsyth and Frances Kay

Our soft skills books aim to provide practical guidance on a range of soft-skills areas for those in IT and also for those not in IT, who deal with IT professionals in order to facilitate more effective and co-operative working practices.

Download 28 Business Thinkers Who Changed the World now and let us hear your name in the news >>

Have you ever asked yourself this question and wondered how your employees perform during a project? Here’s the thing; if this question ever comes to your mind, you need to start taking some steps to address it as soon as possible.

According to the Infosys chairman emeritus NR Narayan Murthy, most projects in India get delayed because “people are not disciplined and, like most Asian countries, not much bothered about losing face or credibility”. This laidback approach, which is a part of the Indian culture per se, has a negative impact on the success of project management in the country.

While this is the view of one person and may not be entirely the case, Murthy claims that Indians’ performance is less than glorious, “Unless we overcome this cultural lacunae, we may not succeed”. The IT veteran stressed upon how entrepreneurship can help overcome any possible hiccups during a project and suggested preparation for fair share of hardship and obstacles along the way.

Finally, the speaker encourages the IT sector in India to deliver 99% of the projects on time to ensure that quality matches up to global standards. Only then projects will continue to come to India.

Build a high-performance team and see the projects come rushing in! Download Building a High-Performance Team now >>

Do you agree or disagree with Murthy’s statement that “[Indians] are not disciplined and (…) not much bothered about losing face or credibility? Have a say – Post your comments below.

The following novel presents some of the most innovative companies in existence, major supermarket chains, which have innovated in a highly competitive market.

The Grocers includes an overview of the US and European markets, covering such names as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, M&S, Walmart, Aldi, Lidl, Kroger and Safeway.

Learn the secrets of success and the pitfalls to avoid 

	The Grocers, Third Edition (eBook) by Andrew Seth and Geoffrey RandallOur Price: £14.99

Buy this business novel to innovation today! >>

As most people in the UK will be aware, the current economic woes that beset the UK economy started with the first run on a UK bank since 1886 – the bank in question was Northern Rock.

No one seemed aware in the heady days of 2007 that the cycle of boom and bust had returned. The first anyone here knew about it was from the long queues that started to appear outside every branch of the bank with customers wanting to withdraw their hard-earned savings.

It is very rare that one can firmly grasp why these disasters occur, but it is easy to understand why Northern Rock nearly collapsed after reading The Fall of Northern Rock by Brian Walters.

Brian, previously an employee of Northern Rock, has first-hand experience of what it was like to work for the bank. In the book he remembers how the bank was so hugely successful, he also details what lead to its spectacular collapse.

Having read the book it is easy to understand why in the days of cheap credit it was easy for a financial institution to expand. It is also easy to understand why, given the massive freeze in the credit markets, why the bank collapsed so spectacularly.

The question that comes to mind have we really learnt anything from the crisis and put in place systems to prevent such things happening again?

Sure, banks are now required to hold more capital, also banking regulation has been strengthened. Even a standard has been published for UK financial organisations to follow to help them ensure they are compliant with the relevant legislation, BS 8453:2011

Me thinks we haven’t really learnt that much – may be those in positions of influence at UK financial should read this book and learn how to not repeat the same mistakes as those at Northern Rock……we’d all be better off if they did!

People management is now a key responsibility for business managers. By developing an individuals ‘soft skills’ managers can create high performing teams that vastly increase their contribution to the business.

But what are soft skills?

Soft skills are behavioural competencies and include communication, leadership, personal effectiveness, negotiation, strategic thinking, problem solving, relationship building and influencing skills. An investment and development of an individual’s soft skills also creates happier employees and a more harmonious working environment.

As we return from our summer holidays, now is the time to get cracking with the business projects for the rest of the year. At IT Governance we understand the importance of ‘soft skills’ and recommend these titles:

	Coaching for High Performance by Sarah Cook Our Price: $22.95

	Leading For Success by Sarah Cook Our Price: $29.95

	The Effective Manager by Sarah Cook Our Price: $29.95

	Building A High Performance Team by Sarah Cook Our Price: $29.95

	Focus On Skills Series Suite by Office of Government Commerce Our Price: $107.95

	CIO Wisdom: Best Practices From Silicon Valley by Dean Lane Our Price: $49.95

	CISO Leadership: Essential Principles of Success by Todd Fitzgerald & Micki Krause Our Price: $69.95

	Changing How You Manage Communicate Change by Naomi Karten Our Price: $29.95

	Managing Business Transformation by Melanie Franklin Our Price: $22.95