Latest Contributions by AdamCarnow

I had the pleasure of being interviewed for the Esri Australia GIS Directions Podcast.  Please give it a listen and let us know your thoughts. Rebranding GIS | Esri Australia  ... View more

Must-read article from FedScoop for sure... Align digital strategy and key value propositions to the agency's mission and strategy Understand and engage customers to prioritize transformational value Prove the value of the digital transformation with metrics focused on mission outcomes Carefully manage the impact of transformation on employees Leverage a trusted advisor who is not vested in the technology section Digital transformation is not just about technology - FedScoop  ... View more

Highly valuable report from the Harvard Kennedy School Ash Center for Democratic Governance & Innovation  about why every government executive should care about data.  In depth analysis with examples of the generation of public value through analytics. The Case for Government Investment in Analytics | Data-Smart City Solutions  ... View more

There's a movement to quit calling them "soft skills" and start calling them "essential skills". Results of a CIO survey revealed the top skills needed for digital transformation were: strategy building (40%), project management (32%), and business relationship management (25%). The importance of soft skills in a tech-focused world  ... View more

Excellent article... Chasing the "shiny new object" Fear of losing competitive advantage Not understanding the behavior-habit cycle Impatience - being focused on results, not process 4 Reasons Why You Hurt Your Own Strategies | The Upwards Leader  ... View more

Excellent article from McKinsey. Technology Choices Force-fitting technology solutions: Are you choosing technology out of context? Adopting cutting-edge tech that’s not fully mature: Are you adopting new technology that seems promising but doesn’t have a proven track record? Building out your own cloud infrastructure without sufficient capabilities: Have you let security and regulation block your adoption of public cloud? Technology road map Initiating big-system-replacement programs: Are you focusing on system replacement rather than improving existing systems in a way that is faster and more cost-effective? Focusing on architecture and tooling improvements without enhancing process and delivery discipline: Did you re-architect and implement new tooling but forget to adapt the delivery processes? Technology management Focusing on outputs rather than business outcomes: Are your technologists focused on output instead of business/technology outcome? Managing IT purely for cost: Are you sacrificing significant value by overindexing on price and cost? Investing in developing new platforms without involving the business: Is your primary focus platform development instead of platform adoption by the business? Managing technologists Outsourcing your core value streams: Are vendors doing the work that creates the most value for your business Building up an army of managers rather than developing an engineering culture: Do you value your managers more than your engineers? Antipatterns that are derailing technology transformations | McKinsey  ... View more

Great report here from the IBM Center for The Business of Government - Innovation & Emerging Technologies in Government: Keys to Success They focus on these emerging technologies: Artificial Intelligence Blockchain Hybrid cloud technologies Advanced data management Data analytics They review examples of 10 innovators: General Services Administration Dept of Health & Human Services NOAA Veterans Affairs National Science Foundation USAID Census Bureau State of Utah Sonoma Co., CA They list these mindsets as keys to success: Entrepreneurial Collaborative Adaptive Mastery of emerging technologies Leadership Innovation and Emerging Technologies in Government: Keys to Success | IBM Center for The Business of Government  ... View more

Here are some links from my Proven Best Practices for GIS Leaders presentation: ArcGIS Solutions poster ArcGIS Solutions site David Moss's LinkedIn page David Moss's The GIS Management Blueprint presentation Bonneville, Co., ID Success Story Matt Lewin's LinkedIn page, Matt Lewin's articles on Esri Canada's website  Esri Canada's page on Location Intelligence City of Toronto's Corporate Geospatial Strategy & Roadmap York Region's Success Playbook Resources: McKinsey & Company, Forbes, The Enterprisers Project, MIT Technology Review, Harvard Business Review, Governing, Route Fifty, Inc., CIO WaterCooler, Bloomberg CityLab, Fast Company, Gartner, Govlaunch, CIO Review, Government Technology, Forrester, Govloop, Statescoop, National League of Cities, International City/County Management Association, National Association of Counties People to Follow: Jack Welch, W. Edwards Deming, Peter Drucker, Guy Kawasaki, Brian Solis, Timo Elliott, Nick Kittle, Paul Synnott How to develop soft skills - McKinsey & Company How to become a digital leader, regardless of your background - Forbes 5 flourishing & 5 fading IT careers - The Enterprisers Project GIS should be about digital transformation - Energy Central ... View more

Since there were over 230 Esri staff-led workshops at the 2020 Esri International User Conference, there's a large chance that you missed out on a few that will provide value.  My focus is on the business side of GIS, and that isn't usually front and center for Esri User Conference attendees, they are usually there to get the latest on ArcGIS technology.  So here are ten of the business related sessions from the UC you may have missed.  I heartily suggest you watch them when you have the time.  The technology part of an enterprise GIS is the easy part, it's the people part that's hard and usually stands between you and the full potential of the technology in your organization. Developing & Executing a Geospatial Strategy Incorporating Business Value in Your GIS Strategy Communicating the Value of GIS in Your Organization: How to Measure Return on Investment Evangelizing GIS Engage the Entire Organization with GIS Don't Forget the People - The Importance of the Team During Change Esri Best Practices: Managing Successful GIS Projects Training: A Key Strategy to Achieve Technology ROI Assessing & Managing Technical Risk Where to Start: Project Prioritization ... View more

Toby Soto, Tim Nolan & Wade Kloos of GISSuccess.com are hosting a GIS Leadership Virtual Summit available to anyone at no cost on July 28-29, 2020.  This is a great opportunity for you to get high value content on GIS leadership from a select group of SMEs from across the globe.  The subjects were selected from crowdsourcing the community.  I hope to "see" you there...   https://gissuccess-summit.heysummit.com/ ... View more

The 2020 Virtual Esri International User Conference starts Monday, July 13, 2020.  I hope to virtually meet you there.  If you would like to connect, here are some opportunities: Incorporating Business Value in Your GIS Strategy - Streaming Live, Tuesday, July 14, 2020, 1:40 PM - 2:40 PM PDT Aligning your GIS strategy with your Business goals and objectives will allow you to more effectively address the most pressing needs of your organization. But how do you do that? On top of this, business leaders don’t usually speak in the “language of GIS”, which challenges you to interpret business challenges, and translate them into GIS opportunities. This session will cover strategies for gaining leadership sponsorship, how to determine and measure the business value of your GIS, and considerations for how to communicate that value throughout your organization Two On-Demand Sessions: Evangelizing GIS Getting your workforce to adopt new technology and new workflows requires winning hearts and minds across the organization. Learn how the right communication strategy creates a common vision and momentum to accomplish positive change. Communicating the Value of GIS in Your Organization: How to Measure Return on Investment Understanding, documenting, and communicating the value GIS brings to your organization can be critical to your success. First, presenting the return on investment (ROI) from your programs’ and projects helps celebrate the success of the departments using GIS. This process oftentimes stimulates ideas across an organization as to the uses of spatial thinking and GIS technology. Secondly, it reinforces the investment in technology, people, and equipment to improve government services. Quantified ROI is good to have on hand during budgeting periods, too. Finally, measuring the real benefits of GIS can act as an accountability tool for yourself. It provides a self-check as to whether your program is in sync with or meeting organizational goals. This session will seek to provide guidance on documenting and reporting the business value of GIS. Topics will include Measuring the benefits of GIS; Calculation methods; Examples of success; and Techniques for communicating success. In the Expo - I will be working in the Esri Showcase at the Smarter Government Starts Here booth in the Executive Engagement & Public Policy section.  I am scheduled to be there the following days/times: Monday, July 13, 2020, 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM PDT & 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM PDT Tuesday, July 14, 2020, 7:30 AM - 10:00 AM PDT, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT & 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM PDT Wednesday, July 15, 2020, 7:30 AM - 10:00 AM PDT & 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM PDT We can also connect using the Networking portion of the platform And of course I am available on LinkedIn and Twitter as well as here on GeoNet Hope to "see" you there! ... View more

Check out this outstanding StoryMap from the award-winning LINKGIS NKYmapLABhttp://linkgis.org/ crew - it provides the blueprint for success for enterprise GIS in local government. https://arcg.is/1yybGS  Louis Hill‌ ... View more