Latest Contributions by AdamCarnow

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

This is a continuation of The Path from GIS Manager to GIS Leader - Part 2. It is time to bring this all together...in Part 1 of The Path from GIS Manager to GIS Leader, I mentioned how rebranding can help you change your image from mapmaker to enterprise IT solution provider.  This rebranding can be applied to two areas, job titles and department names.  Here are some real example job titles from GIS practitioners that have rebranded: Content Delivery Manager - Charlotte, NC Water Department Decision Analytics Manager - Charlotte, NC Department of Innovation & Technology Data, Analytics & Visualization Services Director, York Region, Ontario, Canada Geospatial Intelligence Manager - US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency GeoAnalytics Information Officer - Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Geographic Information Officer - there are many examples of this one, especially at the state government level Director of Enterprise Location Intelligence - Walgreens Business Analytics, Intelligence & Reporting Manager – Edmonton Police Service Business & Location Intelligence Manager - DCSI South Australia Business & Location Innovative Services Supervisor - Cabarrus Co., NC The ultimate accomplishment of all of this is to create a new strategic executive position that is above the GIS Manager and reports to a top executive. This is key, as guiding the strategic direction of enterprise GIS to enable location intelligence across the organization is a full-time job. The GIS Manager position should focus on the operations, managing the GIS staff and projects. While this goal of creating this new executive position may seem impossible, there is evidence to the contrary. If executives see value and potential for more value in technology, they can, and will, create new full-time executive positions to lead these critical initiatives. When enterprise technology was first implemented at most organizations, the first step was to create something like a Chief Technology Officer (CTO).  As enterprise technology expanded, and with it, the value it provided to the organization, additional positions are being created, like Chief Innovation Officer (CIO), Chief Data Officer (CDO), and Chief Analytics Officer (CAO).  If the lead executive can understand the full potential and value of Location Intelligence and GIS, they will create a Chief Geospatial Officer (CGO).  If this is not possible in your organization, it is possible to move up above the GIS Manager position to gain increased access and ability to affect change and expand the use of GIS. Here are more than thirty real examples of GIS practitioners that have done this from across the US, Canada, and Australia: Mark Wheeler - CIO, Philadelphia, PA Tim Oliver - CIO, Horry Co., SC Todd Shanley - CIO, Cabarrus Co., NC Tim Dupuis - CIO & Registrar of Voters, Alameda Co., CA Tracy McKee - Chief Innovation Officer, Charleston, SC Tessa Allberg - CTO, Grapevine, TX Barney Krucoff - CDO, Washington, DC Mark Greninger - CDO, Los Angeles Co., CA Nick O'Day - CDO, Johns Creek, GA Patrick Baber - CDO, Roswell, GA Hank Garie - CDO/GIO, Philadelphia, PA Bryan Zumwalt - Director Office of IT & Innovation, Pinellas Co., FL Wade Kloos - Director Enterprise Systems, Utah DNR Ryan Fernandes - Director of IT Services, Weston, FL Brad Phillips - IT Director, Decatur, AL Justin Cure - Information Services Manager, Longview, TX Paul Giroux - Innovation, Business & Location Intelligence Officer, Greater Sudbury Utilities, Ontario, Canada John Houweling – Director Data, Analytics & Visualization Services, York Region, Canada Joann Fox – Business Analytics, Intelligence & Reporting Manager, Edmonton Police Services Jillian Elder – Vice President Real Estate Market Research, Ross Stores, Inc. Rob Bailey – Airport Technology Program Manager, Charlotte Douglas International Airport Katherine Lynch – Principal Business Partner – Technology, BHP, Australia Mary Jo Horace - Deputy CIO, Cook Co., IL Susan Olson - Asst. Director of Information Technology, Frisco, TX Tim Nolan - Senior Applications Manager, Collin Co., TX Gary Maguire – State Lead, Geospatial Intelligence at Dept. of the Premier & Cabinet, South Australia Trisha Brush - GIS Director, Kenton Co., KY David Moss - Deputy Director of Data Management & GIS, Maricopa Co., AZ Qazi Iqbal - Assistant CIO (GIS), Fulton Co., GA Steven Steinberg - GIO, Los Angeles Co., CA Keith Stump - Executive Director/GIO, Knox Co./Knoxville, TN Tina Miller - GIO, Anchorage, AK Larry Nierth - GIO, Houston, TX Kenneth Juengling - GIO, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Joseph Sloop - GIO, Forsyth Co., NC Here's an interesting point for those that are GIOs, some GIOs report to the CIO/CTO, but some report directly to another executive.  I think this is an important point to make that who you report to can often offer insight to the importance executives put in your position.  For instance, Joseph Sloop, the GIO at Forsyth Co., NC, reports to the County Manager.  This shows that the top executive in that organization values that position so much, that they want to personally direct their work.  Additionally, there are some examples of GIS leaders that may not have the leadership titles, but still are valued enough to report directly to top executives.  This is the case for the following positions: GIS Coordinator, Oak Hill, WV reports to City Manager GIS Analyst, Morgantown, WV reports to the Assistant City Manager GIS Manager, Montgomery Co., PA reports to the Chief Operating Officer GIS Manager, Skagit Co., WA reports to the Central Services Division Manager What I'm trying to do here is show examples of how your peers are changing their role in the organization to improve their personal professional development as well as increase the value of GIS.  Use them as inspiration to do the same, change from GIS Manager to GIS Leader. There is a tremendous opportunity for you as a GIS practitioner to move up in your organization and transition from GIS Manager to GIS Leader. This is a valuable endeavor as it improves you personally and professionally as well as your organization. Remember that your colleagues want your help and need your help, they just don't know it. Reach out to them, be proactive, sell them on the value of spatial analytics and location intelligence. Enable them to use the technology themselves with easy-to-use apps that work on any device, anywhere, at any time. Even though your job description may not include working on the five pillars of location intelligence (Strategy, Organization, Technology & Data, Culture and Literacy), make sure you are dedicating time to all of them, the people funding the enterprise GIS (taxpayers, shareholders, donors) deserve the ultimate level of return on investment and this means maximizing the capabilities of the ArcGIS platform and expanding the number of users. Don't try to do this alone, reach out to Esri, our distributors, and our partners, as well as your peers and professional network.  Learn from the examples of your peers that are doing this.  Get some non-GIS training on subjects like management, leadership, IT, and business.  Remember that GIS is not about maps, it's about digital transformation.  Align your work to helping the business and to what the leaders at the top deem important, that's how to create value. You can find additional resources related to this topic here.  Please reach out to me if you'd like to connect, I enjoy helping others in this important transition.  You can find me here on GeoNet as well as Twitter and LinkedIn. ... View more

This is a continuation of The Path from GIS Manager to GIS Leader - Part 1 The five pillars of Location Intelligence from the Esri Canada and IDC report, Winning with Location Intelligence: The Essential Practices. The second of my important numbers (64, 76, 78, 84, 84) based on my research of 800+ GIS practitioners across the United State over the last two years, refers to the second pillar of location intelligence, Organization: 76% of organizations that use GIS do not have formal governance in place While Organization covers many aspects of enterprise GIS, let's focus on Governance.  In this context, governance refers to the organizational structure for GIS within the organization.  GIS governance is a critical ingredient for any successful enterprise GIS.  If your organization does not have formal GIS governance, you should consider creating it.  Here are some resources to assist: Matt Lewin, from Esri Canada, has several articles on the subject as well as a presentation video: Governance for GIS: Decisions and decision-making Implementing governance for GIS (Part 1): Design approach Implementing governance for GIS (Part 2): Structure and processes How to organize your geospatial talent Governance for GIS You should also reach out to your Esri Account Team for assistance and other examples of successful enterprise GIS governance. The third of my important numbers mentioned above, refers to the third pillar of location intelligence, Technology & Data: 78% of GIS practitioners have not read the Architecting the ArcGIS Platform: Best Practices document While Technology & Data covers a wide area, let's focus on Best Practices.  This Architecting the ArcGIS Platform: Best Practices document is one of the most important documents produced by Esri, and it is updated at least three times a year.  Following and implementing best practices are another key ingredient to a successful enterprise GIS.  They are called best practices for a reason.  They are designed to help you learn from the missteps of others.  Many of the best practices in this document follow those established by the IT industry.  By implementing these best practices, your GIS will become stronger, more stable and effective.  Please work with your Esri Account Team to implement those that are applicable to your organization. The fourth of my important numbers refers to the fourth pillar of location intelligence, Culture: 84% of organizations that use GIS do not have, and maintain, a Change Management Plan While Culture covers a wide area, let's focus on Change Management.  According to Prosci, Change Management is the discipline that guides how we prepare, equip and support individuals to successfully adopt change in order to drive organizational success and outcomes.  The biggest challenge for a successful implementation is not the technology, it's the people.  The technology is the easy part.  You can deploy the best GIS app ever, but if nobody uses it, it's of no value.  Change management can really help technology adoption.  According to Prosci, organizations that combine a people-focused change management plan with a project plan are up to six times more likely to achieve their project goals.  Here are some resources to help you implement Change Management: "Are you talking to me?" The Science of Levels of Organizational Engagement Technology Adoption and Stakeholder Analysis: Organizational Roles Making Change Happen: Vision, Strategy, and Tactics Five Practical Approaches to Improve Technology Adoption Increase GIS Adoption by Integrating Change Management Please work with your Esri Account Team and our Esri Change Management Consulting to learn more about GIS and Change Management.  The fifth of my important numbers refers to the fifth pillar of location intelligence, Literacy: 84% of organizations that use GIS do not have, and maintain, a Workforce Development Plan While Literacy covers a wide area, let's focus on Workforce Development.  GIS is changing rapidly.  Everyone that uses GIS in an organization should be receiving some GIS training annually.  Getting financial support for training can be a challenge, as can figuring out what GIS training options to take in what order.  As an Esri customer, you have access to an Esri Training Consultant.  These Training Consultants can create a custom workforce development plan for you at no cost.  This plan will create learning pathways for each GIS user in your organization based on their roles, responsibilities and use of ArcGIS technology.  Once you have a workforce development plan, it can help you get budget to support this critical need.  There are also a collection of Learning Plans available on the Esri Training website.  Contact your Esri Account Team to get connected to your Training Consultant. This discussion continues in Part 3... ... View more