What has surprised me the most  is the speed at which product decisions are made. I sat in on the call that reviewed what was built in the last release and I was flabbergasted as to how much happened in 90 days. I also listened in the on the first sprint call for the next release. Lots happening. Much less hierarchy, more autonomy.

The let’s get done attitude is contagious, and it has seeped into the SAP colleagues I have met this week. I see a spring in the step inside SAP that was largely missing when I last worked here.    The quarterly release business sharpens the mind.  Less powerpoint, higher velocity. Some of this is due to the cloud delivery model, but there is a cultural element too.

I like. I have much to learn.

The last 5 1/2 years have flown by. I have learnt more than I imagined I could, and probably forgotten more too. I’ve done over 3000 inquiries, written over 100 research notes, led several magic quadrants, attended 100s of Research communities, spoke at numerous conferences and strategy days.  I’ve worked with fascinating colleagues, users and vendors from around the world.  I consider many of them to be friends, even though we have met so rarely in person.

It has been a blast, and I will look upon my time at Gartner with a deep fondness.  The way Gartner has handled my departure only increases my respect for the organization.  I expect to see Gartner’s HCM research grow from strength to strength.

Let specialties be therefore drawn between us,
That covenants may be kept on either hand.

(Taming of the Shrew  II. i. 127-8)

A couple of weeks ago, I presented at the HR Technology Conference in Chicago, the topic being SaaS Contracts:  how not to get ripped off.  I made an animation to start the presentation, as talking about contracts can be a bit dry.

If the embedded version doesn’t behave,  watch it here.    My goal was to show the naivete of the typical buyer when dealing with a smooth salesperson. In the space of about 2 minutes, the buyer makes at least 9 major blunders. See if you can spot them. It is supposed to be funny, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.

A week or so after the event I did a podcast  on the Bill Kutik Radio Show, where I go into a bit more detail.  Have a listen here.  I’m not a lawyer, so this doesn’t constitute legal advice, but I’m saddened by the ignorance on the side of the buyer, and the willingness of the seller to exploit that. That is business, I guess.

Or as Camillo said in   The Winter’s tale:

You pay a great deal too dear for what’s given freely.

Also we have a lot of research on how to buy cloud/SaaS solutions.  Gartner clients should definitely check out Alexa Bona’s  research. Whether buying or selling, getting a fair contract is best in the long run.

(I’m very impressed with the Xtranormal tool for animation. I checked with their legal folks on usage, what a pleasure to deal with them).

 I’ll just cut and paste it here.
If you work in software and you haven’t donated to Bletchley Park then you really ought to.
I bought the signed hardback, but then I think Sue is cool.  She knows:  Computer Science, WWII coding,  and Stephen Fry.

Hello there!

(Firstly thank you so much if you have already supported my book, you are wonderful )

If you know me, you probably know that I’ve been involved with Bletchley Park for some years now. In 2003 I went there for a BCS meeting and fell in love with the place. In 2008 I started a campaign to help raise awareness of the amazing contribution of the site and the more than ten thousand young people that worked there during WW2.

In 2008 Bletchley Park was in financial difficulty. I wanted to raise awareness and gain support for the people that worked there and make sure that Bletchley Park would be there for my children and their children to visit, to help them appreciate the tremendous war effort and the contribution that it has made to us enjoying the peace we live in today. The work carried out there has been said to have shortened the war by approximately 2 years, saving millions of lives.

Fast forward four years and things are looking much rosier for Bletchley Park thank goodness, they have received funding from various sources including the Foreign Office just last week.

Lots of people have suggested over the last couple of years that I write up what happened as a book, and I’m delighted to announce that I have found a fabulous publisher called Unbound to help me do that.

I’ll be telling the story of the campaign that I started and also the amazing campaigns previous to that, during one of which the only way to save the Park was to get the trees listed. Crazy!

So, please sign up to buy my book, I get to see the names of everyone who buys, so don’t think you can get away with pretending you have bought it )

..and please do encourage your networks to buy the book too, someone said to me just the other day that they thought that raising awareness of Bletchley Park has also raised the profile of women and computer science in the UK, how cool is that?

Thanks for your support, the campaign that I started would not have worked if it weren’t for the thousands of people that got involved and played their part.

Here’s the link, please have a look and pledge your support, remember, I’ll be checking the names of supporters….

My book is currently funded to 76% (in just 4 days) but we still need another 24% to make it happen…

10% of all profits from the book will go to Bletchley Park.

Take care and see you soon,

Sue

Readers of this blog will know that I am an avid but plodding cyclist.  It gets me away from the desk, and means I can bore for Germany on components, frames, cadence, altitude and the like.

I sometimes run, and recently an old school friend bet me that I couldn’t run 10K under 50 minutes by the end of September. Not being one to ignore a challenge, I took him on.  

Running used to be a simple affair.  But in order to go for a run, I “need”

a) my minimalist five fingers running shoes.

b) a  fully charged iphone

c) headphones that don’t fall out my ears

d) heart rate strap

e) strava run application.

f) the right spotify play list.

Measurement has changed running. I know exactly what heart rate to run at and at what pace per minute.  It takes me at least 10 minutes to get out the door.

Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle is one of the most abused scientific principles, but it applies here.  My efforts to measure running has changed my running.

What has this got to do with HR systems?

I have noticed a  trend from vendors to include a field called Flight Risk into their talent management systems.  I reckon this isn’t a good idea.

1. 99% of HR systems don’t have accurate enough data to remove false positives

2. The data to really predict flight risk isn’t in the HR system.

3. Telling someone who isn’t a a flight risk that the system thinks they are one will make them into one.

4. Managers will react differently to the same data.

5. It will taint other, more accurate results.

To assume you can build an algorithm to predict whether a person is likely to leave their job or not based on the shoddy data in a talent management application is arrogant and irresponsible.  Vendors’ crude attempts to measure human intentions will create unintended consequences, most of them bad.

In case you are wondering, I won the bet…

Jim, Jeff Freyermuth,  Sunil Padmanabh, Chris Pang, Koji Motoyoshi  and I worked  to provide what we believe is the deepest and broadest coverage in the industry. With that in mind, it was essential to fill the gap left by Jim’s departure and I’m very pleased to announce today that Ron Hanscome is now with Gartner.

Ron has heaps of experience, as an analyst, consultant, practioner and in product management.  He has worked with several of my colleagues and management  in the past, when he was with Meta group.  He is well known to many in the industry.  I’ll be working with Ron and the team to shape the research agenda for  remainder of 2012 and into 2013.  I’m really looking forward to having Ron contributing to Gartner’s thought leadership in HCM. I’d encourage vendors to set up briefings with Ron.

You can follow him on twitter here.

 (cross posted on my work blog)

For the past few years I’ve gone to HR tech I have managed to largely lurk in the background. This year I have a couple of speaking gigs, so a bit more limelight.

Bill runs a very good show.  The sessions are always well prepared, and the event runs like clockwork.

My main session is on SaaS Contracts. Rather provocatively titled,” How not to get ripped off.”   I’m combining some deep research from Alexa Bona and my colleagues at Gartner with my experiences over the last 5 years reviewing contracts, and musing on vendor and buyer foibles.  Buyers attending the session will leave with a better sense of what to avoid and what to do, and I’m hoping vendors will learn a bit too and maybe squirm a bit.  The contracting behaviour of both buyer and seller leaves much room for improvement.

Buyers could learn from this legal document.

If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated

Points if you know where it is from without Googling it.

I’ll also do an expert session on big data. I’m not a big fan of the term, but hey Bill makes up the titles.

Things I’m looking out for at the event as I stroll the floor and attend sessions.

1. Business impact. HCM technologies that bring value to the business beyond the HR department.

2. Algorithms. The real power of analytics isn’t in the chart or the cool graphics. It is in the mathematics.

3. Global stuff, but defined in a way that means something outside of  North America. (Big rant brewing on this one).

4. Privacy aware and enhancing technology

5. Disruption in core HRMS

6. Social and mobile in something other than a demo.

7. A box. A magical box.

8. I’ll leave the debates about  cloud  meteorology to others. I can debate clouds with the best of them. I have an undergrad major in Geography.

I’ll be joined by a couple of other Gartner colleagues.  Jeff Freyermuth and Morgan Yeates will be in attendance too.

If you would like to meet with me please contact my assistant, Sharon Gray at Gartner dot com.  I will have some slots for meetings, but I’m hoping to spend most of the event outside of a meeting room.  Vendors  please remember that you can brief me any day of the year.  I’m especially keen to meet up with end user clients.

In the spirit of discounting,  which you will learn about in my session, I give you my discount deal for the conference.

Just use the Promotion Code OTTER12 (all caps) when you register online www.HRTechConference.com to get $500 off the rack rate of $1,795. The discount does not expire until the conference ends on Oct. 10.  This is a final offer so don’t even bother to try and get a better deal on another blog.

Day one started near Denver and finished near Vail, day two the reverse. 240 miles 20,000 feet of climbing in two days. (400 kms 6000 vm.)

I combined the ride with some charity fundraising, so a big thanks to all that contributed.  1350 pounds towards Cancer Research in memory of Hamish.  You can still donate!

Before I go into details about the ride, I need to say thanks to a  number of people.

• to my long suffering family who have endured my training and preoccupation with dropping that bit of weight for weeks.
• to Mike, Juergen and Graeme, who, in various ways, have helped me get and stay in shape.
• to Wheat ridge Cyclery for the bike rental: a sweet Specialized Roubaix. to Joel and family for the overnight stay in Vail.
• to  the Hilton Garden Inn in Denver, who went the extra mile.
• to my management and clients who made the business side of the trip happen.
• To the organizers, volunteers and local police force.

The ride. Day one.

The ride is 120 miles ( 193 kms) from Evergreen (Bergen Park) to Avon over Juniper Pass (11,140 ft.) (3390 m), Loveland Pass (11,990 ft.) (3654m), Swan Mountain and Vail Pass (10,560 ft.) (3218m). There is over 10,000 feet (3000 m) of climbing. details here on mapmyride.

One of the challenges with the ride is the lack of oxygen.  The lowest point of the ride is higher than most Alpine climbs, and I really felt this.  Ideally, one should spend several weeks getting used to the altitude, but anyway…

I got to the start early, and picked up my number. I headed out at about 5.40am, and watched the sunrise as I rode up the first pass. The climb to Juniper was long and steady, at least 20 kms of climbing. The gradient never really got steep, although towards the end it did get harder. This was probably due to the  altitude rather than the road.  I focused on riding exactly on my heart rate anerobic threshold, and I didnt worry about the steady stream riding past me. I hung out with Ned, a geologist, who had done the event several times. At the top there was a well stocked food and drink stop.  The descent was super, nice wide road in pretty good condition. I was able to pass quite a few people on the descent. My lack of speedometer probably meant I went a bit faster than I usually do. The roubaix handling is very comfortable, and gave me a lot of confidence.

After coasting through Idaho springs, I began the gradual climb through Georgetown,Sliver plume, Bakerville towards Loveland pass. The ride moved off the main road onto a bike path. This was lovely, as it meant no traffic and a lot of nature.  I rode a fair bit of this section with Andy, who was doing his 10th ride.   After another stop, I then did the climb up to Loveland. The last 6 miles of this climb were pretty tough.The gradient is a bit more alpine like much less forgiving. Also the lack of shade reminded me of the the second half of Tourmalet. The 27 cassette came in handy.  Loveland is on the continental divide, and is the highest point of the ride.

Here I am at the top

The descent was fast, as the first part was on the main road. Very few cars, thanks to the work of the organizers.  The next rest stop was in Keystone.   There is a nasty little climb that they forgot to tell me about. Swan mountain. It is short, but I didn’t expect it to hurt as much as it did.  The ride from Frisco up to the top of Vail pass was a gentle, winding climb along a bike path, for the best part of 20 miles (38kms).   Despite the gentle gradient I was riding in the easy gear. It rained a bit between Frisco and Vail pass, but nothing heavy.

The descent to the finish was a mix of  bike trail and main road. The road was in mixed condition, but I descended as fast as I could anyway. Close to Vail town the clouds opened and it poured down with rain.  The last 10 miles or so, although a gentle downhill were pretty miserable.  I was really pleased to get into the finish and hook up with Joel and Dale.  They were both quicker than me by a considerable margin.    According to the polar I used 6832 Kcal.  I think I averaged 22km/h  for the day.

After a quick bike to eat, we headed to the condo and the hottub.The pizza for dinner didn’t touch sides.

Day two

Next morning we woke early and headed out from the condo. The rain had cleared. The climb up to Vail pass wasn’t as bad as I had expected.  I didn’t spend much time at the rest stops on the second day, as I figured that it might rain again.  Loveland was equally tough as on the first day, started off easy and then got nasty near the top. Descent was brilliant. I should ride without a speedometer more often.   For the section between Loveland and the base of Juniper pass I managed to get on the back of a larger group.   I lurked at the back, doing as little as possible time at the front.  Nevertheless, by the time I got to Idaho springs my legs weren’t happy campers.

I was worried about the last climb, as I was now pretty beat.  I got into a comfortable gear and plodded on up.  The climb was long, roughly 20 miles, but it never really got steep.  I did stop to look at the view (nudge nudge)  The last three miles near the  top is a bit frustrating as there are a couple of false summits. It drizzled a bit on the way up, but that wasn’t really an issue.

The descent to the finish was great, but parts of the road weren’t in great condition. The rain held off.

Weirdly, I was quicker on day two than day one.

The welcome at the finish was noisy, lots of folks clapping. I picked up the medal and dashed back to Denver to drop the bike off.

Thanks again to all that made this possible. A really memorable event. Very well run. I hope to be back.

  I figured it would be good idea to combine it with a dose of fundraising, but I’d not got around to getting things set up until now.

In the past few months, I have been to  services for people close to me who died from cancer, one for my uncle Alec and the other a dear friend, Hamish, from my SAP days.  At a very moving service last weekend in Jussy, many people  came to say goodbye to Hamish.  He was one of the good guys. He will be  sorely missed by his family and many friends.  

Hearing the Burns poem, A Mother’s Lament for her son’s death, focuses one’s mind. I have got my act into gear over at justgiving.com 

I’m convinced that eventually scientific research will help  beat the disease.  Please  head over to the justgiving.com page and take out your credit card.  Your dosh will go straight to cancer research.

For those that have not read the poem, here it is.

 I  hope you never have to hear a mother read it.

(If you like it, buy it too).

The poster has gone viral, no doubt bringing a wry but slightly painful smile to anyone filling in travel expenses or CRM system screens, or thinking about tidying the garage.

Within  a couple of  clicks I was able to contact  the artist, Brad Rose, and via the collective art website, Big Cartel, order and pay for the print.  It will be gracing my office wall  some unspecified time in the future when I get around to having it framed.  

 The Internet and social media allow me to discover what I think is cool art, interact with the artist and buy their stuff. The world of art and crafts is being fundamentally reshaped by the Internet and social media.  I can very easily find stuff I like,  appreciate who and how it is made, and perhaps buy their product.  It would have been easy to just print out the poster without buying it, but I quite like the idea of paying the creator for the the grin that this will bring to people’s face when they visit my office.  I don’t need the threat of copyright infringement to know this. Discover, engage, and own.

 In a rather weird circular way, I first got into buying poster art online with Hugh, of gapingvoid fame, a close friend of Steve. 

BTW Brad’s site is a fascinating tour of typography. One day I might actually try and learn something about typography. It will be an ideal weapon to use against wine bores at dinner parties.

 similar post on my Gartner blog.