The technology industry has changed dramatically since The InSource Group was founded. We thought it would be fun to highlight just a few of the many changes which have occurred over the last two decades.

The 1990s saw a tremendous shift in how software was developed.  Early on, if you were an Assembler, RPGII, RPGIII, PL/1 or COBOL developer, you were in high demand during the early 90s.  4GL programming languages such as PowerBuilder and Delphi were just beginning to gain acceptance, with PowerBuilder professionals experiencing a hot ride for several years.

Remember the UNIX vs. DEC/ VAX wars being waged for the engineering and scientific community in the early 1990’s?  Heterogeneous networks became the buzz words for connecting different hardware platforms to a common network with a standardized communication protocol.  IBM was the undisputed hardware leader with its mainframe and mid-range AS/400 lines, while a host of competitors were vying for left over market share. Microsoft began its real run at the business enterprise (first with Windows 95 recommended to run on 8 megabits of memory, AND the OS upgrade still being shipped on floppy discs!) and quickly became an established part of the rapidly emerging client-server architecture.  By the way, what ever happened to the OS/2, CP/M and PICK operating systems?

Software development was primarily performed in a structured or iterative methodology, while object oriented programming was finally gaining acceptance beginning with client server based application architectures.  FORTRAN, C and Assembly were still the dominant languages used by the technical community, although C++ was actually invented around 1980.   While until 1995, Java was still just a slang word for coffee.

What about those hardware vendors from the 90’s?  Which of these do you remember:   Stratus, Prime, Tandem, DEC, Data General, Honeywell, Computervision, Silicon Graphics (SGI), Wang Computers, Cray, SUN Microsystems, Convex or Pyramid Technology?  Most are out of business or absorbed by the few remaining dominant hardware vendors.

With the increased acceptance of C++, Visual C++, along with Java’s introduction in 1995, object oriented development professionals were in high demand. If you were one of the early developers who jumped on the OO development band wagon, the mid and late 90’s were very good to you.

The new millennium brought many more changes.  How technology was being used seemed to change as much as the technology itself.

Who can forget the Armageddon predictions associated with the Y2K conversion efforts for all those mainframe applications using a two digit date field?

At the same time, it seemed like any company with a business idea related to the internet became prime investments for Venture Capital firms.  Some companies even changed their name to end with “.com” to capitalize on the hysteria.  For a while, if you could design a website using HTML you too were a hot commodity.  And suddenly in 2001, the “dot com” bust finally occurred.

Seemingly as quickly, the world changed and became “flat” as described in Thomas Friedman’s book published in 2005; “The World Is Flat”. Now, not only was technology continuing to change at a rapid pace, America was competing on a larger, global playing field.

Outsourcing and off-shoring projects became all the rage in the early to mid-2000’s. The successful completion of a large number of fiber optic, transatlantic communication cables capable of data rates of up to 10 gigabytes / second provided access to a cheap and educated workforce primarily in India and China.  During this time careers in technology did not look so promising in America as companies cut back on IT investments and hiring technical staff.

ERP specialists were the exception during this time as Fortune 500 companies sought to optimize their operations to compete more efficiently and globally.   Whether a functional or technical specialist with SAP, Oracle, i2, PeopleSoft, Baan, Lawson or JD Edwards experience, this was a time of high earnings.

Application developers with Java, C++, or .Net framework experience saw a decline in demand, while data architects and data warehouse specialists stayed in high demand as companies struggled with complex ERP and Business Intelligence system implementations.

Then, another change began taking place.  Is it possible to over emphasize the influence on both the personal and business use of social media sites?  From 2002 to 2006, the following sites were placed in operation:  Friendster, MySpace (a response to Friendster with the first version coded in 10 days!), Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Along with increased use of the World Wide Web came increased risk of hackers and potentially devastating computer viruses to the business enterprise.  Greater attention was placed on information security with new hardware and software products being developed, along with new career paths developing around data security. These increased threats quickly elevated the importance of the position of Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). By 2009, 85% of large organizations reported having a CISO, up from 43% in 2006.

RIM’s Blackberry can arguably be credited with kicking off the mobile computing race. Soon, PDAs, smart phones and ultimately electronic tablets accelerated by the iPad introduction, created demand for a new type of development professional.  Experience with operating systems such as iOS, Android, Windows CE, BREW, and Symbian along with software languages like Objective C, J2ME and Python grew in demand.  Working closer to the operating system increased in importance, something more typically associated with engineering or scientific software development efforts.

Last but not least, the acceptance of cloud computing as a viable business model is changing the technology landscape again.  Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)  now provide access to applications and services previously available only to larger firms with deep capital resources.  Technology professionals such as Business Analysts, Project Managers and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) with a deeper understanding of how a business operates combined with strong technical skills, have reemerged in importance.

To finish this off, here is a short list of some of the more important events for each year The InSource Group has been in business.  We hope you enjoy the trip as much as we have.

1992 – Ross Perot Sr., founder of EDS announces his presidential candidacy as an independent candidate, with most of the country still asking, “What’s the World Wide Web?”

1993 – Mosaic was the first graphical web browser released for browsing the internet.

1994 – Yahoo is started as a personal list of sites by two Stanford college students, David Filo and Jerry Yang.

1995 – The Java language introduced by Sun Microsystems and Amazon.com becomes operational, while less than 27% of U.S. households own personal computers according to Dataquest.

1996 – The average modem transfers data at 14,400 bps and “dial up” is still the dominate method of connecting to the internet.

1997 – Personal computer ownership in U.S. households rises to 43%.

1998 – Windows 98 OS released by Microsoft.

1999 – Craigslist’s website is incorporated, the original version of Napster’s file sharing software debuts,  and the Melissa email virus is unleashed.

2000 – The Internet bubble peaks on March 10th, and the NASDAQ and other markets begin their yearlong downward spiral.

2001 – Wikipedia debuts and the Apple iPod is released.

2002 – The Blackberry smartphone by RIM is introduced supporting email and web browsing.

2003 – Apple iTunes store opens while 67% of users who download music from the internet say they do not care whether the music is copyrighted or not.

2004 – Facebook is started by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, Google files for their IPO and the number one word of the year based on on-line lookup according to Merriam – Webster’s was “blog.”

2005 – YouTube is founded and Google Earth is launched.

2006 – The social networking service Twitter is founded and the first Sony e-book reader is released.

2007 – The first Apple iPhone was released and the smart phone frenzy accelerates.  Is there anything  else worth talking about?

2008 – Microsoft offers to buy Yahoo for $44.6 billion and the PC mouse turns 40 years old.

2009 – The Internet turns 40 years old, and almost 1/3 of the world’s population is surfing the internet.

2010 – The Apple iPad was introduced and Bill Gates was quoted, “It is a nice reader but there is nothing on the iPad I look at and say Oh, I wish Microsoft had done that”.  Uhhhh Bill, would you like to take that statement back?

2011 – On aggregate, healthcare information technology combined with advances in medical device technology opens up a whole new area for information technology innovation.

Vice President
www.insourcegroup.com

Frankly I wish I had written the same article earlier, as I agree whole heartedly with Eric’s observations, with one exception… I believe these issues Eric discusses also apply to small and medium sized organizations.  The 10 reasons listed all have to do with career development and personal growth.    Those two items are universal to the health of a company regardless of their industry.

Eric’s top 10 list on ways to lose your best employees are:

1 – Big Company Bureaucracy
2 – Failing to find the project for the talent that ignites their passion
3 – Poor annual performance reviews
4 – No discussion around career development
5 – Shifting whims / strategic priorities
6 – Lack of accountability and /or telling them how to do their jobs
7 – Top talent likes other top talent
8 – The missing “vision thing”
9 – Lack of open-mindedness
10 – Who’s the boss?

While any time is the right time to rectify the above mentioned problems, yearend planning provides a wonderful platform to make changes for the better.   Whether you believe corrective action needs to be taken in one or multiple areas, here is my suggestion to begin the effort.

• Pick one item at a time and focus on that item.
• Clearly establish the end goal or results to be accomplished.
• Choose realistic and measurable benchmarks.
• Establish a feedback mechanism to monitor the progress on achieving the stated goal.
• Stick to the task until the initial desired results are achieved.
• Make this effort part of your company’s culture.
• Choose your next goal, and repeat steps 1 through 6

In the 19 years of being in the IT Search and Staffing Industry, The InSource Group has seen our fair share of management styles.  Universally, the success of a company begins at the top with its executive leadership and then filters down through the organization.  If you are in a position to improve your group’s performance, now is the time to do so.  The importance of top talent retention can never be underestimated or ignored.   We wish you great success on this journey.

If you would like to read Eric Jackson’s article in its entirety, follow this link:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2011/12/14/top-ten-reasons-why-large-companies-fail-to-keep-their-best-talent/

Vice President
www.insourcegroup.com

In August of this year (2011), FASTSIGNS was a finalist in the Tech Titans competition sponsored by The Metroplex Technology Business Council.   FASTSIGNS was one of the top three contenders in the category of Technology Adopters from the largest pool of Tech Titans competitors in the last 10 years.  The InSource Group wrote about their performance in an earlier blog.

Here is another competition in which FASTSIGNS will be a clear winner……………… hiring and supporting our returning military veterans.

Besides being FASTSIGNS’ CEO, Catherine Monson also serves on the board of directors for the International Franchise Association (IFA).   According to Catherine, “There are 825,000 franchise locations in the U.S. and those folks support nearly 18 million jobs.  In those 18 million jobs we should be able to find 75,000 or 80,000 for veterans.”

FASTSIGNS has committed to hire 200 veterans at FASTSIGNS locations as a part of IFA’s Operation Enduring Opportunity.  Additionally, FASTSIGNS also provides a discount on the franchise fee to veterans opening a new FASTSIGNS franchise.  We applaud Catherine’s and FASTSIGNS tangible commitment in supporting our U.S. military veterans.

The InSource Group supports our clients through our technical staffing services. As an IT staffing firm we see on a daily basis the importance of hiring the right person for the right job.  Our thanks go out to FASTSIGNS for their ability to extend their hiring practices to the veterans who serve our country so well.

For additional information on FASTSIGNS’ efforts and on the IFA’s efforts, follow this link:  http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/print-edition/2011/11/18/fastsigns-out-to-expand-hire-veterans.html?ana=e_ph&page=all

Vice President
www.insourcegroup.com

CIO Tip # 1  – CIOs need to take a personal role in the hiring process.
Lesson for job seekers: Be ready to talk about the company’s goals at the highest level. Could you handle an impromptu strategy chat with the CIO?

CIO Tip # 2 – Hire people who can handle constant change.
Lesson for job seekers:  Find a shop that fits your style, or you won’t last.

CIO Tip # 3 – Hire from your vendors or consultants.
Lesson for job seekers:  IT pros can parlay their skills, as more companies are embedding IT into their products and giving IT more of a customer-facing role.

CIO Tip #4 – Hire people who “Get” your customers.
Lesson for job seekers:  Be ready to talk knowledgably about a company’s end customers, not just technology.  And if the industry bores you, so will the job.

CIO Tip # 5 – When you can’t hire, partner
Lesson for job seekers:  Stock options aren’t the only reason to work at startups. It could be the best place to break into a cutting-edge tech segment, one that larger employers may value as the tech matures.

CIO Tip #6 – Good people know good people.
Lesson for job seekers:  You know this one, but it can’t be said enough in a job search–your own network and reputation matter more than anything.

CIO Tip # 7 – Know why people want to work at your company.
Lesson for job seekers:  Know how much the company’s mission matters to you, and focus on industries accordingly. And know that every company takes its mission seriously–if you can’t take diapers seriously, don’t even talk to Procter & Gamble.

CIO Tip #8 – Talk about your company.
Lesson for job seekers:  Stay on top of business and tech publications, anticipate who might need your set of skills, and craft a message directly to them.

As you can tell, approaches vary widely, but all are intended to improve the quality of the IT workforce.

Here is a personal impression I took away from reading this short article; the lack of what many like to call “techno-speak” and the increasing importance of business knowledge.   Each of these CIOs focused on qualities important to enhancing the value of the business, with the implied message being technical knowledge and excellence is still a prerequisite just to get to the interview.

If you would like to read the article you can do so by following this link:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/global-cio/interviews/231900852?pgno=1

Creating opportunities to get to know our clients, as well as clients getting to know us, is an ongoing initiative for our team.  Sponsoring golf tournaments, hosting technology user groups meetings and our holiday parties are just a few such events.

In the past several weeks, we have hosted two entertaining and productive events for our clients in the DFW Metroplex.

At Cool River Café, in Las Colinas, our Dallas clientele had a chance to interact and socialize with their account managers over fine food and drinks.  Stepping out of our respective offices and into Cool River’s casual setting gave us a great opportunity to show our appreciation and have some fun.

Our Fort Worth-based clients enjoyed a spectacular sunset view of downtown from the roof top of Reata.  We were excited to have a lot of familiar faces show up as well as greet several newcomers to the event.

Both happy hours have become popular with our clients on both sides of the Metroplex and we look forward to many more!

I recently had the privilege of attending a small breakfast event in Dallas featuring The Honorable Alberto Gonzales, 80th Attorney General of The United States.    Al Gonzales served as Attorney General under President George W. Bush, and was the first Hispanic to lead the nation’s largest law enforcement agency, from February 2005 through September 2007

Gonzales gave an interesting talk titled, “I Believe in America.”  As expected, it was strongly influenced by years of public service starting as general counsel to then Governor George W. Bush,  then as Secretary of State of Texas, next serving on the Texas Supreme Court, and finally as the 80th Attorney General of the United States.

While acknowledging great challenges exist for America today, Gonzales was adamant in his belief that America is the greatest country in the world.  He offered some interesting examples based on his political experience, but the real context of his message is summarized below.

First, Gonzales sincerely believes in public service as either a career in itself or an important part of someone’s career.  Everyone should commit to some form of public service in his opinion.  He did however offer a bit of humor to accompany that belief: “Pursue public service with your eyes wide open, and your body armor on.”

Second, Gonzales described his views on the difference between leadership and politicians in Washington, D.C.  According to Gonzales, leaders are focused on the next generation, while politicians are focused on the next election.  He went on to describe a few characteristics of leadership he observed in Washington.  They included:

•    Leadership begins with the courage to be lonely. The toughest decisions may be supported and analyzed by the smartest of your staff, but in the end the leader has to make the final decision.
•    You need discipline to stay the course.  Predictable and consistent decision making processes are very important when the world seems to be collapsing on your shoulders, or when intelligent and passionate individuals plead their case.
•    Positive vision.   One of the most important roles of a leader is to project a positive vision.  That does not mean projecting a false air of confidence or failing to be a realist; but leaders without the ability to project a positive vision cannot expect their staff or the world to embrace their belief and work to overcome adversity.
•    Wisdom.  According to Gonzales, wisdom acquired through life’s experiences represents the ability to learn from past experiences and not make the same mistake twice.
•    Morality.  On this point Gonzales was not speaking in terms of being a saint, for he was the first to acknowledge there have been very few true saints in this world.  Gonzales was talking about moral clarity and the strength to not abuse power in the role of a public servant or leader.

Third, was the importance of family.   Gonzales acknowledged the difficulty of balancing family life when dealing with the 24 x 7 hectic pace of the White House.   Family helps keep the focus of what is important in life.  As an illustration, while serving in the white house Gonzales was the point man in every single major legal decision made during his service, rode to work in a black suburban car surrounded by FBI agents with machine guns, and oversaw 105,000 employees.  Now when he travels he has to take his shoes off at the airport just like everyone else.  Power can be fleeting, but family lasts a life time.

Fourth was the importance of God.  You must realize that the job is bigger than just you, and the need to seek a higher form of guidance and wisdom is critical.  As an example, while advising Governor Bush he had to review the decision on 57 execution orders.  It was important to be able to call upon his faith in God as he made those important decisions.

And finally was the belief in miracles.  Albert Einstein said there were basically two ways to live. “To live as if nothing was a miracle or to live as if everything was a miracle.  I choose the latter.” So does Gonzales , and he held himself up as an example in a truly humble manner.  How else could you explain a second generation Hispanic, son of a common laborer, one of 7 children, raised in a two bedroom home that never had running water and no telephone until he was a junior in high school, enlisted in the Air Force immediately after graduating from high school, the first family member to attend college, who rose to become the 80th Attorney General of The United States of America.

It was indeed a highly motivating breakfast.

Our volunteers were selected to work with the Habitat for Humanity: Brush with Kindness project. The task was to paint a house near Fair Park that was owned by the lovely Miss Annie Faye. We could not have asked for a better cause to support.  Miss Annie has experienced several recent tragic events; she just became a widow and her 29-year-old son was killed in an act of street violence.

We arrived at the house to find it covered with severely deteriorated and flaking dark green paint with some drab gray trim.  Upon arrival, we were joined by three other volunteers from one of our clients (It’s a small world!), some Habitat for Humanity personnel and some of Miss Annie’s wonderful family and friends.

At approximately 9:30AM, everyone grabbed ladders, paint, brushes and rollers and got to work on various parts of the house exterior.  We began painting the house a stunningly vibrant desert red with a neutral gray-beige for the trim.

The time flew past while we diligently worked and bantered back and forth.  Around noon, lunch arrived, so we cleaned up our areas and began to socialize while scarfing down some sandwiches.  We all finished our meal in about 15 minutes and fervently returned to our painting-we wanted to get it done!

Lena, our Habitat leader, said we had a hard stop at 2:00 PM.  At 1:15 a Habitat director called out to Lena and told her we had 45 minutes to finish.  Then suddenly just like in those HGTV home improvement shows, we all started painting at warp speed, and starting really getting to the details.

A chant started in the front, “LET NO GREEN BE SEEN!”  We even called for additional ladders and brushes and everyone hunkered down, determined to finish before our time ran out.  Precisely at our deadline we had successfully accomplished our task and cleaned up our space.  Our restore was complete and Miss Annie Faye’s home looked completely different.

When we were finished painting, picking up the excess trash and washing out the brushes, Lena proudly told us she has never had a crew work as diligently as we did.  She noted that we were fast and that her superiors had not expected our team to finish the largest home of the day.  She also mentioned that she was amazed that we only took a 15-minute lunch and got right back to work.

Tears of joy came unbidden to Annie Faye’s eyes when she was escorted out to view her newly painted home.  She was so very thankful and it was truly amazing to see her reaction.  Spending the day to turn tragedy into an inspiring sense of hope was accomplished 9/11/11 by The InSource Group staff.

We joined together, through the bond of community service, to pay tribute to those lives that were forever changed by the devastating events that occurred 10 years ago.  My colleagues and I rolled up our sleeves and spent the day painting and making repairs that make a difference in our community and specifically to a person that needed our help.

We hope that our small service today will help continue the larger tradition of honoring the lives that were so drastically changed on September 11, 2001. United we serve. United we stand.

Roane Underwood
Account Manager
The InSource Group
http://www.insourcegroup.com

Over the decades of my involvement in the technology staffing industry, I have experienced many wonderful examples of professionalism on both the candidate and the client side. I have seen a few funny episodes also. What really makes me cringe however, are the stories of ineptitude and / or ambivalence by hiring companies encountered by individuals during their interview. All of which leads me to the topic, “What in the world were they thinking when they did that?”

Recently a very successful technology executive I know interviewed for a Vice President role with a firm I am happy to report is not a client of The InSource Group. With limited editing on my side, here is the feedback shared when I did a personal follow up just to see how the meeting went.

The candidate arrived for their interview 15 minutes early and checked in with the receptionist — who promptly went on a break and disappeared leaving the candidate alone in the lobby. The corporate recruiter finally appeared 10 minutes after the interviews were scheduled to begin (Editor’s note: that’s 25 minutes by himself to consider the wisdom of his interest in interviewing with this company). The first interview was with two Sr. Directors (one in person and the other called in). The next interview was with their Chief Security Officer. The C.S.O. had to leave 10 minutes early for another meeting and hastily excused himself.

There was a gap over lunch (which the candidate knew about), so they brought him back to the lobby and told him to come back in 2 hours for the next interview. As before, the candidate arrived 15 minutes early. Once again, 10 minutes after the next interview is scheduled to start (Editor’s note: is there something special about this recurring 25 minute time frame I just don’t understand?) the corporate recruiter comes out to the lobby and tells the candidate the SVP (his next interview) is out sick. (Editor’s note: so they did not know the SVP was out ill when they told him to come back in two hours after lunch?)

The candidate asked if there was anyone else important to meet with since the earlier sessions were cut short. So the corporate recruiter stays in the lobby, trying to call people from the house phone while the candidate sits in the lobby also (another Editor’s note: you might consider rethinking the wisdom of displaying your firm’s lack of preparation in full view to the candidate). Eventually the candidate got to meet two first-line managers in person and a third who called in. (I am beginning to love these Editor’s notes: I bet those three managers were well prepared to put their company’s best image forward to this VP candidate)

After the final session, the candidate asked when they could reschedule the missed meeting with the SVP. The corporate recruiter said they would call after checking with the SVP to see if they still wanted to reschedule. (Editor’s note: NEVER tell the candidate you are not sure whether the SVP wants to reschedule the interview. Just acknowledge the request, thank them for their patience and interest given the challenges with the interview schedule, and let them know you will personally follow up with them)

Two days after the interview with still no contact from the corporate recruiter, the candidate calls the company. The SVP was still out ill, but the corporate recruiter indicated they will speak with the SVP and call the candidate back that afternoon. After four more days of no contact from the company, the candidate sends the corporate recruiter an email, reaffirming their interest in the opportunity and asking for an update. (Editor’s note: I am not sure I would still be interested in this company given their lack of follow through and professionalism)

It has now been over a week since the last phone call and the company’s corporate recruiter still has not had the professional courtesy to contact the candidate with any news; good or bad.

There simply is no excuse for this type of behavior, regardless of the level of position being interviewed. We all recognize the value of a great corporate image; which in turn generates benefits in all areas of a company’s operation. And a company’s culture and image begin with, and are developed and nurtured at the executive leadership level.

Perhaps the only good news in this story is that a great opportunity exists for their VP of Human Resources to correct what is clearly an out of control process, and establish some much needed leadership. Let’s hope they do so.

Competition was fierce in all 10 of the nomination categories, and this year’s Tech Titans competition received an all-time high number of nominations. Two of the four finalist companies in the category of Technology Adopter Award were nominated by The InSource Group, and are good clients.  They are FASTSIGNS International (http://www.fastsigns.com/) and BNSF Railway (www.bnsf.com).

FASTSIGNS is the world’s largest franchise supplier of indoor and outdoor signage and their headquarters is located in Carrollton.  They have over 550 locations throughout the world.  FASTSIGNS application described an interesting and innovative mix of the use of social media, business processes, and strategic technology relationships to advance competitive advantages above their competition. 

BNSF Railways operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America, and has its roots dating back to 1849.  BNSF currently operates on 32,000 route miles in 28 states.   To give you an idea of the complexity and importance of the BNSF operation is illustrated by the fact that one container or trailer of consumer goods is lifted onto the BNSF network every 6 seconds.  Beginning in 2008, BNSF began implementing their “Best Way” technology solutions critical to their continued sustainability and success.  BNSF leveraged its Enterprise Data Warehouse (Teradata) integrated with a set of robust web-enabled analysis tools to deliver KPI (Scorecards) to the business. 

The judges clearly had their work cut out for themselves.

In the end, BNSF Railways won their category.  Everyone at The InSource Group would like to extend our congratulations to both BNSF Railways and FASTSIGNS International.  We are pleased to work with you.

The Tech Titans competition is sponsored by The Metroplex Technology Business Council (MTBC). If you would like to view the other competition categories and winners, you can do so at this link:

http://www.metroplextbc.org/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=Tech%20Titans&category=Events