Start reading Boiling the IT Frog on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

 
 
 

Try it free

Sample the beginning of this book for free

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

Read books on your computer or other mobile devices with our FREE Kindle Reading Apps.
Boiling the IT Frog: How to Make Your Business Information Technology Wildly Successful Without Having to Learn Anything Technical
 
 

Boiling the IT Frog: How to Make Your Business Information Technology Wildly Successful Without Having to Learn Anything Technical [Kindle Edition]

Harwell Thrasher
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Digital List Price: $9.99 What's this?
Print List Price: $19.95
Prime Members: $0.00 (read for free) Prime Eligible
Kindle Purchase Price: $9.99
When Purchased, You Save: $9.96 (50%)

  • Includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet

For Kindle Device Owners

Borrow this book for free, with no due dates, if you are a Kindle owner and Prime member. If you don't own a Kindle, get yours today. If you're not a Prime member, start your one month free trial today. You can borrow this book from your Kindle device.

With Prime, Kindle owners can choose from thousands of books to borrow for free — including over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers — as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. Learn more about Kindle Owners' Lending Library.

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $9.99  
Paperback $19.95  


Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Driving a car doesn't require knowledge of cylinder heads and compression ratios, and you don't have to understand software and hardware to make optimum use of Information Technology. It's the people managing and using the technology who are important - not the technology itself - and this is a book about those people, their limitations in coping with technology, and how they can better deal with those limitations. This book is for everyone who is frustrated with Information Technology, and for every non-technical person who is at the mercy of a seemingly uncooperative IT organization. It's for business people who want to better understand IT, and for IT people who want to know why their jobs are so difficult and unappreciated. Every manager, executive and knowledge worker in today's world uses information systems, and most of these people have a relationship - good or bad - with some part of an IT organization. This book gives you the information you need to improve your relationship with IT.

About the Author

Harwell Thrasher is an author, speaker and advisor specializing in the human side of Information Technology. Harwell shows IT and business people how to work together more effectively by taking the magic out of IT. He sometimes describes himself as a “jiggler” because he helps unstick companies and IT organizations who are stuck in their old ways of doing things. Harwell founded MakingITclear, Inc. in 2002 after more than thirty years of experience working in and around IT organizations. In those thirty years Harwell developed and managed systems, created an Internet payroll product, totally revamped the systems and processes for a financial services business, performed technology due diligence for over twenty acquisitions in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Switzerland, and helped acquired companies integrate their IT strategies with the strategy of the acquiring company. A graduate of MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Harwell is an Atlanta native. See Harwell’s web site at www.makingITclear.com for more information and for a free monthly email newsletter.

Product Details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 771 KB
  • Print Length: 195 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1419664158
  • Publisher: MakingITclear, Inc. (March 27, 2007)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B001E5CUJY
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #252,457 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  •  Would you like to give feedback on images?


 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars If your looking at moving up the ladder or having trouble with your IT staff get this book., October 28, 2007
Working as a support agent for a good number of years you start to pick things. This book points out a lot of the obvious, but goes on to explain why it is the way it is. I have and would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to progress their IT department or have a problem with their IT department. The book talks from high level, so if your looking for a technical manual this isn't your book. Great graduation present for any computer/management major.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Insights for Non-Technical Leaders, August 19, 2008
By 
S. Savell (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews
I was searching for resources that would help explain technology concepts in a straight-forward and uncomplicated manner to my non-technical peers when I came across "Boiling the IT Frog". After reading the book, I decided to purchase additional copies to share. Mr. Thrasher has done a very nice job at not only explaining key aspects of technology he has also provided solid insights regarding the individuals who have chosen technology as a profession - very helpful for those folks who just don't get technology and technical people.

This book also provides some good insights for the technical staff - helping them understand what it means to be a "wizard" and why that's not necessarily a good thing. The book provides good lessons for the business - the total business.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars kris, September 22, 2007
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
Great Reading! Should be read by all IT professionals, Business users and management. If only we come to realization - IT is for solving business problems, not IT for the sake of IT, we would be in great shape today.. But I think, this book is a step forward in that direction.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews



Only search this product's reviews



More About the Author

Harwell Thrasher is an author, commentator, strategist and former IT executive who focuses on the human side of Information Technology (which is where things usually go wrong), helps businesses to better understand and communicate with their technology organizations, and helps IT people better align their work to business needs. Harwell founded MakingITclear, Inc. in 2002 after more than thirty years of previous experience in Information Technology.

Harwell is known for providing a unique perspective on the difficult problems confronting IT and business organizations. He often explains complicated issues using simple metaphors and parables. His non-technical explanations of technology make it easily apparent that IT is no different from any other organization staffed by humans - it just uses more expensive tools.

The word "magic" comes up a lot in Harwell's writing and speaking. He cites magic - an unreasonable expectation of illogical results - as the prime source of miscommunication between business and IT. Indeed, sometimes Harwell's purpose in life seems to be to destroy the inappropriate magic that leads to IT misperception and failure. By eliminating the magic, Harwell hopes to raise the overall reputation of IT people.

Currently, many IT organizations are perceived as kind of like that sleazy car repair place by the side of the highway that you have to go to because your car breaks down right beside it. You don't really want to use their services, but you feel like you've got no choice. You know you'll probably be overcharged - maybe even cheated - and you just want to get your car fixed and get out of there.

Harwell's hope is that he can turn this attitude around, clean up the sleazy IT "garages," and turn IT into a respected partner for business - a partner who works side by side with the CEO and senior business executives to make dramatic improvements in the processes used by the business, and makes business systems easy to use and even fun.

Harwell has been writing and publishing a monthly email newsletter for CIO's since April, 2003, and that newsletter has now evolved into a blog. In 2007 Harwell published his first book, "Boiling the IT Frog: How to Make Your Business Information Technology Wildly Successful Without Having to Learn Anything Technical" which explains IT issues to a business audience, and gives business people advice on how to improve the effectiveness of their IT organizations.

Harwell is also a popular speaker for gatherings of current and future IT executives, and for groups of people who work closely with IT. He is able to describe the IT life experience with humor and from a fresh perspective, and the resulting insight helps the audience better cope with their situation at work.


Popular Highlights

 (What's this?)
&quote;
have each IT person work in a business job for a day (or just watch) to get a better perspective on user needs and frustrations. &quote;
Highlighted by 6 Kindle users
&quote;
To say this another way, when the function of software is understood by its users, then the users are likely to sanity check the result and catch any error. But once the software has gotten so complicated that the process is no longer understood by the users, then the software has crossed the line into magic, and the users develop an unreasonable trust in the system. &quote;
Highlighted by 6 Kindle users
&quote;
Fundamentally, the amount of money that a company needs to spend on IT infrastructure is directly related to the companys tolerance for risk. &quote;
Highlighted by 6 Kindle users

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


So You'd Like to...


Create a guide

Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject