Customer Reviews

Keep the Joint Running: A Manifesto for 21st Century Information Technology

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4 star:		(1)
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I am probably not Bob's typical newsletter subscriber; I have been a CFO, a Controller, a General Manager and now a business owner. Although I have always been ultimately responsible for IT, I wouldn't call IT my "field". I stumbled upon one of Bob's newsletters 3-4 years ago and found it extremely insightful and well written. What really struck me, though, was how his newsletters applied to organizations as a whole, even though written for a narrower IT audience.

Over the years, I have collected his articles and refer to (and share) many of them again and again. With this book, Bob succeeds at bringing together a large body of work into a no-nonsense, indispensable reference for any manager looking for a leadership edge.

There are thousands upon thousands of books written about leadership. Some are good enough to warrant passing to a co-worker or boss after finishing it. This is one of those few books that you buy for your friends, co-workers or boss(es), because you don't want to give up your copy of it.

A grizzled veteran gave me some great advice regarding the IT fads several decades ago: "those analysts who have not applied these techniques to real data are extremely optimistic about the results."

Bob's book is written from the perspective of my 'grizzled veteran." Since IT became a profession (Bob may argue whether it is a profession) there have been a string of "sure fire" solutions to all of the problems in the profession. The book "outs" a number of these and develops the needed skepticism for confronting the others.

Outcomes are what matter. As long as your techniques are simple, legal and ethical, focus on the outcome. Reading Bob's KJR book and essays will help you keep that focus.

John Blair

This book is like a breath of fresh air blowing away stale hyperbole. Way too many IT "experts" are really just experts at "talking/communicating/selling" and not executing. They sell good sounding ideas which they have no idea how to implement - they leave those details to their subordinates (or clients', if they are consultants). This book clearly shows issues with many "accepted best practices" and also shows straightforward solutions to the real problems.

For those who have not read Bob Lewis before, he expertly blends humor with concise, useful information resulting in a book that reads very quickly yet delivers real value.

The specific areas the book addresses include general management, metrics, processes, IT value, the "internal customers" metaphor, running IT as a business, decision making, and staff. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough.

Bob Lewis is one of the clearest, and clearest-thinking, writers on management and leadership I know. His insights and advice are spot-on, very well expressed and lightened with just the right amount of humor. Presented as a series of chapters that can be read in sequence or individually, the value of his guidance extends far beyond technology; every manager and leader I know could benefit from the core truths and balanced viewpoints Bob presents. I wish I'd had the benefit of his advice when I was an IT manager in a corporate environment; both my staff and my superiors would have benefited as much as I would.

A concise 13 chapters (in about 225 pages) that describes what managing an IT organization is really (or should be) about. It provides concrete advice on what works and how to improve your organization.

My favorite chapter (right now) is Chapter 7: "Before you can be strategic, you have to be competent." The general idea is that it is better to do the wrong things well, than the right things badly (you'll at least be trusted). I really like Bob's reasoning behind this conclusion, and his "Help Desk Ploy" has been invaluable. What I've gained from this short chapter alone has been worth the price of the book. You might even want to buy two and share.

Bob Lewis is a slayer of many of the sacred cows of the IT world. Some of these are:

- Internal customers

- Run IT as a business

- The "waterfall" software development model

- IT "owned" projects

- IT vs. the rest of the company thinking

- The value of large projects vs. small-step, incremental approaches

- Expecting software development methods to produce "magical" solutions

- And finally, "trusting your gut" instead of "using your head"

Bob slays these cows, and more, with just the right amount of humor and humility. Really, you will probably come back for more copies if you buy just one to start -- so buy at least three!

I am reusing Bob's wisdom "Customers complain about quality and delight when they get excellence". Well, I am plainly delighted after going thru such an excellent book . This is especially suited for these trying times when companies are trying to simultaneously reduce cost and deliver more things without impacting the customer.Sounds familiar ! For me the single most important point which stands out is the way Bob explains about 'Running I.T business like' and not the other way around (Running I.T as a business).

Read this book and recommend to some one higher in the food chain and keep the joints runnning for our future .

Bob's big picture is always containing the people aspect, and same as his weekly blog [...] , it always touches some nerve by relating with the ongoing trend of dehumanizing of business ,especially the biggest ones.

My main reservation with this book is that Bob continues to target his existing constituency with titles that make his books out to be "IT" books. This one is about leadership, management, organizational behavior, and problem solving, admittedly with particular emphasis on IT issue. Most of the book covers, in a carefully considered and clearly presented fashion things any manager or leader needs to thing about. Further, since no business of any size functions today without IT, the time spent on IT-specific issues is unlikely to be wasted time for most readers. This is the kind of book that ought to be required reading for anyone (MBA or not) who seeks to influence, or even to understand, how people work together.

Another reviewer described the book as "an easy read" - while it's a fairly fun and quick read, I describe it as more thought provoking than easy.

If you're not in a position to hire Bob personally, this book contains frameworks and ideas worth far more than its cost. If I could have read and absorbed this stuff years ago, my career to date would be more successful and satisfying.

I have been a subscriber to Bob Lewis's weekly newsletters for several years. Time is short these days... but it will never be too short for me to apportion some for reviewing Bob's insights. I frequently reference the ideas that I learn and clarrify based on his perspectives. This book is a concentrated dose of Bob's weekly wisdom.

I've subscribed to the newsletter version from Bob for some years now and I find snippets each week that make me step back and re-think what I'm doing. This book jibes with my personal sense of fairness and ethics and gives me more ways to discuss technology without alienating other employees while helping reach the goals I've set for me and my team.