Bad IT management habits: Break them before they break you

Computerworld - Every worker develops a few bad habits -- maybe more than a few -- as the years on the job add up. IT pros are no exception: They lose focus or jump to conclusions or put off niggling tasks that could be finished in minutes.

It doesn't have to be that way. Identifying and understanding bad work habits might require a bit of soul-searching, but the benefits of such introspection can be myriad, workplace experts say.

By taking the time to step back and understand their particular stumbling blocks, IT managers stand to improve not only their ability to work productively, but also their job satisfaction, says Michael Ehling, a business consultant and a career coach with Balance Coaching in Toronto.

"Stepping back gives you 'soak time' to think, dream, consider, ponder. Instead of running around fighting fires all the time, you get time to focus on the bigger picture," says Ehling, who has a background in IT and coaches mostly technology executives and managers. And that, he says, can spur tech managers to "develop more constructive habits that will improve productivity and effectiveness."

Computerworld asked a few brave high-tech pros to 'fess up about their worst work habits. True to IT form, these managers were less concerned with peccadilloes like nail-biting and leg-jiggling than with bigger-picture challenges like staying on task, becoming better organized and thinking strategically.

Here's a look at their views on their bad work habits and ways they plan to break them. Who knows? You just might recognize a little bit of yourself in their stories.

Gordon Jaquay doesn't deal well with interruptions. He'll stop what he's working on to answer a co-worker's question or to deal with a technology problem that arises, then find himself struggling to refocus on the task at hand.

"Getting back to your train of thought after a conversation, trying to find where you were -- whether you were coding or in the middle of a proposal -- that's hard," says the IT manager at Venchurs Inc., a packaging and warehousing company with 125 employees in Adrian, Mich. "There are so many things thrown at us in IT, it's easy to get distracted."

Tech professionals may find distractions particularly irksome, since they typically perform -- and prefer -- tasks that are logical and linear, and therefore require blocks of uninterrupted time to complete.

Tech execs attending Computerworld's Premier 100 IT Leaders conference discuss bad habits -- their own, and those of their IT departments. This independent paper from senior analyst Jon Collins at FreeForm Dynamics considers how Web-based security threats are evolving, within the context of IT trends including mobile, home computing and other forms of remote access that could potentially increase the attack surface of the companies. It defines the scale and types of threat, what to look for in a corporate web security solution and compares the different types of technological approach available to companies and the processes that need to be considered for effective protection.

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Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

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Social-networking sites have revolutionized how businesses use the Internet. Instead of relying on faltering newspapers to find job candidates, companies can access thousands of potential employees through Facebook and Twitter. But social-networking sites have also left businesses vulnerable to new security threats. So are they tools to be used or security traps to be avoided?

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Download PPC: Know These Tips Before You Start

If you are perusing SEO-software reviews to look for PPC software, it is important to keep a few things in mind — especially if you are new to pay-per-click advertising.

First, the overall approach to keyword research is (usually) the same whether one is looking for organic or PPC traffic: the so-called “long-tail” is better. For example, if your website sells music downloads, it is better to target “[band name] mp3 downloads” rather than merely “music.” In terms of organic traffic, people searching for “music” may be looking for websites ranging from “music sheets” to “music equipment” to “music theory.”

Download PPC

Very few of these individuals will be interested specifically in “music downloads,” so it is typically a waste of time and money to optimize a website for a general keyword like “music” — the click-through rate in Google’s search-results will be extremely low. Moreover, it will take forever to rank on the first page of Google for such a generic term since too many SEO and SEM marketers target so-called short-tail terms — in order to attract the high level of traffic for the general term — because they do not know what they are doing.

The same problems exist when targeting generic keywords in PPC campaigns. Take the prior example. The per-click price for a PPC strategy that focuses on “music” will likely be extremely high since, again, most online-marketers do not know what they are doing. The high demand for the keyword — though a poor target in itself — drives the bidding-prices skyward. Fewer people target “[band name] mp3 downloads,” so the price will be lower. (Disclosure: I have not pulled the exact data for these terms since the principle generally holds true. Of course, exceptions will exist — but they prove the rule.)

Here is the takeaway: It is better (and cheaper!) to have ten people click on a PPC advertisement when eight will likely make a purchase rather than have 100 people click on the ad when only five will generate revenue. It is all about the likely conversion-rate. The more narrow and “niche” the focus — the cheaper the keyword, the greater the sales, and the higher the ROI of the PPC campaign.

Second, ignore the Google Adwords option to have your PPC advertisements appear first — for a higher price — within horizontal or vertical blocks of PPC ads. All online-marketers understand that the tops of websites, pages, and blog posts are pieces of “real estate” that have higher values than items further down as far as clicks, conversions, and ad placements. But the issue is a little more-complicated than it first appears.

The nature of this observation — which is indeed accurate — stems the fact that fewer people scroll down towards the bottoms of websites or blog. As a result, the items appearing at the top will be viewed by all visitors — even if they leave a site quickly (“exit,” in SEO terms) — but those at the bottom will not.

Still, take a moment to remember how PPC ads appear in Google search-results:

These are the Google search-results that appeared when I searched for “seo” (from my home in Israel, hence the targeted PPC results). The Wikipedia entry appears first in the organic results, but the PPC advertisements are above that entry. In addition, paid results are listed at the top of the right-hand sidebar.

PPC ads appear without the user needing to scroll to the bottom of the page to see them (since Google’s primary function, just like any company, is to earn revenue). If a native English-speaker scans the page, he will see all of the paid advertisements within a fraction of a second — regardless of the order in which they appear. (If you are reading this from another country, insert your language of choice.)

The take-away: The PPC-cost for advertising-placements is higher for a top ranking within these two blocks since many SEO marketers, again, believe that “first” is always better. But this is a case when the exception is more important than the rule. Do not waste money to gain a higher placement within the blocks when it is not necessary.

When looking for download PPC-software reviews, be sure to analyze how the platforms function. If they do not generate the best, niche keywords at the lowest prices, look elsewhere.

Should you buy a house before it's too late

You better buy a house in this market before it's too late.

How many times have you heard those words? The panic thinking is driven partially by prices continuing to rise to record levels but also by the sense that near-record-low interest rates could rise at any moment.

The sense of desperation to buy now out of fear you won't be able to get it tomorrow is probably one of the first things taught to any sales person. Create a sense of urgency.

"There's six left on the shelf, nope, it's down to five," jokes certified financial planner Ted Rechtshaffen, president of TriDelta Financial. "It's an interesting phrase."

Mr. Rechtshaffen says his clients are not uttering panic words but you have to wonder whether Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of Canada, might have been hearing them before making a speech to the Vancouver Chamber of Commerce this month.

"One cannot totally discount the possibility that some pockets of the Canadian housing market are taking on characteristics of financial asset markets, where expectations can dominate underlying forces of supply and demand," Mr. Carney said. "The risk is that expectations become extrapolative, prompting the classic market emotions of greed and fear -greed among speculators and investors -and fear among households that getting a foot on the property ladder is a now-or-never proposition."

It's hard to measure desperation, but a recent survey from Toronto-Dominion Bank on first-time homebuyers might imply there is some urgency in the marketplace.

The survey found 45% of Canadians are willing to buy their home independently without a co-signer. Traditionally people wait until they are married to buy that first home but now they want to establish equity early so they can get their foot in the market.

More worrisome out of the TD report was the statistic that buyers are doing less research before jumping in. The bank said mortgage pre-approvals are down to 72% from 84% a year ago and home inspections have dropped from 85% to 67% during the same period. The report also shows declining percentages for buyers researching issues like electricity and closing costs.

It all sounds like somebody in a hurry to buy or at least in a bit more of a rush.

"I think people see affordability is still there. The employment numbers are strong and rates are relatively still low," says Farhaneh Haque, regional manager of mobile mortgage specialists with TD Canada Trust. "In part there is a sense or urgency because they are worried about rates and unsure of what the markets will do."

Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist at CIBC World Markets, says the Bank of Canada is partly to blame for some of the urgency in the market because of the uncertainty over rates.

"People feel the window is closing," Mr. Tal says. "People have been talking about the Bank of Canada raising rates. They look and say rates will be one or 1.5% [percentages points higher] next year. There is some logic to it."

He adds that if you look at trends over the past 20 years on what happens before rate announcements, you see an acceleration of activity before the announcement.

"Look at the last year and half and we've had this sense of urgency," says Mr. Tal, adding it has driven housing in Canada since the recession. "The real estate market has like nine lives."

It's easy to say wait until the market crashes in cities like Vancouver, where prices are up 25% from a year ago. But if rates go up, it could be just as expensive to carry a home.

Queen's University professor John Andrew says it's in the real estate industry's interests to promote the idea prices will rise forever. But while he thinks it's obvious in places like Vancouver there will be a price correction, it doesn't help you if interest rates go up.

"You see a 10% price correction but if interest rates go up two [percentage points], you are not better off," Prof. Andrew says. "Buyers are caught in this quandary that when interest rates go up, prices will come down."

If you are sitting on the housing sidelines, it might seem like you can't win either way.

gmarr@nationalpost.com