PS Pulse Articles by: tminick

Impact of SaaS on Consulting Engagements: A Customer View

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By Tom Minick, Managing Director, Catalyst Advisors - December 1, 2011

The jury has voted: SaaS is here to stay. I believe that’s a good thing. I’ve been involved in the movement to move enterprise software “off premise” from the early days of the technology, and I am a diehard advocate. Not only does SaaS deliver the obvious benefits – no hardware procurement and deployment, no need to deal with upgrades, rapid deployment, c ...Read More

Metrics that Matter: Quality vs. Quantity

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By Tom Minick, Management Consultant, Catalyst Advisors - August 25, 2010

Gauges on the boiler…business analytics…scorecards…performance management…the list goes on. The software industry’s focus on measuring and reporting business activity is large, vibrant and growing – and for good reason. As leaders it is essential for us to know how well our business is performing. In fact it’s critical, especially as a business g ...Read More

Four Disciplines Tiger Woods Can Teach a PS Leader on How to Improve Their Business

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By Tom Minick, Management Consultant, Catalyst Advisors - August 12, 2009

You may be tempted to tune out of this article because you think it’s an easy answer. Simply have incredible skill, be maniacally focused and ultra competitive and bingo, there’s the magical Tiger Woods formula. Right? Not so fast. After all, Tom Watson and Phil Mickelson also possess those very same traits and neither has a chance to surpass Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 maj ...Read More

Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie & Business Intelligence

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By Tom Minick, Principal, Catalyst Advisors - March 11, 2009

Spring time.  The snow is melting and it’s a time of renewal. The first buds are appearing on the trees, golfers in the Midwest and East Coast are getting in their first muddy rounds and the sounds of the crack of the bat and the ball thumping into the catcher’s glove can be heard loud and clear across Arizona and Florida. America’s past time is about to give us all so ...Read More

What Wolfgang Puck, Tom Colicchio and Other Celebrity Chefs Can Teach Us About Marketing Our Services

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By Tom Minick, Principal, Catalyst Advisors - September 22, 2008

Over the course of my career I have observed that both consulting companies and IT organizations generally do a horrible job of marketing, selling and communicating. I’ve discussed this with many of my colleagues over the years and found that not only do they usually agree with me, but many actually take pride in doing a bad job!!!! Technically-oriented professionals seem to have somet ...Read More

What Political Campaigns Can Teach Service Leaders

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By Tom Minick, Principal, Catalyst Advisors - May 29, 2008

Politics and religion are two topics my mother told me to avoid unless I wanted the conversation to end in an argument. However, given that politics is the “topic of the year” (and was also in the forefront for the better part of last year!) it provides an interesting framework for discussing an issue of critical importance for all leaders: meaningful communication. Communication ...Read More