PinnedArchitect Roles and Responsibilities — How it works in Salesforce ITI have met with thousands of companies over my 25+ year career in IT and the titles, roles and responsibilities of architects are as varied as a box of chocolates. Personally I think that variances are fine — different companies need different architect roles and I’m not hung up on…Salesforce5 min read
Published in Analyst’s corner·Pinned5 Key Components of a Successful Enterprise Architecture Function5 Key Components of a Successful Enterprise Architecture Function — Creating and managing a successful Enterprise Architecture function requires a variety of different hard and soft skills. In addition, each company is different and the Enterprise Architecture function needs to calibrate and align itself to the specific company. However, there are five common features of a successful Enterprise Architecture function…Enterprise Architecture3 min read
PinnedData is a LifestyleI talk to a lot of customers in my role as IT CTO at Salesforce. Data always comes up in discussions with CIOs and CTOs. Actually, I can’t think of any recent conversation when data did not come up as a topic. Here are some thoughts on data that…Data3 min read
Published in Analyst’s corner·PinnedWhy Does a Company Need IT Enterprise Architecture (EA)?A simple analogy… When I present to companies about “Why does a company need an IT Enterprise Architecture team?”, I like to start with the following picture. I pose the question “Does this work?” to the audience… which of course elicits many responses. The typical responses are as follows: —…Enterprise Architecture2 min read
Published in Analyst’s corner·PinnedEnterprise Architecture Inside SalesforceEnterprise Architecture — How We Do It Internally The two words, “Enterprise Architecture”, elicit various reactions — everything from “we tried that and it doesn’t work” to “we need that!” to “we have an effective EA practice”. Unfortunately it is possible (even easy) to do Enterprise Architecture incorrectly, with an approach that is lethargic, technology-first and theoretical —…Enterprise Architecture4 min read
Jun 23Recessions are a Great Time for Business OptimizationYeah, I know. It’s counter-intuitive. Here’s the common thinking- “times are tough so cut IT”. It might be hard to believe but it’s during the downturns and slowdowns that you want to double-down on improving your IT systems. Why? When things are great (like the last 10 yrs) and companies…Business Transformation2 min read
Jun 20Enterprise Architecture — Adjusting to a Recessionary PeriodAs the global economy looks likely to enter a recessionary period, we can anticipate that companies will: reduce or eliminate employee hiring reduce contractors reduce corporate budgets and more carefully watch expenses In previous prolonged recessions, we have also seen companies ‘manage out the bottom x%’ of employees. Entering a…Recession6 min read
Apr 26Dealing with a Bad BossEventually in your career, you will have a bad boss. Someone who epitomizes bad characteristics such as being unethical, only caring about themselves, being insecure, taking credit for your work, etc. It’s impossible to articulate all the ways in which a manager can be a poor manager. …3 min read
Apr 24Illuminate — Business Model ExplorationOne of our world-class Salesforce Enterprise Architects, Jonathan Laudicina (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-laudicina/ ) has done amazing work on Business Model Exploration. I want to highlight some of his work and I think you’ll find it useful. As a reminder, Illuminate is the Enterprise Architecture Methodology that we use inside Salesforce as well…Enterprise Architecture3 min read
Apr 2What Really Matters…I announced my retirement last week on LinkedIn… Brett Colbert on LinkedIn: It has been an amazing 8+ years here at Salesforce and I have enjoyed |… It has been an amazing 8+ years here at Salesforce and I have enjoyed my various roles as IT CTO, Solutions CTO and…www.linkedin.com In a nutshell, the comments (400+ so far) confirmed for me what I have believed for a long time: During your professional career, the only thing that matters in the long run is how many people you have positively impacted.Coaching3 min read