As any Lakers fan knows, Zen philosophy has important management applications. Ancient Zen masters were famous for their kÅan, often-perplexing one-liners “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” Perhaps these ancient teachers were trying to communicate to their students that there are no easy answers and maybe today’s IT contracting gurus have picked up where they left off.
We’ve scanned our archives and come up with this collection of memorable quotes from our masters for those who seek enlightenment.
-
“The mistake is to assume cybersecurity is a technical issue, not an influence problem.“ – David Maxfield, author of Influencer
The master knows that security is more than firewalls and virus scans. Employees made hackers’ jobs easier in the 2005 NASA breach by using weak passwords like “administrator” or none at all.
-
“People typically think of accountability as holding somebody accountable if something goes wrong. I think of it in the broadest sense: When somebody achieves something, they ought to be recognized.“ – Tim Atkin, COO of SRA
The master understands that there are two sides to the coin of the human component. Encouraging airtight IS habits is just as important as discouraging sloppy ones.
-
“If you restrict yourself to a narrow focus there is the potential that you will miss out on some opportunities outside that area of expertise.” -Eric Wieman, VP of Civilian IT for Perot Systems
The master sees that the roulette wheel of profitability spins too quickly to place all of his chips on one square. Diversify to reap the profits of progress.
-
“Selling is not installing. Don't worry about the fact that you might not have the capabilities to execute on a project today, go ahead and do the selling. Then if you are successful in developing that win, work on the execution.“ -Rick Marcotte, CEO of DLT Solutions
The master always puts one foot before the other. Never over-commit, but in general, sell first and ask questions later. Where there’s a contract, there’s a way.