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Growth Done Right
For companies as well as people, growth is more than
the pursuit of opportunities.
BY DARWIN A. JOHN
A FEW YEARS AGO, I attended a session
at which management expert Peter Drucker was speaking. At
the end of the presentation, one of the participants approached
Drucker with a personal question. He said he had a son,
a senior in high school, who was trying to settle on what
to study as he tried to envision his future and career.
The man then asked Drucker what he considered to be the
most promising fields of the future that his son should
consider pursuing. I will never forget Drucker's response:
"You asked the wrong question," he said. "What
are your son's strengths and natural gifts? What he decides
to pursue in his life and in his career should be aligned
with those gifts. Then he will be successful."
Just like this well-meaning father, well-meaning executives
ask the wrong questions about growth—and in doing
so miss the true opportunities awaiting their companies
as the economy expands. Traditionally, businesspeople have
thought of growth as entering an expanding market or adding
a new product in hopes of increasing revenues. But that's
only one of four dimensions of growth, and it is not the
most important. What does growth really mean? Successful
growth starts with being clear on what our purpose is, and
on what we want to accomplish as a corporation. This is
the most important dimension. The second most important
is being clear on what strengths we have that we can leverage
to that end. Without purpose, growth is meaningless and
chaotic; without strengths, successful growth is impossible.
Only when we've determined the first two should we turn
to the third: what we might add in terms of new product
lines, acquisitions or capabilities. The fourth dimension
of growth is determining what products, product lines or
companies we need to shed because they lie outside our corporate
purpose or strengths.
I can vouch for this approach. When Phil Lippincott became
the CEO of the Scott Paper Co., in 1982, I was the CIO and,
later, the member of the executive committee responsible
for strategic planning and corporate development. At the
time, Phil looked around and determined two things: One,
that Scott Paper was a global business; it was not two separate
businesses, a domestic business and an international business.
We needed to think about how to optimize the business as
a whole. Two, we needed to become better focused and put
a growth strategy in place. So, using this approach to growth,
we asked ourselves a series of questions: What were our
core strengths? How did these core strengths distinguish
us in the marketplace and from our competitors? Some strengths
were papermaking technology, the management of papermaking
technology and the capabilities of our commercial paper
sales force. Still others were some of our products and
brands, such as Scott towels and Scott tissue. The next
question we asked ourselves was what abilities or products
should we add, by developing ourselves or acquiring other
companies, that would complement or round out our core strength.
Finally, we asked what businesses or products do we now
have that don't really fit this core strength? Scott, like
many companies in the decade before, had diversified widely.
In looking at our strengths, we decided Scott Paper should
focus on two business areas—tissue-based paper and
printing paper—and that we should roll out our brands
into more countries with the help of creative advertising.
We decided we needed to look globally at where we had an
edge in papermaking technology, and then to introduce these
technologies to plants that didn't have them, in or outside
the U.S., to reduce costs. And we decided to shed some businesses—leisure
furniture, lighting fixtures and foam rubber—that
didn't fit well into that pattern. It was a good plan; according
to BusinessWeek, by 1990, the year I left Scott Paper, the
company had become the world's largest supplier of toilet
tissue, paper napkins and paper towels, with sales of $5.4
billion in some 20 countries. (This was four years before
the board of directors appointed Al Dunlap—commonly
referred to as "Chainsaw Al" —as Phil Lippincott's
replacement.)
In the years since, I've realized that this approach to
growth applies just as well to coaching individuals, or
organizing teams of people (such as the team that makes
up the office of the CIO), as it does to corporate strategy.
For the CIO, the first step is to help people or teams become
clear about their purpose or mission. After that, he or
she should identify the strengths of the individual or team.
The CIO should think about the talents the individuals or
team members may have, and the capabilities they possess
based on their experiences, training or academic background.
Once these strengths are identified, consider what they
might add in terms of new knowledge, disciplines or ways
of thinking that can complement their existing strengths.
The final step is to identify what might be getting in the
way and should be shed. Again, these are habits, behaviors,
ways of thinking and so on. In the case of the office of
the CIO, the members might need to add more of a team mind-set
and collaborative leadership approach and move away from
a command-and-control leadership style. Shedding would mean
the offloading of CIO responsibilities to other members
of the team by matching roles to the strengths and weaknesses
of the members.
For corporate strategists, looking at how to differentiate
your company—and at what your company needs to do
to make the most of that competitive edge—is one of
the most pleasurable challenges of the role. But in business
as in personal life, the hardest part, both intellectually
and emotionally, is letting go. It's easier to see those
areas in which we feel like we do better than our competition,
but it's always hard to admit where we don't. I think one
of the biggest follies of many leaders in business is hanging
on too long when something isn't going as well as they'd
like. The inclination of too many leaders is to say, "I'm
the best problem-solver ever, and I can fix that."
They continue to try and fix something until long after
they should have cut their losses and moved on.
The same goes for people. In one of my earlier positions,
I knew a man in the information-and-communications department
whom I'll call Robert Stevens. His career goal was to be
what we then called a liaison to our customers. This required
excellent communications skills. Robert's accent was such
that, at times, it was difficult to understand what he was
saying. He was taking night classes at a university to improve
his ability to speak and communicate. I remember sitting
with Robert and trying to help him accept the thought that
one builds a successful career (and I would add a successful
life) by leveraging his or her strengths. We all know people
who probably spend their whole lives working on their weaknesses.
I believe we need to overcome our weaknesses to some level
of acceptability, but success does not come by overcoming
weakness. Success ultimately comes from building and leveraging
our strengths. Robert had great technical strengths. He
accepted the notion of shifting his career objective to
leverage his strengths, and his career took off.
To survive as a person, a team or a company, growth is
required. But it must be based on purpose and strength,
as well as on an honest appraisal of weaknesses, or it cannot
be sustained. That's a good point to keep in mind as CIOs
participate in their company's strategy sessions. It would
be a shame to pursue an expanding market only to see it
collapse when the next economic slowdown occurs, and find
yourself asking: "What could I have done differently?"
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Darwin A. John has held CIO-level positions at the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, and the Scott Paper Co. He is currently an advisor
to the director of the FBI and to Blackwell Consulting Services
in Chicago.
Fuente: CIOinsight.com |
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Citrix Ships MetaFrame Access Suite 3.0, Delivering Management Infrastructure and SmoothRoaming for Consistent, Mobile Access That’s Always On
Por: Citrix
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New
Versions of Suite Products Enhance Security,
Mobility, Flexibility, Productivity and
Performance
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. —
4/27/2004 — Citrix Systems,
Inc. (Nasdaq:CTXS), the global leader
in access infrastructure solutions, today
introduced Citrix® MetaFrame®
Access Suite 3.0, the world’s most
widely deployed software for providing
a single, secure and well-managed point
of access to enterprise applications and
information on demand. MetaFrame Access
Suite 3.0 delivers usability improvements
with SmoothRoaming, a new capability that
ensures consistent mobile access that
is always on, and allows computing environments
to follow users across locations, devices
and access outages. A second key feature
of the new release is a common management
interface that enables IT administrators
to observe and measure access infrastructure
performance across the global enterprise.
The Citrix MetaFrame Access Suite 3.0
further delivers on the promise that Citrix
made just over a year ago, to provide
customers with a complete and integrated
access infrastructure solution that transforms
organizations into productive, mobile
and flexible on-demand enterprises. This
new version of the MetaFrame Access Suite
delivers unsurpassed security, mobility,
flexibility, productivity and performance.
Specifically, it offers many new capabilities
including the comprehensive management
of MetaFrame Presentation Server, the
mobility and flexibility benefits of MetaFrame
Secure Access Manager, the single sign-on
(SSO) and password security offered by
MetaFrame Password Manager, and the collaborative
resources of MetaFrame Conferencing Manager.
”Beverly Healthcare is recognized
as a nationwide leader in healthcare services
for the elderly. The Citrix MetaFrame
Access Suite is central to our access
strategy, providing our 57,000 nurses,
clinicians and other employees with easy
and instant access to clinical applications
and information,” said David Valcik,
vice president of technical services for
Beverly Enterprises. “Secure access
to timely, accurate patient data plays
a critical role in providing the highest
level of service for our patients. The
SmoothRoaming capability of the MetaFrame
Access Suite will give us the ability
to roam throughout our facilities and
enables the teams to be more productive,
ensuring that our patients continue to
receive the best care available.”
The Citrix MetaFrame Access Suite is
the easiest way for organizations to provide
a secure, single point of access to enterprise
applications and information on demand,
while ensuring a consistent user experience
anywhere, anytime, using any device, over
any connection. Unlike costly “point”
products that require extensive and expensive
implementation, integration and management,
the MetaFrame Access Suite is an integrated
infrastructure that provides organizations
the portfolio of access options they need
to execute on their access strategy. Each
component product of the MetaFrame Access
Suite solves a particular access challenge
for an organization, while all of the
products work together seamlessly to power
the on-demand enterprise.
Benefits and New Features of
MetaFrame Access Suite 3.0
Security
- Enterprise single sign-on:
Citrix MetaFrame Password Manager provides
password security and enterprise single
sign-on access to any application or
information resource.
- A secure platform for regulatory
compliance: Citrix MetaFrame Presentation
Server raises the bar in IT administration,
providing greater levels of control
over security and design capabilities
that meet internal standards and government
regulations. When an enterprise’s
core business involves sensitive information
about its customers – such as
in the healthcare industry – customers
can be confident about the privacy of
their information.
- SSL gateway protection: MetaFrame
Secure Access Manager protects access
to application and information resources
so that users can work securely from
anywhere.
Mobility
- Enabling the global on-demand
enterprise: MetaFrame Access Suite
enables customers to optimize their
IT environments and mobilize their organizations.
With an access strategy based on Citrix
solutions, organizations can become
on-demand enterprises, with the ability
to generate new business, reach new
customers and drive new products and
services with efficiency and greater
coordination.
- Access email from anywhere:
MetaFrame Secure Access Manager enables
mobile workers to securely synchronize
a locally installed Outlook application
from anywhere, whether connected over
the Web or within the enterprise.
Flexibility
- Maximize product license utilization:
MetaFrame Presentation Server and MetaFrame
Conferencing Manager utilize On-Demand
Licensing, the MetaFrame Access Suite’s
new centralized license-management architecture.
This greatly reduces the administration
of license management and enables customers
to use each MetaFrame Access Suite license
to its best advantage. In addition,
it eliminates the need to install, activate,
and manage individual licenses, making
it easier for customers to administer
the MetaFrame Access Suite across server
farms from a single point of administration.
The new licensing management is also
integrated with Citrix Subscription
Advantage™, making it easy to
add additional licenses as an enterprise
grows and its access needs expand.
- Integration with alternative user
interfaces: MetaFrame Secure Access
Manager allows administrators to securely
integrate existing intranets, Web pages
and enterprise portals into their access
infrastructure while leveraging MetaFrame
Secure Access Manager’s role-based
access control, MetaFrame Presentation
Server integration, and SSL-based secure
connectivity.
- Authentication in heterogeneous
environments: MetaFrame Password
Manager supports an expanded list of
operating systems, including Novell.
Additionally, administrators can increase
authentication options with support
for certificate-based smart cards, allowing
organizations requiring the highest
level of security to use these device-based
authentication systems.
Productivity
- Uninterrupted access: The
SmoothRoaming capabilities of the MetaFrame
Access Suite allow a user to switch
devices and move between locations automatically
and without interruption. With this
functionality users can work in a wired
or wireless environment, temporarily
stop working on a device and later securely
pick up where they left off without
having to re-login and re-start applications
on another device. This persistent access
greatly increases user productivity
by ensuring uninterrupted and consistent
access to the information they need
to do their jobs.
- Collaborative work environments:
MetaFrame Conferencing Manager provides
intuitive application conferencing to
eliminate the geographical distance
between team members, increase the productivity
of meetings, and allow easy collaboration.
Now organizations can securely extend
application conferencing beyond employees
to include customers, partners, suppliers
and other individuals that do not have
access to the internal network.
Performance
- Improved management and control
of IT resources: The Management
Console for the MetaFrame Access Suite
allows IT staff to perform administrative
functions for their MetaFrame Access
Suite through a common, easy-to-use
interface. MetaFrame Presentation Server
3.0 enhances the management of large
server farms, giving IT administrators
in global enterprises the ability to
more efficiently manage their systems,
and small and medium enterprises the
confidence that their architecture will
grow with their needs. Administrators
can now view applications, servers and
zones in multiple farms; manage sessions
and perform searches across multiple
farms; monitor the performance of server
farms and create reports to analyze
MetaFrame Presentation Server deployments,
providing expanded insight into their
overall IT environment. Organizations
can now align business with IT through
expanded policy management, improve
operational effectiveness through delegated
administration, and increase control
of the IT environment in the face of
business continuity challenges. MetaFrame
Presentation Server 3.0 also guarantees
uninterrupted access to information,
providing more robust business continuity
strategies for mobile, wired and wireless
users, and facilitating a more consistent
and better-performing system experience
for users.
- Multi-media performance:
SpeedScreen™ Acceleration greatly
increases the performance of multi-media
applications and Web content such as
audio, video, image, and Macromedia
Flash files.
”Citrix has broken an industry
record by delivering an integrated access
infrastructure suite just over one year
after we announced it,” said Tony
Marzulli, senior vice president of marketing
at Citrix. ”This milestone is very
significant for our on-demand enterprise
customers who are seeking to align IT
with the rest of their business.”
Pricing and Availability
- Citrix MetaFrame Access Suite 3.0
– For new Citrix customers who
need interoperable access infrastructure
to manage, measure, and monitor user
access to IT services. This package
includes Citrix MetaFrame Presentation
Server for Windows, Citrix MetaFrame
Secure Access Manager, Citrix MetaFrame
Password Manager, and Citrix MetaFrame
Conferencing Manager. It has a Suggested
Retail Price (SRP) of $599 per concurrent
user.
- Citrix MetaFrame Access Suite 3.0,
Step-up Edition – For existing
MetaFrame Presentation Server for Windows
customers who wish to transform their
application access solution into an
access infrastructure solution. This
package includes MetaFrame Secure Access
Manager, MetaFrame Password Manager,
and MetaFrame Conferencing Manager.
It has an SRP of $299 per concurrent
user.
- Citrix MetaFrame Access Suite 3.0,
Migration Edition – For existing
MetaFrame Presentation Server customers
who need to migrate to the most complete
access infrastructure solution available
today. This package includes MetaFrame
Presentation Server for Windows, MetaFrame
Secure Access Manager, MetaFrame Password
Manager, and MetaFrame Conferencing
Manager. It has an SRP of $399 per concurrent
user.
The MetaFrame Access Suite is available
for purchase under the Easy, Open and
Flex licensing models. Prices include
Citrix Subscription Advantage™,
which offers automatic, priority access
to the latest product upgrades and enhancements.
For more information on the Citrix MetaFrame
Access Suite please visit http://www.citrix.com/accesssuite.
About Citrix
Citrix Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CTXS) is
the global leader in access infrastructure
solutions and the most trusted name in
secure access for enterprises and individuals.
Nearly 50 million people in more than
120,000 organizations around the world
use Citrix every day. Our software gives
people secure and well-managed access
to business information wherever it lives—on
demand. Citrix customers include 100%
of the Fortune 100 companies, 99% of the
Fortune 500, and 92% of the Fortune Global
500. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
Citrix has offices in 22 countries, and
more than 7,000 channel and alliance partners
in more than 100 countries. For more information
visit http://www.citrix.com.
For Citrix Investors
This release contains forward-looking
statements which are made pursuant to
the safe harbor provisions of Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934. The forward-looking statements in
this release do not constitute guarantees
of future performance. Those statements
involve a number of factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially,
including risks associated with the company’s
business involving the company’s
products, their development and distribution,
economic and competitive factors and the
company’s key strategic relationships
and other risks detailed in the company’s
filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Citrix assumes no obligation
to update any forward-looking information
contained in this press release or with
respect to the announcements described
herein.
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Citrix® and MetaFrame®, SpeedScreen™
and Citrix Subscription Advantage™
are registered trademarks or trademarks
of Citrix Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and
other countries. All other trademarks
and registered trademarks are property
of their respective owners.
Fuente: Infochannel |
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