Collaboration and Cooperation

Dr. Barbara White, CIO of the University of Georgia, just delivered a compelling keynote that was aimed at CIOs, but was immensely helpful for faculty and technologists to hear. The central message: be there, be involved, and take part in the process of decision making. Information is king, and so is knowing the requirements of your audience when you have those important conversations. The bean counters want to know about ROI and TCO, so having cost numbers in hand is critical. Overall, you must discover and understand the mission of the institution and be able to articulate how your plan, mission, program, etc., fits in to the greater plan for the institution.

This was one of those "common sense" presentations that contained information we all forget from time to time--sometimes to our peril. If you follow the rules, you definitely improve your chances for achieving your objectives. As the conventional wisdom reminds us, some days you get what you want, and other days you get what you need.

I'm now off to a session entitled "Instructional Technology Council (ITC) National Survey Results: The Status of Distance Education in the US". I'll let you know how it goes.