The ROI of green IT | Green IT - InfoWorld

The ROI of green IT Green IT - InfoWorld: "The ROI of green IT"

Things that make IT greener, also make it more efficient, more effective, more agile, and friendlier to the business side. In fact, Green IT makes so much sense, it's almost a no-brainer. And that's a problem.

It is my hunch that IT organizations that launch "Green IT" initiatives outside the overall Corporate Sustainability tent risk costing their organizations in a variety of ways. I'll talk about these in my next post.

If you have any experience that either confirms or contradicts this assertion, please talk about it here, or email me at greenitdigest at comcast dot net.

Social m-Learning can enable eco-alignment

e-learning and m-learning (mobile learning) can be pivotal forces in making the workforce as a whole more eco-savvy, both in attitude and in practice. m-Learning is especially promising, because it supports just-in-time, on-the-job learning, while a job task is being performed.

In a social media context, m-learning allows active mentoring and guidance at far lower cost than has ever been possible. Now, the many corporate leaders who are committed to improving their environmental performance can do more than just preach and hope. They can provide the tools for all their employees to walk the talk in reality.

BTW, I could really use some suggestions for Labels for posts like this. Mostly, I just make up my metadata, but that's lousy SEO practice. Any suggestions?

Green Promoters: Lose the Lawn!

Unless you're in the Great Plains and it's two feet high, a lawn is UNSUSTAINABLE.

I'm not saying to go out and tear yours up. I'm certainly not going to tear mine up, my wife wouldn't allow it.

But, I am saying, stop using grass and lawn imagery when you're promoting your Green products and services. It's going to backfire, and you'll wish you'd used some more accurate icon of sustainability. What would that be? Oh, I don't know. Use your imagination, and let me know if you think of something.

My favorite part of gathering requirements

What do I like best about gathering and documenting requirements?
It's this: When I finish analyzing a process, I share with the participants where I see them, as part of the big picture. Often, they are surprised and impressed with how important they are. The resulting confidence leaves people more optimistic and open to embracing new roles and challenges.

Project Management in {your specialty goes here}

I hope you never have to recover a crashed hard drive. But in doing so, it's amazing what one finds. I turned up gems that could have become articles, books, businesses or even entire industries, had I just stuck with them. This is one idea that could have become an article.

In 2006, Project Management expert Cheryl Strait published "It's All in the Technique" in Information Management Journal. Reading the article, I quickly recognized the universality of her advice. It's so universal, in fact, that I copied it into Word, and wherever the phrase "records management" or the acronym "RIM" appeared, I replaced it with {your specialty goes here}.

I read through the result, and it mostly worked. Try it for yourself. Find the article at http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/all-in-the-technique.html, and wherever you see the phrase "records management" or the acronym "RIM", mentally plug in your industry or specialty.

BTW, according to LinkedIn, Cheryl is now a Principal at Ernst & Young, near Detroit, MI, USA.

Mobile Learning is key to creating a Green Workforce

M-Learning-- mobile learning-- is key to creating a Green Workforce, because it puts in people's hands the info they need to do the right thing- where decisions are made, and actions taken.

Most firms express a committment to the environment at a high level, but the behavior I see at a day-to-day level is still as oblivious as ever. I want to create a framework and a curriculum to enhance all on-the-job interactions with the environment. The content would start out general and story-driven, gradually scaling out to role- and task-specific instructional materials, across a range of trades and professions. It's a huge task, and as the recent oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico proved, it's past time we got started on it.

Please forward this to ones who would be motivated and able to make a business in this domain.

The Kaizen Culture: Don't Manage Waste, Eliminate It

Kaizen is the Japanese term for constantly working to eliminating waste in all ways, at all levels. It's quite popular in manufacturing and other pursuits, and is helping to increase the competitiveness of our industries.

But in our everyday lives-- now, that's a different, sadder story. Today is large trash day here in Swarthmore. On just a few nearby streets, I saw enough nice, usable furniture out on the curb to furnish an apartment.

Our current approach, at its best, is called cradle-to-grave management. But that's a misnomer, since there is no actual "grave" where so much waste can be buried. As in our industries, we must seek to eliminate waste, by not producing it in the first place. This is called cradle-to-cradle resource management, or zero-output waste management.

The way we're "managing" our waste now, we're destined to drown in it, sooner or later.