As a newly anointed ECM Expert I figured that I’d use my first post to briefly introduce myself and give you an indication of what to expect from me. To be honest, I’d categorize myself more as opinionated than expert, but the good folks running this community think that I have something of value to contribute. I will try not to let them or you down.
I am a consultant. I have been a consultant for more than twenty years. I’ve tried moving out of consulting, but I keep coming back. As a consultant there is one truth that I hold dear above all others; clients pay me to provide solutions. This truth is valid whether I was installing piddly accounting software way back in the late 80’s (1980’s, not 1880’s), installing back-office systems in petroleum retailers (uhm, gas stations), deploying mission-critical solutions in TELCO advertising divisions, deploying whacking-great BI solutions, or implementing ECM (I’ve been warned off trying to define ECM in this forum, so we’ll leave that discussion to Twitter).
When I was asked to join the ranks of AIIM’s Expert Bloggers, my initial idea for a first post was to try and define what ECM is supposed to do. I could do that, but it would really be a regurgitation of my post in the Community blog from last week. So just go ahead and read it here. That post will provide a pretty clear picture of what I really think about ECM and how I try and approach my engagements (as in client projects, not multi-channel unidentified stakeholder engagement).
One of the things I will strive for is to make sure that whatever I post can be used to do something or to make you think about something. To that end, I am going to revisit my contributions to the ebook series that John Mancini put together. I have a couple of contributions in the first ebook, and I will be using them as fodder for some posts over the next little while.
Here’s the Fluffy Stuff
The following bit is lifted directly from the “tips” email that Bryant Duhon sent me as part of my “welcome to AIIM Expert Blogging kit”:
What do you do and how did you get there?
I am an ECM consultant. I got here because I didn`t score high enough in Cal2 to become an accountant.
What was your best day at work? Worst?
Best days at work are when the clients have the “aha” moment. It’s also pretty cool when you can redeploy a member of staff to save their job and make two teams stronger.
Worst days are when good people have to be let go through no fault of their own.
What are you proudest of?
My family. No contest.
What is your No. 1. goal today—and what is your greatest ECM-related challenge?
Today’s goal was to get this blog post done on time.
There are no ECM challenges; there are only business challenges.
What are your three favorite websites?
Twitter
tsn.ca (but only during hockey season)
my igoogle home page
What are the three greatest books ever written—and what’s on your nightstand today?
Not sure about the three greatest, but three of my favourites are:
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Catch 22 (Joseph Heller)
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Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
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the John Rebus novels by Ian Rankin.
What are the three greatest movies of all time—and what’s the last one you’ve seen?
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
Pulp Fiction
Tie - Monty Python & The Holy Grail / Monty Python’s Life of Brian
The last one of this bunch I watched was Life of Brian
What was your first concert—and what are the three greatest songs on your iPod? (I don’t actually have an iPod. I have a non-brand specific digital music playing device.)
1st concert was Jethro Tull a very long time ago in Montreal. Best concert I ever went to was Deep Purple in Dresden, Germany in August of 2001.
Sugar Magnolia by the Grateful Dead (the greatest love song ever)
Supper’s Ready by Genesis (the live version from Second’s Out)
Any one of hundreds including Homecoming (Green Day), Sympathy for the Devil (G’n’R & Rolling Stones versions), Monkey Man (Rolling Stones), The Lemon Song (Led Zeppelin), Sunshine (Nazareth). It’s a really long list and what’s at the top changes with my mood.
There you have it; a bit about me professionally and personally. I hope that you find some value in my contributions. If there are any topics you’d like to see addressed feel free to let me know and I will try and tackle them.
For those of you that are interested: