A forum for Hawaii's
business community to discuss
current events and issues
» Business transformation myths » Get anti-virus software
A delayed flight recently gave me the opportunity to browse through an airport bookstore. I was interested in seeing what buzzwords were being touted as the answers to "everything you need to know about organizations and leadership to be successful." The ones that caught my attention were variations on a single theme: transformation.
If we are going to propel ourselves into the turbulent seas of ambiguity, which characterize the search for excellence, we need a much deeper understanding of what organizational transformation really entails. In particular, we need to be able to distinguish the challenges and dynamics associated with organizational transformation as distinct from large system organizational change. And, very important, we must be clear as to the personal implications for those who would presume to be transformational vs. change leaders.
No single article can do justice to the importance and timeliness of these challenges. Consequently, the next five articles will be devoted to this topic to give readers a deeper understanding and appreciation of a phenomenon essential to the never-ending search for organizational excellence.
Let us begin by dispelling some myths, by being clear as to what real organizational transformation and real organizational change are not.
A disappointing number of senior executives approach the challenges of transformation or change as if it were the equivalent of a magician's pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Typically they will call in an outside consultant and, in effect, ask that person to wave a magic wand: "Shazam, abracadabra, transform my organization!" Of course, they do not use those exact words. Rather, they ask if it would be possible to put together a two-hour session on transformation, preferably one deliverable over lunch so as not to take up too much valuable work time. And, oh, by the way, they may not personally be able to attend due to their busy schedule.
Neither transformation nor large system change are the result of a course, or even a series of courses, in isolation. They are not quick, painless or "for them and not us/me." Organizations are, at their core, made up of individuals. Consequently, individual transformation and change are necessary preconditions to organizational transformation and change.
Furthermore, these processes are not done with "smoke and mirrors." While I may appear to look different when I am in the house of mirrors, my core being remains unchanged. The organizational equivalents of these dynamics are painfully clear these days. For example, massive amounts of energy and resources are invested in public relations, in the attempt to create an external positive image. These efforts rely on "spin doctors," professionals who can turn a sour lemon into sweet lemonade. They are skilled at taking a truth and packaging it to look more positive. Their brethren in the house of mirrors carry this approach to even more dishonest lengths. They cook up the books, creating false profits so they can line their own pockets. Tens of thousands of families, and their children's futures, become shattered when the undistorted truth is brought to light. Transformation is an inside-out job, not an outside-in game.
Finally, and perhaps most important, both the magician and house of mirrors approaches lack the integrity essential to any lasting transformation or change. And without integrity and the active heartfelt involvement of everyone, organizational transformations and large system changes efforts are more mythical than real.
In our next article, we will focus on differentiating large system change from transformation.
Irwin Rubin is a Honolulu-based author and president of Temenos Inc., which specializes in executive leadership development and behavioral coaching, communication skill building training, and large system culture change. His column appears twice a month in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Send questions and column suggestions to temenos@lava.net or visit temenosinc.com.
BACK TO TOP |
No good excuse for not
having anti-virus software
we just got another virus attack that seemed to infect a lot of folks out there in cyberspace.
How do these things continue to go on? Most techies want to blame the "users." But virus programmers are getting smarter. The Mydoom virus took advantage of social engineering, figuring that people who got a tech-laden e-mail would trust it more than the tired "Hi, here's the information you requested" approach.
What can you do to avoid these viruses? The most common advice is to avoid opening attachments from people you don't know. But that has gotten more difficult because virus programmers, using a technique known as "spoofing," can make e-mails appear that they are coming from just about anyone.
Spoofing has led to another confusing issue -- an "undeliverable" notification for an e-mail you never sent. What happens is that a virus (or sometimes a spammer) sends out an e-mail and fakes the "from" address to be yours. Oftentimes, these messages are sent to non-existent e-mail addresses. Somewhere in cyberspace, an automated administrator figures out that the recipient doesn't exist, so it politely informs the sender of such. Unfortunately, the administrator has been fooled into thinking you sent it and voila; you get a notification saying that an e-mail you never sent could not be delivered.
My recommendation is to be wary of any unexpected attachments you get from anyone. You can quickly and easily check if the message contains a virus by visiting either of these two Web sites: us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp, or securityresponse.symantec.com.
Both of these sites provide the latest virus alerts and advisories. I like the McAfee site better because it's easier to navigate, and the search function is on the same page. Symantec has a separate search page at www.symantec.com/search/. Simply enter either the text of the message you have received, or the name of the attachment, and if it's a virus, you will know it in a matter of seconds.
Beyond that, get yourself some virus protection software and make sure your virus definition files are updated regularly. Most anti-virus packages have an automatic update feature enabled by default. This ensures that you get the latest virus definition files every time you log on to the Internet.
Naturally, you have to pay to keep your anti-virus software updated. Most annual subscriptions are less than $50, or about $4 per month. This is a good investment. Once you have installed the software (on most PCs it comes installed), you can buy updates online with a credit card.
Speaking of viruses and using your credit card online, there is a relatively new scam out there that's pretty clever. Technically speaking, this is not really a virus, but it comes in an e-mail with a link. The e-mail says you need to update your credit card and PIN because their system just got reconfigured and they lost all their data. If you click on the link, it opens the official credit card Web site, such as www.visa.com, and pops up another box that has similar characteristics of the official site. This pop-up window asks you for your credit card number, expiration date, and PIN. Of course, the pop-up window is not part of the official site, and instead is relaying this information to some nefarious character.
This scam takes advantage of a flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Microsoft has since issued a patch to prevent this from happening. The moral of this tale is, in addition to making sure your virus definition files are up to date, you also have to run Windows Update to make sure you have the latest, most secure versions of Microsoft software. Windows Update is available on every version of Windows since 98. If you are on earlier version than 98, it's time to upgrade.
Windows Update has a feature called Critical Update, which notifies you any time an important update is available for your operating system or Microsoft software. By default, Critical Update is enabled. There is no need to turn this off.
One of the releases sent out via Critical Update is a "Security Update" for Microsoft's popular Outlook software. This update prevents any other application from accessing your e-mail and address books without your explicit permission. Since many viruses send themselves to everyone in your address book, this update will save you the grief and embarrassment of wearing the scarlet "V."
Believe me, I've heard every excuse in the book not to have virus software loaded or not to have the most recent updates installed. I have yet to be convinced. If you follow these basic guidelines, you can maintain a virus-free system.
John Agsalud is president of ISDI Technologies, Inc., a Honolulu-based IT Consultancy, specializing in software development, systems integration, and outsourcing. He can be reached at jagsalud@isdi-hi.com or by calling 944 8742.
To participate in the Think Inc. discussion, e-mail your comments to business@starbulletin.com; fax them to 529-4750; or mail them to Think Inc., Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813. Anonymous submissions will be discarded.