George Mason Technology & Cyber Security Blog » Professional Development

Why a masters in technology management?

jpalmisa — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:28:10 +0000

Insights from Falahyar Fatmi, Vice President of Information Technology at the Corcoran in Washington, DC and a 2005 alumnus of the Master of Science in Technology Management program at George Mason University. Falahyar has over 15 years of technology experience, mainly in the telecommunications and non-profit sectors.

The Corcoran is comprised of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Corcoran College of Art + Design. With a leading collection of American art and over 700 full-time students, the Corcoran was one of the first fine art galleries in the U.S. and is the only Washington institution that is both a gallery and a college.

Gain “must-have” CIO competencies
“When we think about leading in the technology arena, we tend to think about the operations side of the job—managing projects, providing systems to areas like finance and budgeting, maximizing resources. These are all important. But there’s another set of abilities and competencies that are just as critical — if not more important– to the effective CIO.

To help their organization achieve its strategic goals, CIO’s need to become skillful on both the hard and soft sides of the IT equation:

· Building relationships—helping executives understand the opportunities that IT can create and facilitate
· Learning to listen – so that we can better target our IT objectives and as a result engage users more effectively
· Negotiating skills—helpful in selling ideas and implementing the ever-present change that is part of IT progress

For me, and for my fellow students, earning the U.S. government CIO certification that is part of Mason’s masters of technology management was a sure path to developing this dual knowledge. We learned to achieve business needs within a context of communicating and responding effectively. The twelve CIO Council Core Competencies that are incorporated into the Mason curriculum -– ranging from leadership to IT policy to cybersecurity- – combined with our work experience to provide a good foundation.

This breadth of capabilities really comes into play as CIO’s take on more influence as Chief Innovation Officers. Today, we’re often charged with generating the ideas and translating them into workable technical solutions. To do this, we need to foster open environments that encourage thought and allow people to take calculated risks, and, yes, to make mistakes. In the end, the teams we create are more productive and we all learn more.”

Among the innovations at the top of Falahyar’s list since his arrival at the Corcoran: Moving the Gallery’s legacy systems to the cloud, exploring mobile apps that will bring the Corcoran’s collections to students from kindergarten through high school and enhancing Corcoran’s e-commerce capability so that alumni can offer their artwork worldwide.

Thought for Thursday…… and life!

cbassett — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:39:38 +0000

Reading the Harvard Business Review subject today titled 12 Guidelines for Deciding When to Persist, When to Quit one line struck me as completely relevant to anything and everything one does – “Everything worth doing requires tenacity.”

9 Beliefs of Remarkably Successful People

cbassett — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 15:42:39 +0000

The most successful people in business approach their work differently than most. See how they think–and why it works.

How to Be Assertive (Without Losing Yourself)

cbassett — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:58:35 +0000

Conventional wisdom says that assertive people get ahead. They tell people what they think, request the resources they need, ask for raises, and don’t take no for an answer. So what are non-assertive people supposed to do……………….. Harvard Business Review Blog

Happiness is a Balance: A Framework to Success

cbassett — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 09:17:53 +0000

Does anyone feel their life is in balance? This presentation can’t promise an easy fix but perhaps using the framework suggested here it can be managed. Read more …………

Emotional Contagion Can Take Down Your Whole Team

cbassett — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 13:17:53 +0000

This is a great HBR article that well worth reading. How easy is it to slip into a similar role taken by the senior executive…………….. We had hired a new senior executive. Soon after settling in, he began to share his concerns with me. He was doing so, he assured me, only because he loved [...]

Interesting Harvard Business Review Article

cbassett — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:58:56 +0000

Food for thought on a Monday morning….

6 Habits of True Strategic Thinkers

cbassett — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:28:40 +0000

inc.com – You’re the boss, but you still spend too much time on the day-to-day. Here’s how to become the strategic leader your company needs. 6 Habits of True Strategic Thinkers

Top Executive Recruiters agree………………….

cbassett — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:29:23 +0000

Read the Forbes article………