Paula’s E-Musings

I often feel like the pilot in this video clip who’s building his plane as he’s flying. Is it a coincidence that the video is an ad for a technology services company? I think not. A few weeks ago Warren Arbogast used the same metaphor in his Chronicle Tech Therapy Podcast where he spoke about the challenges of finding time to plan, work strategically,  and think globally while we all seem to be so busy putting out fires.  How do we remain proactive when we so often must react to many last minute requests from our constituents whose lack of IT planning becomes our 11th hour crisis?

I could especially relate to this podcast that addressed the need to plan and build “info”structure as important as building infrastructure. The podcast addressed the critical importance of effective PR and timely communications. Just recently I facilitated a meeting of IR leaders where we discussed these challenges that are affecting our organization. We’ve got so many great new initiatives and we’re offering innovative new services,  but how do we get the message out to faculty and students so they know what we’re doing?

 We all agreed that everyone gets bombarded with too many e-mails and is over-scheduled with meetings. Consequently our messages are unread and our open forums are unattended. Meawhile, the campus is surprised to learn that we have updated our classrooms and labs to Office 07 and they are unaware that we are webcasting campus lectures. We’re speaking but who is listening?

 There’s got to be more effective ways of communicating. Yes, less is more and images often speak louder than text. We know that just in time communication is needed and that we must use a variety of media to reach our diverse audiences.  We’ve agreed that we need to build our infostructure as carefully and strategically as we’ve built our infrastructure. Conversations have begun. So stay tuned as we develop a process to effectively convey just who we are and what we’re doing.

 PS The Tech Therapy podcasts are broadcast every other week and cover a wide array of timely and relevant topics. I highly recommend listening to them.