[Sigia-l] IA Summit 06-- Registration is open

[Tanya Rabourn]

Posting on behalf of Victor. -Tanya

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While I'm honored to be mistaken for Jared Spool, actually it's the  
Management Innovation Group and friends that will present the pre- 
conference session titled "Enhancing the Strategic Influence of IAs:  
Understanding and Responding to Complex Business Problems." Since  
it's not up on the site yet, I've taken the liberty of providing the  
description below. Hope to see you there.

Victor Lombardi

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Enhancing the Strategic Influence of IAs: Understanding and  
Responding to Complex Business Problems


While the skill level of the average information architect has  
increased dramatically over the last several years, many IAs still  
lack the tools necessary to understand and articulate the broader  
implications of their work within a complex and dynamic business  
environment. The most successful information architects are better at  
recognizing the roots of strategic change and opportunity, assessing  
the potential impacts on their organization, and determining what to  
do and who to involve in getting it done.

This workshop introduces participants to a new way of thinking about  
cause and effect in complex organizations—within functional groups,  
across departments, beyond business units, and across industries.  
Participants come away with a set of tools to identify social,  
cultural, economic, and technological change, match products to  
emerging and changing markets, develop strategies to capture market  
value, and change organizational capabilities to reflect changing  
market and technological dynamics. Special attention is given to  
learning how to create and maintain a workplace and culture that  
facilitate and sustain innovation and change.

Here are some of the basic questions that we will help participants  
answer, both in general and in the context of their companies:

What is a business model? A value proposition? A business strategy?
Given my role, what contribution am I making to my company’s success?
How does IA/UX deliver value in my company’s business model and value  
proposition?
How do I determine how to choose my battles wisely: which high-value  
projects to push and which can stay on the back burner?
How do I say “no” to bad projects? What language will be most  
convincing to my management and stakeholders?
How can I get more visibility for IA/UX in my company? How do I build  
alliances with like-minded stakeholders?
How do other functions typically understand business problems, and  
how does that compare to the IA perspective?
This session is designed specifically for managers and leaders who  
seek to use IA as a strategic tool to understand and influence  
organizational change. While a deep knowledge of advanced IA  
principles is not necessary for this session, participants should be  
willing to explore their roles as leaders and change agents within  
their organizations.

Types of attendees most likely to find this workshop compelling include:

Managers of IA/UX teams
Product Managers
Entrepreneurs seeking to build a culture that values IA/UX design
IA/UX practitioners who report to a non-designer manager
Anyone who aspires to enhance their role as an internal change agent

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Victor Lombardi
Principal, Management Innovation Group
Phone: +1 347.249.9470
http://mig5.com/