[Manage IT Newsletter]

This issue focuses is on how you can combat todays stress and build yourself up to peak productive performance through an easy to adopt fitness program.

Welcome to this months issue of the "Manage IT Newsletter." This monthly publication is dedicated to helping IT managers enjoy a richer career experience so they can reach their full potential.

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With warmest regards, Joe Santana,
Co-author Manage IT
http://www.manageitbook.com
***************************In this Issue ****************************
* Focus Topic - Fitness training for high-performance
* IT Management News & Trends
* Free Gift of the Month: Tips on how to design a low impact personal IT manager fitness program
* Closing Comments and Announcements
*********************************************************************

--------------------------- Focus Topic -----------------------------
According to a recent study by industry analyst firm Meta Group, 71 percent of IT managers surveyed say employee burnout is a serious issue for their companies. Clearly this is an equally serious, if not worse, issue for IT managers who are just as vulnerable to stressors and are perhaps experiencing a more generous portion of stress-causing pressure. "IT Management is a field well-known for high levels of stress. Budget constraints, increasing workloads and having to deal with irate customers, which all add up to sky-high pressures and tension," states Nancy Rosenberg author of "Outwitting Stress--A Practical Guide to Conquering Stress Before You Crack." Avid readers of popular IT magazines can clearly see that these already high-levels of stress are increasing.

In a recent article published in the Information Week April 14th issue title "Squeezed," the authors point out how today's IT department managers are feeling even more pressure resulting from the demand to optimize practices and operations at an ever increasing pace. In recent years some managers and executives have responded to these torrents of stress using the stress tolerance and productivity increasing benefits of fitness training. Recently, John Baschab, Senior Vice President of Solutions at Impact Innovations shared with me how he used fitness training to keep him in top shape for his demanding IT management role. "As part of our IT turnaround practice, I served as temporary CIO for 4 companies in the past 2 years. Last year as part of my stress-management-plan I trained for and participated in the Chicago Marathon, achieving a time of 3:47" states Bashab. "The training and effort associated with the marathon, while intense, definitely helped keep me in top mental condition for my demanding IT management roles," adds Baschab.

The benefits of a fitness program in building stress-resistance, increasing productivity and providing a general sense of heightened energy are documented and well known. While, many acknowledge this and view Baschab**s accomplishment with admiration, the challenge for them is finding a start point from where they currently find themselves. Often exhausted by the way their bodies are handling stress in their weakened state of health victims of stress find themselves unable to pull out of the downward spiral. So how do you break out of the freefall and so you can take charge and start steering yourelfe toward greater health?

1. Start with an education on health and its key components. I recommend visiting Fitness Training Tony Avilez site at http://www.14daymiracle.com

2. If you want to start easy and build as you gain more energy and benefits, try Cheryl Smiths "Easy Street Plan" (See Tip Sheet for more)

3. As you begin to build your energy and stress resistance, don't forget to invest more in yourself by expanding you fitness routine.

In this issue of the Manage IT newsletter, we will focus on how you as an IT manager can use a personal fitness plan to enable you to cope more effectively with the stress and morale challenges currently facing our industry. In the "News and Trends" section of this issue, you will find useful articles on the state of stress in IT, what causes this stress and where to go for more information on how to effectively deal with it. Your free gift of the month will offer you advice on how to develop your personal fitness program. Finally, in the "Announcement" section, you will find your invitation to the June 10th Tips On Managing For Business Value Seminar, where you will join me and my guest Ruben Melendez CEO Glomark, Tom Cissell VP of Operations Glomark and Jon Piot COO Impact Innovations and co-author of "The Executive Guide to Information Technology."

JS

-------------------- IT Management News and Trends -------------------
This month, we have a rich collection of articles that contain various perspectives on stress, what it is and how to cope with it.

A recent survey that shows that employee burnout in the IT department is a serious issue for 71 percent of companies - CIO Magazine Article
http://www2.cio.com/metrics/2003/metric520.html

A recent article that shows how the best leaders are helping their staff cope with stress - CIO Magazine
http://www.cio.com/archive/050103/staffing.html

Given the sputtering economy and continuous budget-cutting, many IT workers appear to be finding comfort in the basics like simply having a job. While some companies may interpret this as a leveling of expectations and satisfaction ,experts don't see this as signs of job satisfaction, but rather a willingness to shut up and put up given the shortage of opportunities out there despite underlying low morale - ComputerWorld Article
http://www.computerworld.com/careertopics/careers/story/0,10801,76144,00.html

A list of sites and links where you can get more information on various types of stress relief - ComputerWorld Article
http://www.computerworld.com/careertopics/careers/training/story/0,10801,73155,00.html

A brief METAbit document, summing up the current state of morale and the challenges facing companies. META GROUP site META Bits article
http://www.metagroup.com/cgi-bin/inetcgi/jsp/displayArticle.do?oid=40625

A few more causes of stress cascading down through the CIO. Information Week article
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=8700181

A public domain document titled "Stress at Work," by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health hosted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/stresswk.html

A general tip sheet that offers an overview of stress, its manifestations and the cost borne by companies. Hosted by the Stress Management Tips and Resources web site.
http://www.stresstips.com/costofstress.htm

------------------- Free Gift of the Month ---------------------------
For your free one-page tip sheet that will provide you with advice on how to develop a low-demand IT manager fitness program to increase your stress handling capabilities, visit http://www.joesantana.com/freenewsandtips.htm

----------------- Closing Thoughts and Announcements -----------------

THE NEXT MANAGE IT MASTERS TELE-SEMINAR: MANAGING FOR ROI AND BUSINESS VALUE Tuesday 6/10/2003 at 1pm EST
Join us for a 60-minute tele-class hosted by Joe Santana, co-author of Manage IT and his guest experts guest Ruben Melendez CEO Glomark, Tom Cissell VP of Operations Glomark and Jon Piot COO Impact Innovations and co-author of "The Executive Guide to Information Technology." Explore how any IT team can drive and measure ROI and business value without having to become financial experts. To register, email Elizabeth Margaret at elizabeth_margaretaa@yahoo.com and type "register 6/10" in the subject line and body.

NEED HELP NEGOTIATING YOUR IT CONTRACTS?
Contact Dave Lakhani, President of Bold Approach at 208-863-8298 or visit his company on the web at http://www.boldapproach.com/

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT MANAGEMENT WITH JOE?
Visit www.ULiveandLearn.com and register for the IT Management webinar. This information packed program comes right to your desktop and offers you advice on one of your most important career decisions.

NEED HELP OPTIMIZING YOUR IT PROJECTS?
Visit www.impactinnovations.com and/or contact Jon Piot COO and author of "The Executive Guide to Information Technology."

NEED HELP WITH DEVELOPING YOUR IT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY AND GETTING THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO EFFECTIVELY MANAGE TO BUSINESS VALUE?
Visit www.glowmark.com and learn more about Glomark's TVE approach and Genius software products.

I hope you enjoyed this issue of the IT Managers Newsletter and I look forward to continuing to serve you.