At the very heart of the Elderwood, Aurel’s Reach unfurls. Envision the central region of the Elderwood map: this is the Eldergrove, the verdant heart where Aurel’s Reach proudly stands. Its origins remain a mystery to me, yet over countless centuries, it’s blossomed to accommodate a lively 15,000 souls. The city sprawls gracefully alongside a serene, straight stretch of the river, which some say lent its name to the town.
Rye Leafoot's Guide to Elderwood: Introduction from the Bird's Eye
Elderwood. Ah, dear reader, it’s so much more than a mere word on parchment. It’s the delicate shiver of leaves under a morning breeze, the deep-rooted tales older than the oldest oak, and the harmonious symphony of bustling life and placid landscapes.
To the north, run a mountain range, The Elf’s Wall. These peaks casts lengthy shadows, towering sentinels of age-old stone that I’ve often found myself wondering about. How many stories have they witnessed, unchanging and eternal, as empires rose and fell?
VMware Explore’s 5 Big Reveals: Updates To Tanzu, vSAN, NSX+, Workspaces And An AI Deal With Nvidia - As it says. Includes some actual deal size info for Tanzu and Workspaces.
Making vision and strategy practical
Suggested episode theme song.
How are things going for you?Avoid using Vision and Strategy as an Executive Peace OutHere is something from an article I’m reviewing for a co-worker:
It’s vital for any digital transformation to have a clear vision, purpose and a set of expected business outcomes. It lets everyone know what is changing, why it’s changing, and how it will positively impact the organization. All too often though, that simple message becomes bloated or lost entirely as the project moves forward.
Culture vultures - “Traditional word-based culture—and, sure, I’ll stick Twitter into that category—is now a feeding ground for vultures."
Non-knowing growing - “…non-knowing, growing. It’s what babies do when they learn to walk. They get up, they fall over, they get up, they fall over, and they gradually figure out what walking is. They don’t know how to walk.” // If you’re open enough to the universe, you make sure that doesn’t ever stop.
It’s Time To Tell The Healthcare CX Story In Terms Of ROI - The focus is healthcare, here, but this applies to all industries: “Meeting with C-suiters and boards of directors, the disconnect is pretty clear. While CX pros (in many industries, not just healthcare) tend to talk about customer experience improvements in terms of better, CX-specific metrics, they fail to connect those changes to things that matter to the decision-makers and budget-holders. On the other hand, when we talk about the impact that better CX can have on key business goals — increased revenue, lower cost, and improved resilience — I see those business leaders lean in and say ‘Tell me more.'” // I’m befuddled as to why this is still a problem after decades. Is this not institutionalized thinking in IT? That is, each generation has to rediscover this.
How Barbie Went Viral - “by creating meme-able content, centering your audience instead of yourself, inviting connection, and building in the right incentives, you can increase the odds of a lightning strike” // Yes, and…it is so exhausting to have to be your own marketing agency.
Necronomicon all’italiana - Fantastic stuff.
Cloud-native approaches are now default software development practices - Highlights from a recent 451 survey. “Many organizations using cloud native expect their adoption of these technologies and architectures to become more ubiquitous over time. Among companies using cloud-native resources, approximately 60% say more than half of their applications are currently architected using cloud native, rising to 77% when organizations project two years into the future.” // “Homegrown cloud-native software development is strong. Looking specifically at how organizations are building and buying these services, 65% of organizations say at least 50% of their cloud-native software is internally developed.” // “Improvements to IT operations efficiency is accelerating as cloud native’s biggest benefit. Efficiency improvements continue to be the top benefit seen by organizations using cloud native (66% in 2023 versus 61% in 2022), while the role of cloud native in delivering sustainability is now moving front and center alongside security (respectively 45% and 44%). Improvements to developer speed and productivity (43%), cost reduction (40%), and improved time to market (40%) are other key benefits.” // “Fielded from May 4 through June 29, 2023, with a panel of IT decision-makers, 330 of whom were actively using or currently implementing cloud-native technologies and methodologies."