i.c. stars and the proverbial leg-up

The job market has taken a toll on new graduates, with greater numbers either staying in school or coming back home for the time being, and the information technology field is no exception.

i.c. stars founder Sandee Kastrul says economics and competition have increased the need for a "longer runway" for the program's inner-city technology graduates after their four months of concentrated business, leadership and technology training.

Among other business leaders, Bob Kress at Accenture has been at the end of that runway with a good fit for the skills being developed at i.c. stars, hiring almost a dozen graduates over the past few years.

The Chicago Tribune has done a nice write-up of what i.c. stars is doing in their article this past weekend.

Are you talking to me?

When you're giving a presentation, do you start by doing your homework on who is going to be in your audience? It may not be who you think it is if you're not sure when your microphone is on (especially when you're the British Prime Minister).

I asked Accenture's Business Operations Director Bob Kress for his top suggestion on how presenters can make their speaking more effective. His first recommendation: be familiar with your audience.

"When I'm presenting to any group, one of the most important things to understand is who the audience is and focus on their primary interests. If I'm talking to more senior people, I tend to use fewer slides and focus on business issues vs. technology. Matching the appropriate level of detail and relating it to the audience is a key piece of giving a great presentation. Using the right examples and stories is the way to make any presentation more memorable."

See the full interview in today's TechRepublic on how Bob has adapted the technology strategy at Accenture to a struggling economic climate.

Making IT visible at Accenture

Here's an interview I just did with Bob Kress of Accenture that was published today in TechRepublic. Bob is a very interesting guy and has streamlined their technology at the same time the company has been going through phenomenal growth. His philosophy of showcasing the efficiency of his IT operation at Accenture is a model other companies should (and Bob says they can) emulate.