In 1937, noted economist Ronald Coase penned a short essay titled “The Nature of the Firm”.  Coase was trying to understand why companies had gotten very large as the industrial revolution first emerged and then began to displace our agrarian lifestyles.

I recently took a personality profile test called the Clifton StrengthsFinder. This test measures the presence of talent in 34 categories called "themes." These themes were determined by The Gallup Organization as those that most consistently predict outstanding performance. The greater the presence of a theme of talent within a person, the more likely that person is to spontaneously exhibit those talents in day-to-day behaviors.

Did you know that 80% of all enterprise architecture (EA) initiatives are not completed because they fail to demonstrate “value added” to current business practices?  I recently attended the Troux Directions Federal Users Conference, which made some excellent points on the theme: “How does EA add value?”

Enterprise architecture moves out of the back room and into the limelight in 2005. The intersection of three immutable forces — compliance, privacy, and regulatory requirements; an increase in application and infrastructure outsourcing; and continued pressure from business concerns to both cut costs and deliver increased value — will elevate conversations about architecture within the organization. Unfortunately, politics, staffing, and overblown processes will prevent most organizations from taking advantage of the opportunities presented.