My first article contribution to BigThink.com is now live.  It’s a pretty awesome site.  Other contributors include Paul Krugman (NYT columnist and economic professor), Richard Armitage (former Secretary of State), and Ricky Gervais (funniest man alive?).

How to Win Tech Evangelists and Influence Decision Makers

As a CTO/CIO, have you ever had this reaction? “Stupid users. If only they would ‘get it’ already!” Bad news: it’s never going to happen.

Users will always push back “irrationally” on any new tech initiative. It’s up to you to show them the light.

Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on how long you’ve been a CTO/CIO—you don’t need a cattle prod to get users on your side.  You can use the following 17 tips to turn those “stupid users” into your evangelists.

My first contribution to American Express OPEN Forum.

How Your Small Business Can Survive the Recession

By most accounts, this is going to be a long recession, and we’re still on the downward slope. As a small business owner, you will be forced to make drastic moves to survive. As you get your company into survival mode, keep the following in mind:

1. Prepare for a deep, long recession. Don’t count on a recovery until mid-2010, and even then, it may be a slow recovery. The global economy ran super-hot for the last 5 years on overpriced real estate, and the correction won’t happen overnight.

2. Assume it’s going to get worse. Like you, your customers are also cutting their expenses. As bad as the last 6-12 months has been, you may not be at the bottom yet.