Chris Lockhart – Consultant

“You will never be truly satisfied by work until you are satisfied by life.”
Heather Shuck

Hi there. I’m Chris Lockhart.

This is personal page. Kinda needed a launching point for the various parts of my life.

What is that life? Here’s the 2 minute version:

I’m a Dad and a Husband. I write books, articles and blog posts. I speak to groups and conferences. I teach. I run a podcast and appear on podcasts. I have been a consultant for 20 years – technical at first and then moved into strategy and advisory. I’ve worked with technology since I was 16. I have a degree in History. I’ve owned this domain since the 90s when I ran one of the first and most successful webcam sites (I’ll tell you all about it if you ask). I was a Combat Medic in the US Army. I love nature, the mountains and the beach. I’m from Nova Scotia. I smoke cigars and drink whisky.

The overall philosophy guiding things here is work smart, not hard. Enjoy life. Feel valued. Build relationships. Do good work that helps clients. Tell a good story.

There are social links at the bottom of the page. But if you’d like to know more about the kind of work I do, check out the LinkedIn profile. If you want to read some of the things I’ve written, see the blog or the book. And you should definitely watch or listen to the podcast to get a sense of the topics that I love to get engaged in.

I’m biased, but I think this is an interesting and unique package. If you’d like to connect, drop me a note or connect with me on LinkedIn

“Business Technology is all about finding the right solution that fits the business need. It is about directly addressing the business problem at hand. It is about demonstrating the value of your IT organization in the eyes of the business.

It is about harmony. Money spent on Technology should become value delivered by Technology. Ideally the value delivered exceeds the money spent.

It isn’t always a science. It is often a blend of experience, gut instinct and the ability to think through intangible problems by careful analysis taking into consideration human, corporate and political elements.

That is how I structure the work that I deliver. That is how I think and how I operate. I surround myself with like-thinking folks.“
Chris Lockhart

I’m a Management Consultant with a Liberal Arts and IT background.

I’ve been working with clients since the early 2000s, helping translate their vision into reality, assisting them as they tackle their big, ugly, hairy problems. I spend my time working with peers and clients to understand ways in which to navigate the constant change around us, to take advantage of the opportunities that change presents.

The quote above comes from my book “The People Problem” which I wrote as a pushback on the idea that modern business is driven only by technology. The book captures one of my primary life principles, that feelings, emotions and perspective are central to success or failure in life (or business) and that the technology we are inundated with on a daily basis is simply a tool.

I’ve written for my own website for years on the topic of Enterprise Architecture, write for various online publications, speak at conferences and events on the topic of Business Technology and host a podcast called “Consultants Saying Things”. I also pop up from time to time on other podcasts…

I enjoy a challenge. I enjoy seeing thoughts become reality. The pace of change around us presents immense opportunity for strategy to become real, for vision to drive actual execution.

Maybe I can help YOU out. Drop me a note.

“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.”
William Faulkner

I have written a lot over the years. Probably like anyone who writes, 90% of it never saw the light of day. Maybe sometime it will. Who knows. Some of it is pretty f*cking good.

I write in very casual style. It isn’t for everyone. But I think it does make for good and easy reading of articles, posts, and books.

There are bunch of articles in various online magazines out there that I’ve written. Usually the topics are related to business technology.

My only published book is titled The People Problem. It deals with the fact that our primary problem in business is not technology or even process. At the root of every major issue companies face is a human being, their attitude, their skill, their assumptions, their behavior, their relationships, their actions. The book hit #7 on Amazon in the business section. Check it out when you have second. Buy it. Feed my kids.

The current book project deals with the evolving nature of the role of the CIO. Details to come. So stand by for that. And of course there’s always the Great American Novel that still sits somewhere inside…

Some posts from my blog on Enterprise Architecture and business business technology are below:

“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.”
John Steinbeck

A few years back I was sitting with a friend, smoking cigars and talking about various business-related things. He pointed out that I should write a book. I told him I’d already done that.

“Well then, you should start a podcast…”

The rest is history.

Consultants Saying Things was a video podcast when there were very few video podcasts. I assembled people smarter than I to discuss topics in the business technology space. It is refreshing, I think, for people to hear unfiltered commentary. Everyone on the cast has been, or is, or is related to, the consulting industry. Listeners get to see actual practitioners who have done the thing.

There’s a website with every episode, and there’s a YouTube channel with every episode. Each episode is also available as an audio-only download available on all the major podcasting platforms.

Check out some of the latest episodes and clips:

“Almost anyone can be an author; the business is to collect money and fame from this state of being.”
A.A Milne

Why write a book?

For starters, this isn’t the first one I have written. It isn’t the first one I’ve sold. But it IS the first one I’ve sold mass market.

Books are great ways to share experience and knowledge. They are a medium through which you can tell a story about things you’ve learned that others might find interesting. If you open it up to include fiction, then writing a book can be almost a cathartic exercise. I highly recommend it. Save money on therapy.

I wrote The People Problem because I was increasingly frustrated by encounters at client after client where technology was always the first thing people looked at when they had a business problem. Technology is rarely the problem. It is almost always a human being at the end of the root cause analysis. A collection of vignettes was my way of expressing my views on the topic. I think it came off well, TBH.

Anyway, check out the book, which peaked at #7 on Amazon in the Business category. There’s a 99-cent Kindle edition as well. But me and my family much prefer you buying the hardcover (wink wink nudge nudge).