Wow! It has been a long time since I last blogged. I have been to the Middle East, specifically Dubai, UAE, and Amman, Jordan. Add to that a short trip to Beijing to participate in a Business Week CEO Conference on Leadership in Turbulent Times, and you have my itinerary for the last couple of weeks.

My last blog post on the CIO article seemed to generate good feedback. In fact, I wanted to highlight a couple of the comments that were generated when I shared that software was not the first solution, but rather a well trained project professional who knows how to use the software...don't throw software at a problem! Here are some of the great responses:

• Marcellus Lindsay was spot on when he shared his mentor's comment that a "fool with a tool is still a fool."

• Sergio Aranda agreed and shared some good news perspectives when he stated that "...companies are aware of this and as a result are spending a significant amount on business process definition ahead of their investment in project/program/portfolio management software."

• Pat Weaver said that "The thing software jockeys often forget is everything to do with projects involves people and their perceptions about an uncertain future, acceptable risks and desirable outcomes."

I must say that I have met the executives and CEOs of some of the PM software suppliers, and they too acknowledge that knowledge of PM is critical to the successful use of software. So, the suppliers want their software used correctly, and the users need more knowledge of PM to be sure they can use the software correctly; so why is there a problem? Frankly, this is where a savvy CTO or CIO can help. They should lead the charge and demand that "form follows function"...or rather, let's get the business process right, and then look at IT enabling. Wow, I could go on for hours on this. If you have the chance, go back and see the other comments on the blog. Thanks to all for your comments.