Finding ways to spread ourselves thin...

One comment I overwhelming hear as a consultant and otherwise is 'we are being asked to do more with less'. I continue to reflect on this comment and ask what it means to different people. Are we doing more with less time? less resources? less direction? less ambition? less skill? Sadly, each of the above appear to filter into the answer. As technology managers, we need to be extremely careful that we don't find new ways to spread ourselves thin (than you Barry for the appropriate phrase).

The demand on technology to enable business continues to increase. I firmly believe that our leadership must identify how we can redirect this growing feeling of despair and doing more with less into a position of power and opportunity. I’ve learned to think through our condition and consider the following to overcome a feeling of helplessness and focus on serving the rganization.

Review staff contributions and capacity objectively.
I once heard an executive say ‘never waste a good recession’. His point was simple. If you have staff that have been underperforming, now is the time to take action to either ‘change' the people’ or ‘change the people’. As managers and leaders, our first objective should be positioning our staff for success. We need to invest in them and determine if they have the right attitude, the right skills, the right drive and service perspective. Good managers will do what they can to help change them for long term success. If they don’t show signs of reform, then it is time to find new staff (or change them). In times that call for flexibility, learning new technologies and proving great service, you need to ensure your staff has the capacity to change as the needs change. Anyone who suggests they don’t want to learn new things is self-selecting for a short term position.

Review the services provided.
Over time, I’ve learned that those organizations that have a desire to say yes to everything start to lose focus and become masters of nothing. They are stretched thin, and continue to stretch themselves thinner as they introduce more and more ‘simple’ solutions that must be maintained. And, the worst thing is this – many of these simple solutions are based on multiple technologies that could most likely be provided through one of the main, core technologies. How many imaging systems and processes do you have? How many ways do you manage form development and processing? How many desktop management tools and utilities? How many file stores and databases? You get the picture. The key here is to leverage your core technology out of the box – not everything has to be a custom solution! Find what you do best, what you’ve invested in the most, and leverage it. Put together consistent training and support and reduce the number of things you support (or claim to support).

Review your core competency and identify where the value lives.
This one may lead to finding partners who do things that are not specific to the core of your business. Does your business depend on having systems teams to manage your email? What bout hosting your ERP? Are you in a position to hire high rate staff to do maintenance updates, review performance of the system, and keep the lights on? Wouldn’t your resources be better invested in functional and value added services that demonstrate how to leverage and use the technology? I submit that external hosting and support isn’t a bad thing to review and consider. If you have a specific SLA that is required, shop around and see if you can improve your low level support while reinvesting in value added services.

Consolidate where practical
Consolidation is sometimes seen as centralization and control, but honestly, in certain areas this is needed. We should have no hesitation that networks must be consolidated, but what about rinting services, back up services, storage and licensing? This is a conversation that needs to be inclusive and honest. Saying that everyone needs to have a desktop management solution misses the boat. Honest review and solid leadership will identify a list of items – in any organization – where there is duplicated effort that wastes time, introduces user frustration, and inconsistent support processes. Agree that your organization needs to find the areas of commonality and position the right areas to do this work/service.

There are numbers of other things to consider as we find ourselves spreading ourselves thin. The above have served me well and are some of the first items I visit as we look to improve service amid high demands that exceed investment in IT. Good luck as you review your operation and find ways to keep yourself whole and relevant!

Blessings
John

Words that some fear...

Today as I thought about the environment I oversee, two words popped into my mind that are central and critical to success as a technology service provider - ownership and accountability. We work in an industry that is increasingly integrated, robust, complex, and necessary for business success. Service providers with SLAs, application and hardware providers with patches, updates and new revisions, and people - our staff - that are tasked with making it all make sense, bringing it together, and ensuring the core mission of the organization is supported, dependable, and sustainable. Are they (are we) accountable and do they (do we) own our respective roles and areas?

It is important to have processes in place to enforce good habits, best practices and consistency to ensure the objectives of up time and performance are met. Here is where I introduce ownership and accountability. In large, complex environments (and increasingly in smaller settings) the number of moving parts can be overwhelming. That said, it is critical we understand the impact and risks associated with any action (or inaction) within our systems. It is critical that we own our actions and technologies and that we are accountable for what we do and how we act.

Let me fist talk about ownership. This doesn't require much discussion. You must know who owns the technology and you must know who is accountable for changes that affect your core enterprise and mission critical applications. Along the way, these applications are supported through different layers of the environment - the network, security, systems, storage, database layers and application administration. Any change in any area will (not may, will) have some impact and risk on the visible delivery. Knowing who owns each component and knowing that a defined process will be used to manage each layer is critical. Ownership infers action - action of reviewing what is necessary to ensure the health of your environment, recommendations to improve availability and performance, and actions of testing and vetting what will ultimately become a production change. Owners do and inform. Find and appoint good owners.

Now for accountability. Accountability means you are willing to be measured by what you say you will do and how you perform. Accountability means you understand the impact of your actions and take measures to ensure the mission of your division and organization will not be jeopardized by lack of focus, unwillingness to follow process or laziness to properly inform regarding impending risks. But accountability goes deeper. We each must recognize we're accountable to ourselves and what we've been called to do. I partially explained that above as it relates to certain duties, but it also means that we operate with integrity, with a spirit of cooperation, and a willingness to seek input. We are accountable to our co-workers. We owe them our best efforts so they don't have to pick up our slack. We need to also seek to help those around us be successful. And are we accountable for our actions and how they align to our department and company? Do we speak well and promote those that employ or hire us? If not - how are we being accountable for the pay or fees we receive? Accountability - something to consider for sure.

When things go well, we can sometimes get relaxed... our level of ownership and accountability may start to wane. Don't let it! Insist that even the smallest detail of process is followed, deliberately and intentionally. Enforce good behavior - it will pay dividends. Do yourself a favor - avoid unnecessary headaches, black eyes, and embarrassment!

As you consider technology management, think about how ownership and accountability inform your actions and form the teams that are built for success.

Blessings,
John

Technology Management Defined

Technology Management - what does it really mean?

Ask different leaders in the industry, ask consultants, ask writers, bloggers, whomever - and you might get some sense of an answer, perhaps some formula or set of guiding principles to define and shape what technology management means. Look it up on the Encyclopedia of Business 2nd edition or Wikipedia - each of them have a structured answer, and you can read them and perhaps apply them. For me, the answer is 'it depends'. Let me explain.

Technology is an enabler of business process and needs, and we certainly need to define solid process to research, pilot, develop, test, and implement solutions. How that all happens depends on the capacity and culture of your environment blended from best practices from ITIL or COBIT or some other trusted resource. We have process for supporting, replacing, integrating, testing, building, enhancing, and who knows what else. All these processes are in place to help advance and minimally disrupt the needs of an organization. But what does it really mean to manage technology?

So far, I've not said anything you can't find from any other material. However, the area that I want to explore and suggest is they key to technology management is that of the organizational culture and its people. We must look at the things that define an organization, the capacity of its workers, the tolerance for change, the appetite for risk and other variables to build the definition of technology management. I've learned that just because something specifically worked in one area, it is not bound to success in others. You have to be able to understand the variables and dynamics within an environment and then set a course to define your management philosophy. Stock definitions and process don't fit everyone.

So the key to success and a good technology management strategy is this: Know the definitions, but better yet, know how they apply given the dynamics, mission, and core competencies of your organization. The people, the culture, the executive mandates, the product, the time to market, the risk, and mission ALL play a part in defining what technology management is and how one can be successful.

Finally, in order to be successful, once you have a handle on the dynamics and have outlined your strategy - communicate it, evangelize it, follow it, and keep it fresh. Find your leaders to promote it, implement it, and improve it. Good people can overcome any deficiencies in your initial plan.

Blessings
John

Important Words When Creating a Team

Attitude and Aptitude. Do members of your team have the right attitude and aptitude to stay relevant in today's technology realm? Rather than making this a long post, let me simply say and encourage this: Find people who have these two key attributes - it will save you a great deal of effort and strain as your organization grows and adapts to meet organizational needs.

In the technology world, we clearly need people who have mastery in different areas. However, when we ask questions to see if someone has the exact level of expertise and experience that demonstrates, in some empirical way, that the candidate knows how to do exactly what we're asking, we risk finding people who can adapt and who can serve. The problem is technology changes at alarming rates - the questions we ask are out dated almost as soon as we ask. Further, we need to identify people to reflect our core values, service perspective, and promote good will. The better attributes to asses are attitude and aptitude. Here is my quick assessment matrix that has served me well in evaluating new hires (or those ready for promotion):

Attitude:
- does this person demonstrate they will take ownership of the technology area or areas of need?
- does this person demonstrate they understand IT is a service first organization, and will they reflect a 'can do' attitude, even in the face of adversity?
- does this person know how to professionally challenge ideas and direction?
- will this person take the 'high road' and represent themselves, the department, and the organization in a proactive/positive way?

Aptitude:
- does this person demonstrate that they can 'figure things out'?
- can this person show they have a logical and pragmatic way of addressing an issue?
- does this person show they have the ability to change direction and apply what they've learned?
- does this person demonstrate they understand how to relate what they know to the different audiences they will serve?

If you can take these two attributes and find ways to incorporate into your review and assessment process, you will be well served.

Technology is easy when you build the right teams!

Blessings always
John