Monthly Archives: July 2010

I joined a small company that was on the verge of  significant growth. Our mission was clear and as the new CIO it became my responsibility to see that our IT organization was positioned and ready for the growth to come.

The challenge we had was that the IT organization had a very negative reputation at the time within the company (our “internal” client). However, the 43 Turnkey clients we supported (our “external” clients) loved us. Our Turnkey clients licensed the software we developed and maintained for our internal business operations.

Revenue contribution for the company was 96% from our internal clients and 4% from the external Turnkey clients. We no longer sold new business in the Turnkey side and our growth was expected to be in the area of internal operations growth, not selling new Turnkey systems.

I’m certainly not a rocket scientist, but I understood the company’s need in this environment within a week of being with the company. It was clear as a bell that my real IT support business was with our internal clients, not the Turnkey business (the 96% of the revenue versus the 4%).

The problem was caused because although our company had changed direction from Turnkey to Internal business growth, the IT organization had not yet made the transition in their focus. They liked our Turnkey clients and thought they were so much easier to work with than the internal business managers. Well, that may be the case but it doesn’t change the fact that the real business is our internal client business, , , where the vast majority of the revenue was produced.

I had to change this culture because the IT organization’s focus was not in sync with our business need.

After spending time to assess the situation, quantify the business needs and issues we had, and to develop our IT strategy it was time to decide what we wanted to do with our Turnkey business. We liked the additional revenue and didn’t want to lose it but we also had a mission to take care of, , , and we were not supporting the main part of our business very well, the 96% internal client.

I scheduled a Turnkey User Group meeting at Disney World and planned for the task at hand. Disney World was chosen so we would attract most of our Turnkey clients, , , and it worked.

At the meeting, I congratulated the Users on their successes and how much we had appreciated our past relationship. When I got to the point where I explained we were going to change direction and move away from supporting the Turnkey business, you could hear a pin drop. There were tears, there was anger, and even disbelief. It was a difficult message to deliver and probably harder to receive.

It was if I had just unplugged the electricity that feeds their business.

It helped in that we delivered a well thought out transition plan to minimize disruption in their business and gave them a year to make the transition plus an option to continue using the software they had if they wanted to support it themselves.

The President of the User Group was very helpful because I reached out to him prior to the meeting and asked for his insight and help when planning the announcement. He understood the change in direction our company was taking and why so he helped me develop a set of options that gave our Turnkey clients time and a way to minimize any business disruption. He is still a close friend and continued to use the same basic system he had for many years.

The morale of the story is:

• You have to step up and do the right thing.
• Things may appear bleak at first, but they usually have a way of working out for the best.
• When you put people in a corner, be sure to provide a path out of it.

I’ll never forget how anxious I was as I prepared to make my presentation at the Disney World dinner, , , knowing I was about to pull the rug out from everyone’s feet. We did not want to hurt any of our clients, but we also needed to get on with our company strategy and prepare for the major growth we expected.

Our company grew from $30 million in revenue to just over $700 million in just over 5 years. Had we not stepped up to some of our tough issues, we would not have achieved the level of success we had.

Have you ever gotten into a “rut” where nothing seems to be going well?

If you do, the key thing is to keep thinking positive and to persevere. Today may be one of your worst days, , , but then there is always tomorrow. That’s right, the sun may shine on you tomorrow like never before, , , but it won’t unless you allow it to.

I always believe that my best days are ahead of me, , , whether it’s my golf game, revenue sales in my company, or maybe the very best IT Manager Institute class I will teach.

That’s right, today or even this whole week may be the pits, but tomorrow could be the day that turns it all around. Tomorrow could be your best day in a long time.

I’m a firm believer that positive energy creates opportunity for us. If you are positive about things, even in dire circumstances, good results can happen. If you are negative, it is very easy for bad things to happen, , , just look around and you will see this play out.

So, a word for the wise is that when adversity strikes, , , and it will, , , stay positive and work through it. The landscape on the other end of the firestorm could be the most beautiful place you have ever been.

Many managers limit their opportunity by failing to identify their replacement. Not only should you identify valid candidates, you need to take steps to develop their expertise and so that when the opportunity comes, they can step up and do a credible job in filling your position.

After all, they may be reporting to you.

It’s in your best interest to position a replacement for several reasons:

• You have an obligation to do what’s best for your company
• Developing a strong team shows maturity and capability on your part
• Positions you for promotion

This last bullet is key, it positions you for promotion!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had conversations with other senior managers about a young manager’s potential to be promoted but we have to pass because it would cause too much challenge and disruption when they don’t have anyone who can fill their spot. We move on to other candidates that are better prepared to leave their organization.

Finding your replacement should start as soon as you take the new job. This doesn’t mean they have to be in place right away. It does mean that you should start determining if anyone can grow to take on the job at some point and how you would begin developing their capabilities.

If you have no candidates, you should be finding one when you have a chance to hire additional people into your staff.

Senior managers want organizations that run pretty much on their own. Pulling out an excellent manager to give him or her more opportunity gets blocked when your team can’t run well after you leave it.

Finding your replacement is a “management-101” type of priority.

One reason why many managers fail to position a replacement manager is because they think it will make them vulnerable and possibly position them to lose their job. I can tell you from experience that the opposite is true, , , it positions you to take on more responsibility.

Mature managers position their organizations to be able to run without them. Managers who are less mature or insecure build teams that become very dependent upon them, , , not a good thing to do.

Senior managers recognize the difference and that’s why some people advance and others don’t. Position yourself for advancement and promotion by getting someone positioned to replace you when the opportunity comes calling. If you aren’t prepared, you will just have to wave “bye” to the opportunity.

“How do you prioritize your work with so many things needing to get done every day?”

Wow, that’s a good one. It’s also a very challenging issue. In today’s environment, issues are flying at you all the time and coming from all directions. As an IT manager, many of these issues are things that happen that are beyond your control.

Here is what I try to do; works for me and will for you.

Categorize issues, projects, open items, etc. into one of three categories. Call them “A, B, or C”, “High, Medium, Low”, or “Critical, Needed, Nice to have” or anything that makes sense for you, , , but get your long list in some sort of priority.

List all of the open issues you have every week and reprioritize them into High, Medium, or Low (or the other descriptions we mentioned).

High items must be critical and absolutely required to complete soon.

Medium items are needed but are not necessarily critical.

Low items are good to have but don’t have the level of importance as the other two groups.

From the list of High items, prioritize each of the issues from top to bottom. In other words, number them from #1, #2, etc until all are sequenced in rank of importance as you see them. The trick is that you need to work on the absolutely most important issues first and get them off your list. Knocking off some of the issues on your list frees you up to tackle more.

Target the highest priority in the list to get it done or at least to the point required before working on something else. Be aware, however, that you normally have several balls in the air to juggle at one time. That’s OK as long as you are getting some things completed and off your plate, , , otherwise, you will ultimately be juggling too many balls until some of them start crashing to the ground.

Review all the items in all category groups to determine if they are where they need to be. If there are things that help you or your team’s productivity so you can get more things completed, you might consider placing a lesser important item ahead of others so you can do more later.

Sometimes, you might throw an easy project to the front of the list simply because you or your team need to see some accomplishment and successes taking place. Nothing motivates you more than to see positive results.

Make a habit of knocking off two or three major items from your list every day and you will slowly start to make big strides. The difference here is that you are being much more proactive and taking conscious steps in focusing on important issues you have quantified. Believe me, others will see the results.

Ready, , , Aim, , , Fire !

Sounds as easy as 1-2-3 doesn’t it ?

Logical as can be – right ?

It’s how we all manage, isn’t it ?

Well, , , not quite.

There are quite a few management styles. You can probably put the following “management style tags” on a few managers you know:

A.  Ready – Ready – Ready – Aim, , ,  Ready – Ready – Aim, , ,  Fire
The manager who just  can’t, , ,  seem, , ,  to pull, , ,  the trigger.

B.  Fire-Ready-Aim
The manager who shoots first and asks questions later, sometimes known as the “quick shot artist”.

The Ready-Aim-Fire manager is the type we need to be. This manager identifies the specific target he needs to hit (develops a strategy), prepares to hit that target by taking careful aim (plans and prepares), and fires with accuracy (implements the plan).

This management style is much more effective, “breaks less glass”, and invariably has a much more productive organization than other managers who don’t take the time to plan or who can’t make a decision.

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From the book, IT Management Models

Description:
Clearly identify your target, develop a plan of attack, and finally implement your solution. There is a real benefit by evaluating a situation and taking the time to prepare your strategy before “pulling the trigger”. At the same time, “analysis paralysis” can be just as bad as firing too quickly.

Manage in a Ready – Aim – Fire mode and you will suffer fewer “casualties” and achieve many more successes.

Key points:

• “Shooting from the hip” creates breakage
• The basics
  • Ready – Quantify and understand your objectives
  • Aim – Clearly define your plan
  • Fire – After evaluating consequences, implement with vigor
• Lead by example and coach others to follow this process

Discussion:
When you prepare to make a decision or take action on something, use a “ready – aim – fire” approach to save yourself from a lot of pain and aggravation.

There may be situations where you have to react so quickly that you don’t have time to prepare and take aim at what you’re “shooting at”, but those scenarios are rare.

Create an environment where your organization’s actions are planned by establishing processes to support a more predictable approach than a “knee jerk” reaction.

“Shooting from the hip” creates breakage – When managers don’t take time to prepare and clearly define their targets, they accomplish less and often break things which has even more negative impact on the team’s productivity. It also damages client satisfaction.

The basics – Use a simple approach as follows:

• Ready – Define and understand your objectives
• Aim – Clearly define your plan
• Fire – After evaluating consequences, implement with vigor

Lead by example and coach others to follow this process – Managers who use a “ready-aim-fire” approach are teaching their employees by example the proper way to address issues that come up. Anyone can shoot blindly when a problem arises in trying to resolve the problem, but the person who identifies the problem or issue, looks at the options available to solve the issue, and assesses the implications before “pulling the trigger” will get much more accomplished than the “hip shooters”.

When you have “quick fire” artists in your organization, reach out and help them understand the issues they create by reacting to issues before they have the facts and have analyzed the ramifications of their actions. You will be helping your team achieve more success as well as developing your employee to be more successful.

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To learn more about the 72 models in IT Management Models, go to www.mde.net/cio/page20.html