Monthly Archives: February 2016

The Debate about Project Managers

Posted on February 29, 2016 | Leave a comment

Are project managers really needed for IT success?

GREAT QUESTION !

What do you think?

The question is, , , “Can you be successful without having an IT Project Management focus?” Give me your perspective in the poll below before reading the rest of the article:

OK, I hope you responded to the poll above and checked the results.

Now, it’s time for me to give you my opinion.

The question is, “Do you need project management focus to achieve IT success?”

My opinion, , , , ABSOLUTELY YES!!!

Projects are not successful on their own, , , they are successful because project managers make them successful.

Without a project management focus, the tasks that need to happen when they need to happen simply do not get completed without a project manager pushing them along.

Let me repeat, , , project managers make projects happen, , , projects do not get completed successfully on their own, , , they just don’t. In fact, projects will not be completed successfully unless someone:

pushes the project forward
checks to see that all tasks are completed on time
anticipates the obstacles that might jeopardize the project’s success

I’m a big believer in placing project management focus on the projects we undertake within an IT organization. To me, it is absolutely essential.

Let me back up just a second. Certainly, an IT organization can achieve some level of success without project management focus. Thousands of small and mid-size companies do it every day. However, your success will be limited and exposure for failure is significant, , , especially with large complex projects.

So, where does the project management debate occur?

What happens is that organizations that apply traditional project management methodologies tend to require quite a bit of overhead, , , too much, in some cases.

My sense is that there needs to be a reasonable amount of “monitoring”, “reporting” and “management” when you manage a project.

I’m not a proponent that says you need to produce all the reports and do all the things that are defined in PMI’s PMBOK (Project Management Book of Knowledge) or similar resources. I believe it requires too much overhead and administrative time.

What I do endorse is that you need a certain amount of structure (methodology) you follow and regularly scheduled status checks to help move a project along.

Operations people often do not want to spend the time to meet every week to discuss project status, identify risks, or discuss problem resolution strategies. They just want IT to complete the project so they can get on with their work.

The bottom line is that operational business people don’t always see the need for project management. Their approach is often, “Just do it, and leave me out of it.”

This is where the debate happens. How do we manage a large complex project so it doesn’t require an excessive amount of time and administrative effort but is sufficient to do the job, , , i.e., deliver the project successfully?

Without the process, odds are extremely high your project is going to fail. “Just doing it” simply won’t be reliable.

At a minimum, projects need seven things to consistently be completed successfully – on time, within budget and meet client needs:

Requirements definition – Some call this a scope document. No need to create a voluminous document here but you must quantify:
1. Project goals and objectives
2. Specific deliverables
Project Sponsor agreement on Item #1
Project Schedule that lists all tasks to be completed, completion time frames, and responsibility for completion
Budget that has reasonable amount of buffer
Staff the project with capable resources
Project Kickoff Meeting to get project team members on the same page and to reinforce commitment required
Weekly Project Status Meetings to check status and keep the project moving (i.e., to monitor and manage the Project Schedule)

All of these elements can be accomplished practically and simply, , , without lots of overhead. The point that needs to be made though is that each part needs focus and must be addressed if you want to deliver projects successfully.

For additional insight on managing successful projects, take a look at my book,
IT Project Management: a practical approach

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Posted in IT Manager Tips

Tagged it project, it project success, it success, it success poll, project management, project management success, project manager, project manager tools

Is “meeting chaos” taking over your company?

Posted on February 21, 2016 | Leave a comment

From Mike Sisco’s Practical IT Manager Newsletter

Meetings, meetings, meetings, , , all we do is meet!

Sound familiar? You bet it does. In today’s world, technology has made accessibility much easier and our productivity is better than ever.

Or is it?

Seems like we meet so much there isn’t time to do real work. In fact, we have so many meetings I’m sure there are times when you are double booked. It’s a common complaint I hear from IT managers all over the world.

I call it “meeting chaos”.

Here is a picture of what happens to many IT managers on a busy meeting day:

8:00am – Start the day with a quick stand-up meeting with fellow managers to announce your schedule for the day.
8:30am – A daily team status meeting keeps your team focused.
9:00am – Project-A weekly status conference call
10:00am – Employee meeting to discuss issues
11:00am – Monthly status meeting with your boss
11:30-1:00pm – Open time – check email and phone messages
1:00pm – Project-B weekly status meeting
2:00pm – Planning meeting for Project-C
3:00pm – Budget meeting with CFO and Controller
4:00pm – Monthly Project Portfolio update meeting
4:30pm – Performance planning meeting with an employee
5:30pm – Conference call with client on a later time zone

This is the life of an IT manager on many days. So, when do you get work done? You got it, early morning before work time, after work time and nights, , , or weekends.

Oh, I forgot, , , we have a 1 1/2-hour block of time during lunch to do some things, , , check email and phone messages, follow-up on a few items, and probably last minute preparation for one of the afternoon meetings. 🙂

Does the image of “being on a treadmill” start to form in your head?

I’ve experienced this when doing consulting work providing a few companies interim CIO services recently, , , it’s a real challenge.

I can tell you firsthand that company meeting time has increased significantly since I left my permanent CIO role and created MDE Enterprises, Inc. in 2000. When I’ve provided interim CIO services in the last 5 years, it was immediately obvious that we are now in a “meeting chaos” world.

Why is this?
My belief is because we are doing more for one thing. The need for new technology has increased, , , both by the Users as well as within our IT organization.

Let’s take the Users, , , our clients have gained more knowledge about technology and there are more options for them to use new technology to operate their business. They haven’t necessarily gotten to expert status, , , but the demand for new technology is certainly there and the IT organization must support them.

Now, the IT side, , , our technology world has changed immensely in the past 10 years, , , the cloud, SaaS, BYOD, cybersecurity issues, , , plus the fact that new technology is more cost effective and drives our organizations to implement these new products to help drive down or maintain our IT expenses. It’s constant change just to maintain the status quo.

Another reason we meet more often is because we have technology that makes it so easy like inexpensive, even free video conferencing capability, free phone conferencing options, etc.

These technologies make it so easy to fire off a new meeting invitation that our calendars fill up quickly, , , and regularly.

OK, , , we get the picture, , , bottom line is we are busier and this requires more meeting time for planning, getting updates, troubleshooting issues, and the like.

What can you do?
There are actually several things you can do. Here is a list of ideas you might consider and try in your company.

Analyze the value you and others receive from meetings and try eliminating a few.
Combine meetings that require the same people.
Start meetings on time and don’t let them linger longer than needed.
Stop over booking yourself, , , make a choice of which meetings you must attend and opt out of others.
Assess whether you can reduce the time allotted for certain meetings.
Do conference calls instead of requiring people to assemble in a meeting location. Won’t eliminate a meeting but can save people time commuting to/from the meeting.
Try “stand up” meetings to reduce meeting time.
Ask the meeting organizer if your participation is optional. What I find is that quite often meeting organizers put me on the list because they think I might either want to participate or should be invited, , , when the reality is that my presence isn’t necessary.

Another idea came to mind as I was writing this article. Do you remember back when IT organizations used to print every report and distribute to users because it was “how we used to do things”?

I’ve been known to stop printing certain reports just to see if anyone actually looked at them. To my surprise, in many cases they were not being reviewed, , , so we started eliminating the requirement to print many of them.

My sense is that you can probably take the same approach with many of your meetings, , , cancel a few “less important” ones and see if anyone feels pain. If not, you are on a path of “getting back some of your productivity time”.

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Posted in IT Manager Tips

Tagged conducting meetings, management productivity, meeting chaos, meeting too much, productivity impact, reduce meeting time

How significant is positive attitude?

Posted on February 19, 2016 | Leave a comment

I was in a non-business setting with several people I know not long ago. It was during the holidays and a young man who was in the group started commenting about a phone call he had with his manager that morning.

What I heard bothered me.

What he described was that his manager called him to ask some questions about a client situation they had. It was a normal work day but the young man was on vacation following a major holiday.

He then proceeds to almost boast to our little informal group that he made absolutely sure his manager understood, “he was on vacation”. The assumption seemed to be, “I don’t do company work when I’m on vacation.”

I don’t know what you think about this, but my thought was, , ,

WOW !!!

I immediately put myself in this young fellow’s manager’s shoes and thought about what he must be thinking if this kid actually made these statements and in the tone he stated he did.

Again, , , , WOW !!!

I want to see this young man succeed, but he is going to struggle with this kind of attitude. His whole demeanor came across as sarcastic and negative, , , arrogant even. That’s what I heard and I’m sure it’s what his manager heard, , , again if he used the same bravado tone and words that he expressed in our group.

Maybe he was trying to boast to us a bit that, “he is in charge” and didn’t actually have the conversation the way it sounded. Hopefully that’s what it was because I can assure you his manager made a note in the back of his mind about the young man “not being a team player” if he did.

Let me put in some context to all of this:

I know the young man but don’t really know much about what he does other than it has to do with technology.
I don’t know the manager nor do I have any idea as to whether he is a good manager or a weak one.
I know nothing about the situation that precipitated the call.

So, I don’t know very much about the situation, , , but what I do know a little bit about is managing people and how managers tend to view things.

My reaction is simple. The young man in question is making a big mistake.

I’ll give the manager the benefit of the doubt and assume he is a reasonably decent manager. If so, here are some thoughts from a management perspective:

We don’t call our employees when they are on vacation unless we have an emergency or maybe the employee is the only person who has information we truly need before he gets back.
Managers are looking for team players who “step up” when the opportunity presents itself.
None of us want to abuse our employees. We want them to take vacation and time off so they can recharge the batteries.
Calling someone on vacation is usually a last resort to an important situation.
We look for people with “can do” attitudes, not people who complain and make life difficult.
“Can do” people get ahead; difficult people do not.

I’m concerned that this young guy won’t advance as much as he could if he maintains this negative attitude. He seems to be capable technically, but the best technical people are not always the people who get ahead.

Positive attitude, teamwork and people skills are just as important, if not more so, than strong technical skills.

Part of what I heard in the discussion was that our young man knows the technology and feels empowered by it, , , even so much as thinking he can put his manager in his place and almost chastising him for daring to call him while on vacation.

This is a false assumption, , , eventually the employee loses if that’s the case. The reason is simple, , , we have a job to do and at times very challenging work that can be stressful. Managers are looking for positive contributors and team players. Ultimately, this manager will not be held captive by his employee no matter how capable he is with the technology.

I can tell you that I would do two things with an employee who responded the way this young man stated he did:

Coach him on a few things:
1. How this comes across, , , i.e., negatively
2. There are business reasons why a call to him while on vacation might be necessary
3. Explain what the business implications are if he can’t be reached
4. Talk about how we get him out of being a “silo of information” so we don’t need to call him on vacation
Start identifying my backup plan so we aren’t at risk if we lose him

Managers want their employees to be successful, , , but we won’t be held hostage by a great technical person who can’t be a positive force on the team. Teamwork rules because without it the entire organization fails.

In summary, positive attitude and teamwork are key, , , maybe two of the most important aspects of what helps you get ahead. It doesn’t mean you can be technically incompetent, but given the choice of two people who are technically competent and one that is positive and the other is negative and difficult to work with, , , who do you think gets further ahead?

Yep, , , the positive force and the person who understands the importance of teamwork.

Positive attitude can make all the difference.

IT people must be aware of something. Our personalities are often skeptical of others and we prefer to do things ourselves, , , not necessarily teamwork traits. It’s important for career success to be a positive contributor and avoid confrontation when possible.

When challenges occur, , , look for positives in the situation, , , not the negatives. It will reward you in the long run because people around you will notice the upbeat, consistently positive attitude you have even under duress.

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Posted in IT Manager Tips

Tagged getting ahead, it success, managing people, positive attitude, teamwork

Educate senior managers about “IT leverage”

Posted on February 16, 2016 | Leave a comment

IT managers face many challenges – nothing new, is it? Here are some problematic realities that studies and surveys reveal every year:

High percentage of IT project failure
Half or more IT organizations are out of sync with company needs
IT managers fail to communicate effectively
IT organizations are often viewed as reactive, unresponsive and unreliable

Not a pretty picture if your IT organization fits into one or more of these scenarios.

A big problem is that quite often these issues exist with your IT organization, but you aren’t aware of it, , , or maybe don’t truly understand the dynamics of it. I see this all the time.

But, , , there is good news!!!

IT organizations offer their companies leverage, , , tremendous leverage. In fact, your IT organization right now offers your company more leverage than any department in your company, , , significantly more.

The IT organization is the only department in a company that can positively impact every department in the company.

This is HUGE !!!

That’s right, your IT organization can help reduce the expenses in every department of your company, , , or improve the productivity of the people in every department with implementations of technology.

No other department in a company has this kind of leverage.

Astute CEO’s will actually spend more money in their IT organization when they understand the leverage opportunities an effective IT team can produce.

Let’s say this again, , , “will spend more money in their IT organization”.

The only reason a CEO would do this is because he knows he will get a positive return on investment (ROI) when doing so.

It’s important that IT managers understand the leverage value they offer their company. What’s equally important is they they help their senior managers realize this. After all, if a CEO does not know IT has the leverage, he won’t spend more in IT – right?

So what should you do?

Here is what I recommend:

Begin to understand the leverage opportunities an IT organization offers yourself
Recommend IT initiatives that will deliver quantifiable business value benefits. See my articles on “business value”for additional insight:
Build a positive track record in delivering projects successfully and track the results
Maintain a Project Initiatives Portfolio to quantify and communicate your project success rate and benefits derived
Educate your senior managers so they are aware:
1. Explain the leverage potential IT offers
2. Communicate your track record of IT success
3. Quantify the benefits the company has received from IT efforts

Three things are required before a solid CEO will even think about investing more in IT:

Awareness of the leverage potential an effective IT organization offers
A track record of recommending projects that provide business value
A track record of delivering the goods when projects are approved

What this says is that the CEO must be aware of the leverage potential and also be confident that spending more in IT will give his company positive benefits worth such an investment.

Educating your clients is critical for your success. Don’t assume your CEO or other senior managers already know about the leverage potential you offer them. The unfortunate reality is, , , there is a good chance they aren’t aware.

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Posted in IT Manager Tips

Tagged educate your manager, it communication, it leverage, it success, it success factors

10 Things That Make a Strong IT Manager

Posted on February 14, 2016 | 1 comment

What do you think makes a strong IT manager?

If you are an IT manager today, you probably take your responsibilities seriously. It’s challenging work, difficult and laden with land mines along every step of the way that can cause you to fail. So, what are the keys that will help you be recognized as a successful IT manager?

Well, first of all, , , it doesn’t have anything to do with what “we” think it is. Not that our opinion does not count but when looking at whether an IT manager is effective in a company (or not), it’s all about what the client thinks.

Who is your IT client?

It’s two, potentially three groups:

Senior managers
Department managers and Users in your company
External clients (Other company managers if you provide external IT support services. Most do not have these clients.)

In other words, it’s business people, not technology people. WHOA, stop right there! What about IT employees, , , they are technology people – right?

Yes, and a good point. Your IT employees do get a vote in whether the IT manager is strong, but their opinions are usually skewed. The reason is that they tend to have a technology prejudice, not a business or management perspective.

For you to be viewed successful by your client (business people), you have to approach this question of, “What makes a strong IT Manager?”, from a business perspective.

Are you getting annoyed about what I’m saying with all this “IT manager success validation comes from the business perspective” mumbo jumbo?

If so, I can probably explain why. Most of us who become IT managers or CIO’s got there through the technology ranks. We were programmers, Help Desk reps, systems or network engineers, business analysts or some type of technical expert early in our career. We tend to have a technical perspective, not a business perspective, , , unless we have grown past it.

I’ve met some IT managers who literally think it’s “all about the technology”. Would it surprise you to know that in every case, their clients did not view them to be successful? The clients viewed these IT managers as “smart” and knowledgeable about technology, , , but not so good in getting them the results they needed from IT.

Don’t want to burst your bubble, , , but it’s not about the technology, , , not even close. In fact, it’s all about the business. Think about it, , , if the determination as to whether you are a successful IT manager comes from your client, they are not technical people by and large, , , they are business oriented.

If you are still resisting this business perspective being more important than your technology understanding, get over it, , , it’s very real and it’s not going to change.

Does this mean we can simply disregard the technology? Certainly not! You have to have a competent IT organization that understands the technology and can implement new technology effectively, , , but the path to IT manager success actually lies outside the technology.

10 things that make a strong IT manager, , , something for you to consider:

Understands the business
Quantifies weaknesses and finds a way to overcome them
Develops and motivates people
Makes a point to understand what’s going on in the company
Identifies business needs and issues and focuses IT on them
Interprets new technology offerings into specific company opportunities
Recommendations are always business focused and cost justified
Delivers business value
Strong communicator
No surprises

A strong IT manager is able to identify what his client (the business) needs and is able to focus technology resources (people, systems, and processes) on initiatives that delivers business value and helps the company thrive.

Here’s the point: A manager who is an expert on the technology can be (and in my experience quite often) the worst and least effective manager. I’ve seen this in many situations, , , what happens is that they are great technically but lack the business perspective and practicality needed to be a truly effective IT manager.

IT managers have to deal with all types of issues, the technology is just one of them. So, consider the 10 elements above, , , none of them are technical expertise.

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Posted in IT Manager Tips

Tagged it manager strengths, it manager success, strong IT manager, strong manager

Assign a paparazzi to your IT team

Posted on February 10, 2016 | Leave a comment

You should assign a paparazzi to your IT team and start documenting your journey. You may not realize it, but right now may be one of the best work experiences in your entire career.

There are three companies I look back upon in my career and think of them as my best experiences. Much of what made these situations special has to do with the people I worked with, part of it was the type of work we were doing, and some of it was even the client experiences.

There are two things I wish I had done earlier in my career:

Kept a journal
Taken more photos

No excuse for not keeping a journal, , , just didn’t think about it back then. Wish I had because there were many memorable moments that I know would be worth remembering now.

I keep two journals now, , , one for business and one that’s personal. I don’t write in them every day but try to capture important events and a few things I think will be worth remembering when I’m in my 80’s and 90’s. 🙂

On the photos issue, I do have a reason for lacking more photos. Early in my career we had to use film, , , digital cameras were not around yet. So, the hard copy photos I have are far and few between and many have been lost over time. Digital is so much better. Wish we had digital cameras when I was a kid!

When I stumble upon a hard copy photo from my early career, it usually brings back good memories, , , like the one below.

This is Bryan Hathcock, my first IBM manager and one of the best managers I’ve ever worked for, awarding me a $20 gold coin for helping sell the most IBM software applications during a contest period. I remember working hard to help my primary Sales Rep, Jim Cockerham, focus on this objective. Jim is also in the photo (far left) and just seeing Jim and Bryan brings back so many great memories of my “IBM days”. Note the wide tie and jet black hair!

I still have my $20 gold coin which is now worth more than $1,000.

I talked to Bryan just last week which may have prompted me to think about writing this post. He is in his 80’s now but hasn’t changed a lot. Hoping to stop by and visit him when I’m in Atlanta in April for our niece’s wedding and share some memories.

Back to the paparazzi idea, , , why do I recommend you assign a paparazzi and start taking photos? Well, there are several reasons:

Capturing memories at work may be appreciated later in your life. Like I said, these times may be some of the best you will experience in your career.
Develop slideshows with high energy background music for some of your IT staff meetings, , , especially if you do an annual IT Kickoff Meeting. Your employees like to see themselves on “the big screen” in a slide show. Trust me, it’s great motivational material in a staff meeting. How do I know? Simple, I’ve been an employee and liked it and I’ve also seen it work great with employees who have worked for me.
It’s fun, , , and having fun at work from time to time is beneficial for both you and your employees.

In each of my IT Manager Institute classes I assign a paparazzi on the first day to take photos during the class. At the end of the class I give students a flash drive that contains IT management resources plus a file of all the class photos taken during the week. Some of them are truly memorable like the ones below:

Dubai Institute managers showing off their MDE/IT Manager Institute coins

Tanner Medical managers in a fun class photo

Class photo of one of my favorite Dubai Institute classes – October 2012
I have delivered 16 IT Manager Institutes in Dubai through 2015
I’m standing next to our paparazzi, Mohammed Abu Deeb from Saudi Arabia

A small class but what a great group!!! I stay in contact with several of them.

Monika really enjoyed this desert!

Ed presents Heitor a “Dead Chicken Award” – lots of laughs!

Ljubljana Institute managers in our “Blues Brothers” pose

I’m 5’10” tall, , , Matej and Timor are 7′ tall – material for a memorable photo

Lagos Nigeria class presents me a painting that now hangs in my home office

Call me sentimental or foolish, but I like to reminisce and remember some of the “fun times” in my career. As you get older, you may discover it happens with you as well.

What type of photos do you want your IT paparazzi to capture? Good question, I recommend the following but don’t limit it to just my ideas:

Company events
Awards
IT employees at work
IT employees with your clients (Managers and Users)
Meetings
Off-site events
Cameo or ad hoc photos of your employees

Be creative and have some fun with the process, , , it really does not take a lot of time or effort.

Take advantage of the motivational aspect work photos give you during IT staff meetings; I think you will find it has much more impact than you believe it will. Over time you will amass quite a library of photos that can be special to show your people “scenes of the past”.

SMILE, , , you are on Candid Camera !!

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Posted in IT Manager Tips

Tagged it staff motivation, mike sisco, motivating employees, paparazzi, work photos

IT managers need a “Swiss Army Knife”

Posted on February 6, 2016 | Leave a comment

Managing an IT organization requires many skills to succeed in today’s fast paced and complex world. IT managers are required to juggle several issues at the same time and meet ever-increasing demand from their clients (senior managers, department managers, users) and from their IT staff.

For example, to be effective you need to be able to:

coach
monitor
manage
lead
council
innovate
strategize
communicate
investigate
sell
troubleshoot
analyze
decide
focus
prioritize
critique
persuade
research
educate
budget
understand technology of all types
, , , and more

Do you still need convincing?

It’s like we need a Swiss army knife to help us handle all the challenges of managing an IT organization. A single function knife blade will no longer do the job, , , we have to become skilled in multiple capabilities.

On top of managing today’s technology support environment and issues, IT manager responsibilities are constantly changing.

Client priorities seem to shift like the wind from month to month, maybe even from day to day in your situation.
Technology is changing faster than ever, , , and the pace of change will only increase in the future.
- To stay current with today’s technologies is tough now and will be more difficult in the future.
- There will be technologies in two years that are not even on the drawing board today and will make some of the technologies we use today obsolete.
- It is difficult, if not impossible to be a technical expert in today’s environment and also be a strong manager.
Client need is evolving and increasing in demand as new technologies emerge.

Sounds like an impossible mission, doesn’t it?

Well, it’s certainly a big challenge. I’ve written many times and explain to IT managers in my classes all over the world that, “IT managers have the toughest management role in a company”. The reasons are what you’ve just read:

Technology is changing so fast.
Client demand for technology is increasing and changes all the time.
The IT manager, especially the CIO must understand the needs and issues of every department in the company, not just the IT Department. No other manager in your company is required to do this to be successful, , , only in IT.
IT people are different and can be challenging to manage.

How do you attack these challenges?

First and foremost is that it’s important to realize, “You don’t have to be an expert in everything.” Even if you had the brain power and capacity to learn it all, you won’t have enough time in the day to be the expert in all areas. What this means is that you need to prioritize and focus on what you believe is required in your circumstance. Every situation is different.
Become a prolific reader to learn things and to improve the knowledge and skills needed in your profession.
Augment existing skills with training and education that will add new skills in the areas you need them.
Find mentors who have experience in the area of responsibility you have or that you aspire to.
Identify internal and external resources who can help you “cover all the bases”.
Learn to delegate and rely on these extra resources to handle issues outside your expertise.

A key to doing these things is that you must spend some time to assess what your organization (company and IT Department) needs from you.

Next, do an objective and honest skills assessment of yourself. What are your current skills, and how strong are each of these skills relative to what is needed?

Finally, create a plan of attack to develop your skills where you see gaps in what is needed versus what you have.

Give this part plenty of thought and prioritize your efforts. IT people have a strong tendency to want to do everything and do them to the “nth degree”. Not necessary, plus it only serves to overwhelm you which will prevent you from accomplishing as much as you could if you keep your list short, focused and reasonable.

Remember, you don’t need to be an expert in all areas, , , just competent in most and expert in a few. Choosing which areas you will become an expert in is subjective and depends upon the situation you have. Making these choices will be a challenge, , , but part of managing well is making decisions and choosing “what not to do” sometimes. Not an easy thing to do but it will help you manage to what is possible and not what our minds tell us is desirable.

Identify where you will develop additional skills and where you will rely on others (either internal or external resources) to provide the organization the complete set of skills needed for success.

Swiss army knives come in all types of configurations. So too do the needs of IT management positions in companies. Not all positions require the same set of skills, , , every situation is somewhat unique, so the skill requirements can and should be different.

Let’s use my personal example to explain. I’m comfortable managing programmers, business analysts, and Help Desk environments, but when it comes to managing some of the infrastructure resources (specifically Network and Systems Engineers), I need help because I don’t have this technical background. So to the points I’ve been making, I find resources who can competently fill the technology expertise needed in these technical areas to compliment the set of skills I have.

I’m not going to become an expert in networks, security, and systems, , , but we have to have experts in these areas to support our business. I’ll either rely on someone internally (hopefully) or will bring in help from the outside to provide the skills we need.

Build the “Swiss army knife” you need for your situation, , , one that gives you the skills and tools to be successful. And don’t forget to also develop resources you can rely on with additional capabilities to handle issues in areas you choose to delegate and rely on others for.

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Posted in IT Manager Tips

Tagged it management, it manager, it manager requirements, it manager skills, mike sisco, swiss army knife

2016 IT Manager Institute training schedule

Posted on February 1, 2016 | Leave a comment

Hello and Happy New Year. 2016 will be my 14th year delivering the IT Manager Institute to managers all over the world via classroom and self study. We also have open slots to deliver the program in the US and Canada when you confirm 6 or more students. Classroom events can be delivered in 3, 4 or 5 days as desired. Contact me at info@mde.net if you are interested in hosting a class for your company or community in the US or Canada.

This year, we will deliver our open classroom programs in 3-day events. The days will certainly be full in order to cover all the material, but this gives you an opportunity to save in registration fees, time and travel expenses.

Plus, we will deliver two Advanced Institute classes following two of our standard IT Manager Institute programs in Dubai (May 25-26) and the US (September 16-17). These programs are for Institute Graduates ONLY.

CLICK HERE for more information or to download a brochure.