Category Archives: IT Manager Tools

Conducting a solid IT assessment is the key to IT manager success, , , it is the most important part of managing an IT organization. You can’t be successful if you do not know what you need to work on and what you can do.

One of my most popular books is titled, Acquisition: IT Due Diligence. It provides an IT assessment methodology and all the tools you need to conduct a thorough IT assessment.

In the 1990’s I was the CIO of a company that became an acquisition machine. In 5 1/2 years, we acquired over 35 companies and grew the company from $30 million in revenue to over $700 million.

Prior to joining this company in 1990, I had never heard the term “due diligence”. Believe me, I got a quick dose of it.

Every department head was responsible for assessing, budgeting, developing and executing a transition plan for his or her organization. Mine was the IT organization. When I joined the company, we had no tools or processes to conduct assessments, , ,  so each of us developed what helped us size up our part of the new business in order to budget and develop an appropriate transition plan.

Our typical acquisition took about 60 days to complete once a Letter of Intent was issued to the prospective company owners and agreed upon. The timeline usually worked like this:

• 1-2 weeks of research and preparation
• 1-2 weeks of onsite discovery
• 2-3 weeks of analysis, follow-up and writing due diligence reports

The due diligence process and tools I developed saved me, , , without them, the pace of our company acquisitions would have run right over me.

These tools are now 20 years old and they are the same tools I use to conduct an IT due diligence or assessment today. The reason is because an IT assessment is not really a “technical assessment” as much as it is a business assessment to determine what the IT organization should work on.

To do this, we need to learn the needs and issues of our client that require technology support and the capabilities and capacity of the IT organization, at a high level.

The challenge most IT managers have is that they want to dive deep into the technology detail, , , and learn all they can about the technology. The problem is that you don’t really have the time to do this in the beginning, , , there will be plenty of time later.

What we need to do initially is to identify material issues that have technology support implications and develop a game plan by which to start working on these issues.

I’ve conducted 45 IT assessments to support company acquisitions and dozens of IT assessments as a new CIO, IT manager, and Consultant.

In one situation, we acquired a company headquartered in Texas that was made up of ten companies, all in different cities and each with their own technology platform and operating procedures. The parent company had been acquiring smaller companies but had not assimilated any of them, , , the only things consolidated were Payroll, Accounts Payable, and their accounting functions. It was the equivalent of ten acquisitions, , , my tools allowed me to assess all of these entities in record time.

This due diligence process and tools works for both acquisitions as well as normal IT assessments you need to do such as when you join a new company, annual reviews, or when you are promoted and inherit a new IT organization.

CLICK HERE to learn more.

I’m a big believer in using tools in your work. Over the years, I developed dozens of tools in my IT manager and CIO roles to help me organize, manage and monitor my IT organization, , , in other words,  to do my job. I also developed tools to assist me before I became a manager.

Five key reasons
I think there are five main reasons why you want to use tools in whatever position you currently hold, , , whether it is a senior IT executive position, a project manager, or a programmer.

1.  Improve productivity  – Completing your work faster and more efficiently is a good thing. Simple tools can help you do just that by working smarter and having aides that allow you to complete tasks quicker.

2.  Improve quality  – You will be more consistent and deliver higher quality when you use tools to help you do the job. Things like simple checklists will insure you “dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’ “.

3.  Reduce stress  – Using a tool that’s appropriate for a particular task will remove stress by knowing you are doing everything needed to do the job well. An example of this is that I have a Class Checklist that I use to help me prepare for every class.  It totally eliminates any doubt or uncertainty for me as I prepare for class, , , when everything on the list is checked off, I know I’m ready to go.

4.  Make your job easier  – Probably the biggest benefit in using tools is that it makes the work easier, , , and that is always a good thing. I tell students in my IT Manager Institute class, “I’m lazy!”. In reality, I’m not lazy; but I hate doing redundant work or doing something in two hours that should take 30 minutes.  Tools make a huge difference in this area.

5.  To gain respect  – You might be surprised when someone gives you a nice compliment about how organized you are or how well you are approaching something at work because they notice a tool you are using. I’ve had many of my IT Manager Institute students tell me about impressing a senior manager or colleague by using one of my tools.

The simplest tool can be a big winner
Your tools do not have to be complex or sophisticated. Sometimes, the simplest approach to handling something is the best. Tools work the same way, , , I have many simple tools that senior managers with over 20 years experience thought were great. To me, I had a problem I needed to deal with and the tool I developed helped me deal with it.

One example is that I created a New Employee Orientation Checklist to help me get a newly hired employee off to a fast start. It’s important for the employee, my team, and me to make this happen, , , a simple checklist does the trick. I’ve been surprised at how many managers don’t have something like this, , , in fact, many ask themselves, “Why didn’t I think of this?”

IT Manager ToolKit
I documented my tools and made them available to help other IT managers. Today, thousands of IT managers around the world use them, , , one of the more gratifying things to occur in my business. 

The IT Manager ToolKit contains 102 IT manager tools and templates, , , several of which are available for free in ITLever.

CLICK HERE for a complete list and to learn more.

Summary
Tools can make your life easier and more productive and much less stressful. When you have problems or challenges, I highly recommend you take a close look at the issue and determine if you can develop a simple tool to help you deal with it more effectively.