ITLever™

Security issues come in all sizes and shapes. When I was a young IBM Systems Engineer, I was assigned responsibility to install a Payroll system for a large hospital.

As it would happen, the CIO of the hospital was apparently in hot water with the new Hospital Administrator, the CEO of the hospital. During this time I was “camped out” day and night working on the Payroll installation, the CIO was fired.

Word came down from hospital management that the CIO was terminated, barred from the Data Center and that the locks and security codes were being changed right away. This is common practice when management wants to “lock down” the computer systems if they are concerned with the possibility of sabotage by an outgoing employee.

The next day, we were asked to review the systems access logs. To everyone’s surprise, the CIO had logged onto several key systems between midnight and 1:15am in the morning. This was in the days when remote access was not possible, , , you had to physically be in the building using one of the networked workstations to access the hospital’s systems.

The locks had been changed,  the security codes were changed, , ,  but the former CIO still managed to access the hospital’s systems.

How did he do it?

Hospital management told everyone about the CIO leaving the company except for the 3rd shift Computer Operator. When the outgoing CIO tried to get into the building, he no longer had keys, , , so he buzzed in as he normally would do and the Night Operator let him into the Data Center, , , also just like he normally would do. It looked like ‘business as usual’ to the Night Operator.

Fortunately, the fired CIO wasn’t there to do anything malicious. He was there to retrieve a few personal files and to follow-up on a technical issue that he knew about. He was actually very conscientious in his “night maneuvers”.

The morale of the story is that when you think you have all the doors locked, check again to be sure you’ve notified all who need to know, , , including your Night Operator.

If your organization is getting bombarded with “last minute” requests, there are four things you need to understand:

1. What are the requests?
2. Why are the requests being asked at the “last minute”?
3. Who is asking for help?
4. What’s causing these issues?

If you know the answers to these four questions, you should be able to develop a strategy to reduce or eliminate the issues altogether. Worst case is that you should be able to develop processes that reduce the need for so many “last minute” cries for help.

In many cases, Help Desk logs and incident trends should be able to help you identify the answers to the first three questions. The last question takes a bit of analysis, but when you have the data to support the first three questions it usually points to “what’s causing the issue”.

The answer to this dilemma usually falls into one or more categories:

• quality
• capacity
• managing expectations
• responsiveness

Once you know what, why, who, and cause, , , then the rest is up to you as the manager to develop and initiate processes for improvement or conduct coaching sessions that improve the situation.

There is always a logical reason as to why “last minute” calls are coming in. Figure out the four questions above and you will get to the solution to reduce or eliminate the problem.

Need an example?
Let’s say you get too many requests for a new PC at the “last minute”. Maybe, a department manager habitually forgets to tell you a new employee will start on Monday morning. That manager may not even remember to get the employee  set up with a cube and a phone, , , but if he has to wait on a PC, then it is always “IT’s fault”.

Simple way to eliminate this “knee-jerk” reaction you and your staff can be put into is to have a few spare PC’s available that are already fully configured with your standard image for a new employee. When you get the “last minute” request, deploy one of the spare PC’s and get the new employee up and running, , , then order a replacement spare PC for the next time you have such an “opportunity”.

One of the priorities we have as managers is to try to eliminate the reactive nature of our IT support business. Many things are out of our control like the “last minute” requests from other managers, , , but we can usually do something like the spare PC process to minimize the impact these things have on our staff.

The bottom line: even when some things out of your control can create challenges for your organization, you actually possess more control than you might think to be a responsive IT organization.

Do you have challenges?

Are obstacles in your way?

If so, what are you doing about it?

I receive lots of inquiries from managers around the world who describe the “brick walls” they have in their situation that’s preventing their success. It’s anything from:

• “How can I develop an IT strategy when our company doesn’t have a strategy?”
• “We don’t have enough resources to do what’s required.”
• “My career is blocked.”
• “I have a problem employee and can’t get rid of him.”

Well, “brick walls” and life’s challenges are made to hurdle. To an extent, problems are just excuses. The reality of things is that we are in more control than we often think we are.

Do you remember when the 4-minute mile was broken, , , or the pole vaulter topped 18-feet?

The 4-minute mile was broken by Roger Bannister in 1954. Prior to that, scientists and athletes believed it was physically impossible for a man to run a mile faster than 4 minutes.

What happened after Bannister ran the mile in under 4 minutes?

You got it, , , it became common place for runners to run the mile in under 4 minutes because the mental barrier had finally been broken. In fact, the record time for the mile has been reduced by some 17 seconds since 1954, , , impossible, they said.

When you have a “brick wall” in your life, it makes your situation tough to be sure, , , but that doesn’t mean you can’t succeed. Learn as much as you can about this “brick wall” obstacle, , , prepare yourself, , , develop a plan, , , seek outside help, , , and determine how to get over the wall.

You may not succeed the first time. I know from personal experience that I’ve skinned my knees and elbows, , , bloodied my nose a few times, , , and still have a few scars from trying to hurdle some of the “brick walls” in my career and life.

However, my belief is that most challenges can be overcome given the right motivation and preparation. In some cases, you may need to simply walk away from the wall because it is unrealistic to get over it, , , but have you tried bursting through the wall, , , going around it, , , digging under it, , , doing something different to get over it?

The objective is to get to the other side – right?

Before you walk away, take some time to “think out of the box” a bit and maybe even collaborate with someone who has dealt with these types of obstacles before, , , or possibly has some insight into.

If getting to the other side is worthwhile, don’t give up easily, even if at first you don’t succeed. Keep at it and whittle away at the obstacle, , , perseverance is a powerful attribute and trait of many successful people who dealt with their own “brick walls” before they achieved success, , , people like:

• Colonel Harland Sanders, creator of Kentucky Fried Chicken – over 60 years old before he franchised his chicken recipe.
• Abraham Lincoln lost 8 elections, failed in two businesses, and had a nervous breakdown –  one of the most remarkable examples of perseverance who became one of the best Presidents in US history.
• Thomas Edison reportedly failed over 10,000 times in his quest to develop a practical working light bulb – his comment, “every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward”.

“Brick walls” are made to hurdle. Take a hard look at the obstacles in your situation and tackle them with knowledge, a positive “can do” attitude, , , and persevere. You might be amazed at the result.

How many times have you heard a manager tell someone they have to do something because, “I’m the Manager.”?

I learned early in my management career as a young Marine that you can give an order and the troops will carry it out but when they respect you and understand why the order was given, it’s done with a whole lot more enthusiasm and quality.

A nice title gives you nothing more than to say you have a responsibility for something. Employees, especially bright technical employees, don’t just do what you ask because you are the “manager”. They take their cues and make their moves based upon how their leader motivates them and whether they have confidence in him or her.

Little things like showing respect for people, taking the “hit” when the organization or someone in it fails, stepping up to a difficult employee situation, and giving the team and individual staff members credit for successes are all subtle things that leaders do. It’s what makes people want to follow and go the extra mile for you.

Managers lead by example ever day of the week. Never forget that eyes are watching you to determine how they should react to situations and they are learning from you all the time, , , even when you don’t expect it.

I had a former employee share something with me many years after he had worked for me. There was an event to do with something I did in a staff meeting that I couldn’t even recall, but it had a profound impact on him and became something that he incorporated into his own management style years later.

They are watching, learning, and replicating your actions and behavior into their own approaches. Managers earn respect by action and successes, not words or foolish things called titles.

You owe it to every member of your staff to set the right tone and example in work ethic, treatment of others, and teamwork. It will repay you many times over.

Managers need to constantly learn and improve their skills just like all the rest of your staff. Big things can happen when you learn new concepts and techniques that improve your performance.

Some of the best lessons I have learned have been insights gained from watching and observing others. I have also gained a considerable amount of skill by attending formal classes. One of the quickest ways to improve your skill set is to get the “abridged” or condensed version from those who have already walked in the shoes you are walking in now.

The first time down any path can be confusing, vague, difficult, and especially challenging. How many times have you listened to someone explain an issue to you and the “light goes on”? There are all types of educational resources available to you if you want to take advantage of them, , , some formal and some not so formal.

Invest in yourself each year and you will see that the results of your efforts improve considerably over time.

Don’t underestimate the value of having a solid mentor, , , or two. A good coach can save you considerable time and frustration on any number of topics and situations. Good mentors are literally worth their weight in gold because of the differences they can make in your productivity and effectiveness by sharing their experiences that can help you in areas you are seeing for the first time.

Take the knowledgeable path with a mentor; you will have fewer bruises.

The short answer is, “You don’t.” The misconception is that money is the primary driver for employee satisfaction and it truly is not. If it were, you would see much more turnover than occurs in the technology world today.

Every study you will find lists money well down the priority list of issues that are important for employees to remain with their company, , , or why they leave a company. This doesn’t mean that compensation is not important. Certainly, your compensation packages need to be competitive in the local and regional market you are in. But competitive doesn’t mean “over paid” or “highest paid”.

Motivating an IT staff is somewhat an art in that “how you go about” your actions can be just as important as “what you do”. Employees pick up on sincerity (or insincere actions) very quickly. Try to introduce a motivational action and not be sincere about it and it can make things worse.

There are some key things employees want from their manager and their company that motivates them to work hard and stay with you:

• Training and education – Technical employees have a big need to keep learning and to stay current.
• Challenge – Motivated employees are busy and need to be challenged.
• Success – Everyone needs to have successes. The more you can show the results of the work and how important it means to the company the more  your staff will be charged up to do more.
• Confidence in their manager and company – People want to work with winners, both managers and companies.
• Trust – Empower your employees to do their job and give them flexibility, tools, and support to get it done, , , then  watch the results, , ,  it might amaze you.
• Being appreciated – This is a big one. Many IT employees do not feel they are appreciated for their hard work. It’s up to the manager to insure they are appreciated, , , and it starts with you.

Motivation doesn’t happen automatically. It’s up to the manager to do things that motivates your staff, , , you must lead them by doing some of the things listed above.

You want to pay your IT employees well, especially your best people, , , but there is a whole lot more than salary that motivates people to stay with you. Don’t overlook the intangibles such as challenge, respect, professional development, and appreciation, , , they are powerful components in building loyalty and in retaining your best people..