ITLever™

I get this question quite a bit, “How do I overcome our poor IT reputation in our company?”

“Rome was not built in a day.”, they say. To turn a poor situation around takes focus, commitment, hard work, , , and time. If you have a bad situation, it didn’t get into this state of affairs over night. Neither will it be fixed over night.

Start by identifying the key problems that’s leading to client dis-satisfaction. I use the word ‘client’ for both internal managers and employees who use technology as well as external clients who pay you for services (if you have them).

Once you know what your problems are, determine what it takes to fix them or to eliminate what causes them. It may be organizational focus, possibly managing expectations better, or even eliminating some things that you are trying to do because it’s either not that important or the IT organization isn’t up to the task.

It is always critical that you manage the delivery of your services to match up with both your IT organization’s capabilities as well as capacity. Signing up for something when you don’t have one of these two elements is pure suicide so if you have such a situation, get it fixed promptly.

Unlike what you may feel, your clients really do want you to succeed. They will typically always push you for more than what you can do, and you can either sign up for too much and fail, , ,  or sign up for an appropriate level of service, deliver consistently, and succeed, , , every time!!

Keys to improving your client satisfaction levels:

• Back off of unrealistic commitments and re-establish what you can do.

• Always quantify what you can do and can’t.

• Build some buffer into your commitments (surprises do happen in the IT world so plan for them)

• Coach your staff to over communicate.

• Be aggressive in follow-up and calling back.

• Strive to keep your client informed; never leave the client in the dark.

• Don’t commit to deadlines unless you can deliver and if you commit, you had better make it happen.

It’s important for you to position your IT organization to over deliver. No one gets upset if you complete projects faster than expected or at less cost than expected. Someone always gets concerned if you are late or over budget, , , so position yourself to deliver “better than expected”, and see what a difference it makes.

Clients want results and need you to do what you say you will do, and they want you to be consistent in this area. Most clients are more forgiving than you might think, but when you lose their confidence it’s all over.

Do these things with a positive mindset to improve your IT support delivery, and you will start turning your situation around.

Too many IT organizations run by the “seat of their pants” and are reactive in nature. I’m sure you’ve seen it, even heard people express symptoms of the problem like,

• “We are too busy & don’t have time to plan.”
• “We have too much work to do.”
• “Projects aren’t finished on time because of constant interruptions and surprises.”

Every manager has the opportunity to establish an environment that is predictable and that clients can rely on. For some, however, getting there is a big stretch due to how they operate.

One of the reasons many managers find themselves in an environment that is constantly full of surprises and reactive is that they are so busy fighting alligators (dealing with problems). They forget to “drain the swamp”, , , in other words, eliminate the source of the problems and the problem goes away.

The point is that every organizational situation has key issues that need to be addressed to turn it from a reactive environment to one that is more predictable. You have to identify your key problems (i.e., the alligators) and determine how to eliminate the root cause (the swamp).

No swamp, no alligators to fight.

Key points to the model:

• Define your mission & plan your initiatives
• Dedicate resources to primary objectives
• Eliminate the source of problems vs. spending resources on fixing problems

Drain the swamp is a key model every IT manager needs to pay attention to. Lack of clear objectives and failure to maintain focus causes more productivity loss than anything I know of.

Drain the swamp is one of 72 models in my book, IT Management Models. Learn more

With the US and England playing in the World Cup Soccer matches this past weekend, it reminded me of a model that I’ve used hundreds of times in coaching others on my team through the years.

It begins with understanding the basics of American football and focuses on playing your position.

In an offensive line (shown as the “O’s” in the graphic below), the primary mission is to block defensive players (the “X’s”) and to protect the quarterback, , , to move the ball forward in order to score points.

Each lineman has a designated area to block. When one player fails to execute as planned, the team can bog down making forward progress more difficult. Every player has to play his position and count on his teammates to execute their assignments to achieve success.

This example works the same for an IT organization. I’ve seen too many IT organizations perform ineffectively because they either:

• lack focus due to a lack of specific responsibility
• team members lack the skill to succeed
• team members wander away from their assignment to help another area

Focus is key. Missed assignments of responsibility or lining up your players without the skills to be successful is a management issue. Once proper responsibilities are established and communicated, and the skills are in place; it is the team member’s responsibility to execute. When they do, success is usually achieved.

Management has to insure the skills are in place and each staff member knows their responsibilities and how to take care of their assignments. When this happens, you simply let the team do what it knows how to do, , , with minor coaching and tweaking when necessary.

Key management points:

• Assign every team member specific responsibilities
• Take advantage of strengths and “shore up” your weaknesses
• Insure each team member has the skills necessary to succeed
• Provide the tools that allow each person to be successful
• Expect each team member to succeed individually and to support the team
• Build your strategy around your team’s capabilities

Oh, by the way, , , CONGRATULATIONS to the US and England in a 1-1 tie, , , and we all know that most people in the world consider “real football” to be soccer.  I’m OK with that until American football season starts.

Go Tennessee !!!      Go Titans !!!

Business managers and users don’t really understand what you and your IT organization are all about. Here are a few of my own personal ideas as to why this exists:

• IT is not normally the core competency of your company; therefore, most managers of the company do not need to be very knowledgeable about technology, , , so they aren’t and they don’t want to be.
• Many IT managers have excellent technical skills but lack strong management and interpersonal skills.
• The nature of technology is that equipment breaks and users need support, something they would actually rather not have to deal with.
• Many companies lack the discipline to manage a true change management process and a project management culture that helps prevent problems.
• Some departments use IT as an excuse for their poor performance.
• IT managers often miss the mark when prioritizing initiatives for the company.

I’m sure there are many more reasons, but this list should give you plenty to think about in assessing your situation.

Contrary to what a lot of people believe, staff meetings do not have to be a waste of everyone’s time. In fact, a well run monthly staff meeting can have many benefits for your IT organization.

As a young IBM Systems Engineer, monthly staff meetings were great breaks from the daily work routine. It was there that I learned the value of a properly conducted staff meeting.

I’ve incorporated regularly scheduled staff meetings throughout my management career to help me accomplish many things with my IT organization including:

• Keeping staff informed of company events & issues
• Reinforcing teamwork
• Coaching key points
• Providing group education
• Building camaraderie within the IT group
• Recognizing successes and achievement
• Having fun

You need to balance the impact on productivity against what you gain by having a meeting. Fifty employees out for one hour in a meeting is potentially 50 hours of lost time, maybe even lost billable time if your organization generates revenue. That’s a hit against your organization’s output or billable revenue to be sure.

On the flip side, getting everyone together once a month keeps them informed and allows you to emphasize key issues that need their focus. The bottom line is that it helps you manage the output of their productivity potential. Informed employees who know their manager realizes the importance of both hard work and having fun tend to be more motivated. Highly motivated employees produce more in a 40-hour work week than those who are not.

When I hear employees or managers make statements that meetings are a waste of time, one of two things is happening. Their meetings lack substance and are held simply to meet, or the person doesn’t realize the peripheral benefits that are taking place by keeping the team informed.

Your IT employees typically have a huge need to know what’s going on. Staff meetings are one way to keep them informed. Meeting time is high quality time with your people when you organize and prepare for the event and make it a priority to make it meaningful for your staff.

I’m sure you are using the management model, “Bite the head of a frog”, , , right?

What’s that, , , haven’t heard of it?

I pose this question in every IT Manager Institute class. So far, I haven’t found anyone who knows what it is.

It’s one of 72 models in my book, IT Management Models. Each model has a management principle behind it and the graphic helps you remember it. Once you learn “Bite the head of a frog”, , , you will remember it for a long time.

Want to learn about it? The following is right out of the book and will give you a good idea of how all the models are presented:

23.  Bite the head of a frog

Description:

Tough issues and decisions often get put off until a “better time” to deal with them. When you have a painful or difficult issue to deal with, make it a point to go into the office and deal with the issue early or at a specific time, i.e., do the distasteful deed proactively and get it out of the way. You will find that it’s less stressful for you and has a positive impact on your productivity as you won’t be worried about the issue all day.

Take care of your most “distasteful” issue first and it clears the way for a better day.

Key points:

• Deal with the “ugly” issues early and avoid procrastination
• Address tough issues early in the day
• Evaluate consequences and prepare for the impact
• Plan for the event and get your act together
• Approach the issue with a win-win perspective

Discussion:

Most of us have this thing called a “procrastination factor”. When we have a tough issue to deal with, we often put it off until the very last possible moment.

This burns up a tremendous amount of energy, creates a lot of stress, and lowers our productivity quite a bit because we can’t stop thinking about the tough session we are about to have when we finally deal with our tough issue. There is a solution. Take care of your ugliest situation first thing in the day and get it out of the way.

Deal with the “ugly” issues early and avoid procrastination – Once you are prepared, tackle your toughest issues early and avoid procrastinating. Putting it off doesn’t do anything but build up anxiety and cause you to lose focus on important issues of the day so handle the problem and move on.

Address tough issues early in the day – Handling your toughest issues first thing will make you feel better that day. Think of it as “biting the head of the frog” being the worst thing you have to do that day. Go ahead, do it, and get past it so you can be productive the rest of the day.

Evaluate consequences and prepare for the impact – Once you determine how you need to handle a tough issues, it’s best to go ahead and handle it. Be sure to evaluate the downside and possible ramifications so you go in prepared. In many cases, the toughest part is the anxiety that builds leading up to when you actually deal with the issue. If you have prepared well, handling the issue won’t be as tough as you think.

Plan for the event and get your act together – Do whatever it takes to prepare. Seek help from those with experience in such matters and develop a planned approach. If it’s a really tough employee or client issue, it’s worth the time to prepare.

Approach the issue with a win-win perspective – Approach tough situations with a win-win attitude and seek a way for both you and the other party to find something positive with your solution. For example, if I have to fire someone for consistent unacceptable performance, I approach the issue in the perspective that I’m helping the employee move on to another career opportunity where he/she will be successful. It’s unfair for the company, my team, myself, and especially the employee to allow him/her to continue working when he/she is not going to be successful.

IT Management Models actually comes with two e-books:

• The large Reference Manual with the detail discussions and a lot more
• A smaller Models Summary document that fits in your briefcase

For more information, CLICK HERE

This was the most fun book I’ve written. There is plenty of practical information and management insight, , , but there are also some models that are intentionally developed with a bit of humor behind them.

I use visual illustrations all the time when I’m trying to discuss an issue. IT Management Models will help you coach your staff, discuss key points with senior managers, and even deal with difficult issues with people you work with.

I hope you take advantage of the lesson discussed in “Bite the head of a frog”.

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I just posted comments about an article I read about “CIO burnout”.

It made me stop and think about, “why I like my job”.

I’ve worked for some great companies in my career and have had some great responsibilities, , , I can honestly say that I’ve truly enjoyed the “jobs” I’ve had in my career, , , well, for the most part. Certainly, in over 30 years there have been a couple of situations that we don’t like to talk about.

Here is an exercise for you. Take 10 minutes (no more) and write down 10 things you like (maybe even love) about your current job, or current position.

If you can’t think of 10 things in ten minutes, , , you better start taking your pulse of where you are.

Here is my 10 “most likes” about my job as the CEO of MDE Enterprises, Inc.

1. I’m helping IT managers all over the world achieve more success, and I love developing IT managers.
2. I get to travel to some very interesting places.
3. I get to work and meet with some of the best people in the world.
4. I have a flexible work schedule that allows me to work from a home office and be close to my family (sometimes working from home can be difficult because you never really get away from the work).
5. I love what I do and get to focus on what I want to do, , , for the most part, except when the “boss” (that’s my wife Dorine) needs me to do something.
6. I get feedback from managers all over the world about the benefits and value they are receiving from my books, tools, or training, , , it’s a great feeling.
7. No politics in my company, , , as long as I say, “Yes Ma’am” at the end of our discussions, I’m in good shape.
8. I get to dress casually every day at the office and even when teaching my classes.
9. I can work from Camp Liberty, , , or virtually anywhere in the world.
10. My business is pretty simple and allows me to use my creativity.

This is just a quick list that came to mind in less than 10 minutes. I probably missed something important but that doesn’t matter. The point is that I love what I do and thinking through this exercise reinforces it to me.

That’s a “two thumbs up”!!

I hope your list has lots of positives and you can say the same thing about your job.

Leave a comment to this post, , , I would like to hear what you think.

I just read an article on CIO.com about “CIO Burnout” and thought I would post something about it.

CLICK HERE if you would like to read the CIO.com article.

In essence, an IT Director seems to be burned out about his job so he posed a question to other CIO’s about, “How do you get yourself motivated every day to do the same old job?”.

The feedback results were summarized into 7 responses, plus an additional commentary response:

1. Take pride in your team
2. Look for a new challenge on the job
3. Keep a pet project
4. Promote your work
5. Give yourself a pat on the back
6. Delegate your dirty work
7. Remember why you went into IT
8. If all else fails, , , take a vacation

Here are my two cents on each of the responses:

1.  Take pride in your team
You betcha!!  Your team’s performance and the ability to work with great people is one of the best parts of the job. Not only take pride, but do something that shows your team you appreciate their hard work and the successes you are having.

2.  Look for a new challenge on the job
I left a CIO role to create my company in 2000. In talking with one of my former employees, I asked, “How’s it going?” The answer was, “We are pretty bored, not much going on and we aren’t all that busy.”

Well, I was shocked because when I left just 3 months ago there was all kinds of things to do, , , it’s virtually impossible to be in a company and not have anything to do in the IT organization, , , unless you aren’t looking for it.

3.  Keep a pet project
Be careful with this one. All your IT projects should be initiated based upon a legitimate business need. Don’t do work just because it’s a neat technology to play around with, , , unless it is realistic research work to explore the viability of a new technology for your company.

4.  Promote your work
Absolutely !!!!

Let me say that again, , , ABSOLUTELY !!!.

If you aren’t communicating and promoting the positives of what your IT organization is getting accomplished, no one will know. You owe it to everyone to keep other managers aware of the successes you are having, , , senior management, department managers, your staff, , , and the company.

5.  Give yourself a pat on the back
Yessirreee, , , but I would pat your team on the back, , , it is the same as giving yourself a compliment, but it has far more effect.

6.  Delegate your dirty work
I’m not too sure about this one. It depends on what the dirty work is, , , some things need to be handled by you, , , such as dealing with a problem client, focusing on a weak employee, developing your budget, etc.

7.  Remember why you went into IT
I agree with this one, but if you have been in IT for a long time, this might be a bit difficult. I tend to take an inventory of what I like about work and my career and try to focus my attention on the positives.

It’s also good to do a status check on yourself from time to time. It’s possible you have ended up in a job that you just don’t like, , , or you aren’t well suited for. If that’s the case, you ought to let someone else have the job and go seek something that you can truly have passion for.

There is nothing worse than working at a job that you hate, and life is simply too short for that.

8.  If all else fails, , , take a vacation
Great idea, , , burnout can be caused because you haven’t taken care of yourself and you are simply tired. Vacations are there for a reason, , , lets you recharge your batteries and re-energize yourself. It helps to get away from the office.

Sometimes, we get to believing that the company can’t operate without us so we can’t afford to be away from the office. If that’s the case, you have some serious problems. There isn’t a company in the world that won’t operate without their IT manager. It may cause some problems, , , sure, , , but, if the company has to replace the manager and make some adjustments, it will. Life will go on after you, , , or without you there for a week or two.

Take care of yourself, , , it will make you a better employee.

Personal reflection
I’ve been in a job where I was burned out. It was so hard to get up and go to the office, , , I’ve never been so depressed in all my life. The company had been a great young company but had become extremely political and essentially lost it’s way, , , what was a great situation turned into one of the worst I’ve ever experienced, , , and I couldn’t do anything about it.

Ultimately, I made a change by leaving the company and going to another, , , my sense of duty and the old feelings of excitement and interest in what I was doing snapped right back in place.

Right now, we are entering vacation time in the US. You need to think about the fact that if you can become burned out and lose interest, your people can do the same. Every year, you want to encourage your staff to take their vacations for two key reasons

1. It’s important for them to take some time and get away from the work so they can recharge their batteries.
2. You don’t want everyone to save their vacations for the end of the year and holiday season, , , you need some people in the office during the holidays to support the business.

It’s Friday, , , time for me to start thinking about the weekend and what to do to recharge my batteries. Hope you do the same!!