Tag Archives: it management books

I received an email recently from one of my Practical IT Manager Newsletter subscribers. In it, he told me he had accepted a new IT manager position with a start-up company, , , a new bank.

His question, “Which books do you recommend I read that you have written to prepare for my new IT manager position?”

Here is what I told him.

I would recommend several things:

1. Read IT Management-101: fundamentals to achieve more – this is free when signing up for my newsletter and you may already have it. It was rewritten late last year so let me know if you do not have the current copy and I’ll send it to you.
2. Getting started in any new IT manager role is all about determining what your IT organization should work on and in what priority to work on things so your organization is in sync with your company’s business needs and issues. To get to this, I would follow the processes outlined in two books:
   IT Due Diligence  –  $29.95  –  This book and the tools in it will guide you through a process of conducting an IT assessment to gain an understanding of two key things: 1) Business needs and issues, , , and 2) IT capability and capacity. Once you have a grasp of the demand for IT support and understand what it is you can deliver (supply), you can develop an IT strategy and prioritize the work your team needs to focus on.
   IT Strategy –  $29.95 – Before you start working on things, you should develop an IT strategy recommendation and present it to your senior management team for approval. This is a key step in keeping the IT organization aligned with your company’s business needs. This book walks you through the entire process step by step.
3. If you are going to build an IT organization, , , you may also want to read IT Organization –  $29.95. This book will give you insight on what you should consider when building an IT organization and includes tools to help you assess specific needs in that regard.
4. Browse my ITLever BLOG for lots of free articles and download tools – www.itlever.com
5. Take a look at this 20 Minute IT Manager Session – Fast Start for a New IT Manager

There are some bundled options, , , you might want to consider one of them as they are more cost effective:

1. Practical IT Manager GOLD Series (includes 10 e-books plus the IT Manager ToolKit) – $279.00  BEST SELLING ITEM
2. IT Manager Institute Self Study – If you are looking for complete training on how to manage an IT organization effectively, this is the class you want – practical and easy to use processes, , ,  same material taught in the classroom program (includes all my books and tools) – $995.00
3. Practical IT Manager GOLD Membership – monthly subscription gives you access to my entire library of books, tools, and 20 Minute IT Manager training, plus new training and personal coaching every month, plus access to the IT Manager Institute Self Study to achieve ITBMC status. BEST BUY – $299.00 per month

Once you have your IT strategy agreed upon by senior management and you get your team focused on the appropriate work, the next thing is “delivering the goods”.

The key to gaining credibility in a company is being able to deliver projects successfully, , , or better put, “Delivering what you say you will deliver.”

You won’t go very far if you can’t deliver projects successfully, , , without credibility you simply won’t be viewed as a successful IT organization.

I use a practical project management approach and a few simple tools to help me manage projects successfully. All are discussed in IT Project Management: a practical approach – $29.95. This book comes complete with a simple and straightforward project management methodology as well as tools to help you achieve success. 

The resources and tools included in these items can help you get off to a fast start in a new manager position.

Best of success,