Tag Archives: it manager

What’s different about the ITBMC certification?

Posted on March 2, 2011 | Leave a comment

Certifications have become pretty much the norm in the IT world. Let’s see, there are dozens of technical certifications, project management certifications, and even a few management certifications. In fact, you can get a certification on almost anything in the IT world, , , it seems that IT people really like certifications.

I may be an exception, , , ,they don’t mean that much to me and never have. The same thing goes for titles, , , call me whatever you choose, just pay me well, let me do my job, and recognize me for the results I get.

But, , , titles and certifications are important for a lot of your people so you don’t want to underestimate the importance in someone else’s mind. In addition, some certifications are now required just to get in the door for an interview with some companies.

In reality, a certification doesn’t mean you can actually do the job well, , , it just means you have received the knowledge and been certified by passing an exam in many cases.

You probably know my company offers the IT Business Manager Certification, ITBMC. I never would have if not for the encouragement of the managers who attended our first few IT Manager Institute programs.

I’ll deliver the 44th and 45th IT Manager Institute program this month and I can tell you that the ITBMC certification has probably been one of the reasons for the longevity and success of the program, , , this is our 9th year in delivering the program with hundreds around the world to receive their ITBMC status.

I can hardly wait to deliver each new class, , , they are a lot of fun and seeing the enthusiasm for the program is very rewarding.

At the end of the day
Certifications do not guarantee you will be successful. What they indicate is that you have received knowledge about a particular subject and passed an exam that suggests you have a good comprehension of the material.

Execution is something else, , , you still have to do the work that is required in order to achieve success.

That’s why I structured the IT Manager Institute program to not only deliver the material of what to do and how to go about it in class, , , I also give you the tools to make it happen plus some takeaways to help you implement the IT Management Process we teach to achieve more success. Things like:

  • 30 Day Action Plan, , , specific steps to take when you get home
  • My entire library of e-Books that reinforce the class presentations
  • IT Manager ToolKit containing 102 tools and templates to use immediately or modify as needed
  • Ongoing support and access to me for assistance

The IT Manager Institute program is unique in many ways because of how we structure the class and also the additional tools and resources you take back to your company. Because the class follows a structured process and is delivered in a “how to” format, your retention is better, , , plus you have many resources to help you remember things from the class.

The bottom line
I think the key to any certification is how well people respond to the program. In our case, we have a 100% positive satisfaction from those who have attended. The reason is simple, , , the practical processes and tools are easily understood and put into practice, , ,  and they work.

It’s one thing to understand a concept. To succeed, you have to actually do the work and that’s why the IT Manager Institute program is structured so you can follow specific steps and use tools designed for specific uses that lead to more success in an IT manager role.

An ITBMC beside your name says something other than signifying a technical skill. ITBMC says you have learned the importance for your IT organization to deliver tangible and quantifiable business value in support of your company. It also indicates an understanding that IT initiatives are driven by business needs and issues and that every initiative you recommend will be cost justified and targeted to some specific business value.

Why is this important? It tells senior managers of your company you have a business perspective when managing your IT organization, , , not so focused on technology and missing the tremendous business leverage opportunities your IT organization offers your company.

Business managers become business partners, , , and without having these “partners” in your company, your success will be limited.

As I prepare for next week’s class, I get a high sense of enthusiasm in thinking about meeting a whole new group of IT managers and giving them the tools and resources that potentially changes their life and boosts their career.

They will leave with the knowledge and tools to make it happen, , , but they still have to do the work just as with anything in life.

Check out Institute class photos at https://itlever.com/institute-photos/

More photos at http://www.mde.net/institute/page4.html

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Develop a quick PowerPoint presentation

Posted on February 25, 2011 | 2 comments

Let’s say you are the senior IT manager for a small company and your CEO has asked you to present an IT update for the Board of Director’s Meeting next week.

Where to start?

If you are like me when I first encountered such an opportunity, there may be some initial shock. After the panic leaves you, it’s time to prepare, , , where do we start?

Let’s outline what I do and then I’ll explain each part:

  1. Gather information about the presentation objectives
  2. Collect the data
  3. Make a list or two
  4. Develop a draft of title slides
  5. Fill in the slide bullet points
  6. Create your PowerPoint presentation
  7. Prepare for the presentation

Developing a presentation can be fairly quick, , , or you can agonize over it for days. Use this simple approach and it might make it easier for you. Let’s take a look at each step:

1.  Gather information about the presentation objectives
First of all, you need some information from your CEO, , ,  things like:

  • Anything specific you need me to cover?
  • What’s the background of the Board Members?
  • What’s the objective or goal of the presentation?
  • How much time do I have?

You may also want to get some other quick facts, such as:

  • Board Member names and where they are from
  • Sample of past presentations that worked well
  • PowerPoint format or template to use

Once you know what the objectives are and what your CEO wants you to cover, you should be able to identify the appropriate content to develop a presentation. That’s actually the easy part.

You also now know how much time you have, , , let’s say it is 30 minutes.

You need to get a feel for the type of people on the Board. Is this a group that usually lets the presenter walk through a presentation and asks questions at the end, , , or does it have Members of the Board who ask questions every step of the way.

The latter will eat up your time quicker than a bee can dart past your nose, so you need to know that this group can only absorb a little information.

In fact, that’s an important piece of information for presenting to any Board of Directors. In general, members of the Board of Directors are high level and mostly concept people, , , not highly detail oriented people who want to get into the muck. But, there are some who like to get into the detail so learn from your CEO what type of audience to expect.

For an audience who waits to ask questions at the end, , , count on 1 -2 minutes per slide, , , that means you can deliver 10 to 12 slides at most and still have time at the end for questions and discussion.

For the interactive group who asks lots of questions, consider 3-5 minutes per slide, , , that means you can only get through 5-8 slides comfortably.

2. Collect the data
What to cover is very important to know from your CEO. He may want you to deliver a general overall view of what’s taking place in IT for the company, or he may want you to spend the majority of your time to provide an update about a specific IT initiative the Board is interested in.

Once you know what the presentation objectives are and the subject, collect the data you need to develop a presentation. It might include recent management reports, cost justification analysis, project status updates, etc., , , whatever data you have that supports your topic and allows you to develop a few PowerPoint slides to discuss the subject.

It is also reasonable that every bit of the material could come out of your head, , , read on.

3.  Make a list or two
At this point, step back and put yourself into the mindset of your audience. In this case, the Board of Directors represent the owners of the company, , , so what would a company owner want to hear about this subject you are about to present?

Make a quick list of what you think they would want to know about. Ask your CEO or the meeting sponsor the question and gain their insight, , , always helpful.

When completed, think about key points you think are important to share. Make another list.

Now, you have a list of what the audience wants to hear and important points you believe need to be presented about your subject, , , plus you have supporting material by which to start developing slides.

4.  Develop a draft of title slides
Each of your slides needs a title, , , this is sort of like an outline of a book if you were writing a book. What I do when I plan to write a book is start by developing the Table of Contents, , , this is my book outline. A PowerPoint presentation works the same way, , , each slide is a key point you want to make as you walk through your subject, so create a title for each slide.

A quick and easy way to do this is to take a blank sheet of paper and draw a set of rectangle squares , , , I usually put 6 to 8 boxes on a sheet of paper. Each box represents a slide in your presentation.

Now, put the title of each of your slides in the top part of the boxes. I work left to right and to the bottom in the sequence I want my presentation.

Going into this process, you may not know how many slides your presentation will be or in exactly what order. Creating a paper draft makes it easy and creates thought as you work through the process.

When finished with identifying your title slides, check the number of slides and be sure you have ample time to present the content you are going to end up with based upon the guidelines I discussed earlier.

Once you get the slide titles defined, the rest is fairly easy, , , creating bullet points for each slide based upon its title.

When you start developing the detail of the slides, you may identify new slides you need to add or possibly slides that can be better discussed by combining them. The point is that the finished presentation will be slightly different from what you think it will be as you start working on it in the beginning.

5.  Fill in the slide bullet points
Next, put in the bullet points for each slide on the paper to complete the draft of your presentation.

A couple of key things to remember. First, you need to resist your urge to provide too much detail. In a slide presentation, too much detail makes it difficult for people to follow. Use short and crisp bullet points that you can talk about.

Next, keep the number of bullet points on a slide to a reasonable list, , , no more than 4 to 6 points on a slide. Anything over that is too much detail.

Finally, a single point and graphic on a slide can be a powerful message so focus on highlights, , , not detail, unless of course your CEO says he wants you to discuss the detail.

6.  Create your PowerPoint presentation
When you are comfortable with the presentation “draft”, create the PowerPoint slides using the presentation template needed to make it consistent with your CEO’s presentations look and feel.

As you build each slide from your paper draft, think about graphics that add value to the presentation or make your points easy to follow. Don’t be too cutesy, , , but good graphics can add a lot. As you build the slides, you will also make adjustments to your bullet points because you will think of things that need to be in the presentation.

Another point about graphics, , , senior executives love charts and graphs that make your message visible. A good chart showing positive progress can add tremendous value to your presentation.

By drafting the presentation on paper first and then building the PowerPoint slides from the draft, it allows you to walk through the presentation a couple of times, , , and this is always helpful for your thought process and will ultimately make the presentation better.

Let me repeat something here. Fight your tendency to provide too much detail, , , we want the major points, , , just the major points.

Fewer bullet points is better than lots of bullet points. Remember, these guys are high level, , , they want the answer, not all the detail. If they need detail, they will ask you questions and you can fill in the blanks.

IT people think everyone needs all the information possible. Just the opposite is the case, so keep your presentation at a high level, , , and use graphics to enhance the message.

Here are the first two slides of my presentation:

7.  Prepare for the presentation
Before the presentation, do a few things:

  1. Prepare a good opening to get things started smoothly, , , it will help calm your nerves.
  2. Rehearse what you plan to say and become intimately familiar with every slide you present.
  3. Anticipate questions you may be asked and come up with appropriate answers.
  4. Develop a list of key message points you want to make for each slide. This can help you stay on message and insure you emphasize each key point.

Prepare and you will come across knowledgeable and on top of your game. Go in there unprepared and they may rip you apart, , , so be prepared.

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How do you change the perception of people in order to take on more responsibility?

Posted on February 22, 2011 | Leave a comment

People’s perceptions, especially senior management’s perceptions, are made up by the results we achieve, how we achieve them, and how we conduct ourselves. It really is a combination of each of these things, , , not just a matter of getting the job done.

Don’t underestimate the significance of “how you go about your work” and “how you conduct yourself with others” plays when senior management starts looking to promote someone.

If you aren’t getting assigned additional responsibilities and you think you should be, take a step back and try to objectively assess what the manager sees in your performance.

You may be getting results but possibly the manner in which you are getting your results is not quite what senior management wants to see. It may also be that you aren’t getting the results they expect.

Are you setting the right tone in terms of teamwork?

Are you creating positive energy for those around you or is it negative energy?

Are you creating the right role model image senior management wants?

All of these questions are worth asking yourself, , , and when you answer them, , , be objective and honest with yourself.

Ask your senior management why you are being passed over and ask in a non-confronting way. Be open to what they have to say and listen objectively. You may not like what you hear, but it is their perception that you have to deal with just like dealing with an unhappy client.

Don’t try to rationalize or defend yourself, just listen!

Don’t talk, , , LISTEN !!

Listen to what they have to say and incorporate their input into your approach to do a better job, whether doing a better job is getting better results or changing how you go about getting the results.

Personal story
My career took off when I stopped pushing senior management to give me more responsibility and to do more for me. Up until November 1986, my approach was all about me. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t getting more promotions, more money, more responsibility, , , all the things I thought I had earned.

Then, in November 1986 our company had a major reorganization. I was assigned a management responsibility for a small technical support group of 22 people supporting 23 clients.

My focus changed almost overnight although I didn’t realize it until much later. I started focusing on our clients and my employees to achieve some specific company objectives, and I was working so hard on this and having so much fun, , , I forgot about “me”.

When I truly focused on doing a great job for our clients and the company and started getting results in those areas, more responsibility just started coming my way. I suddenly became promotion material and was getting more and more responsibility when it seemed that I wasn’t even trying to get more responsibility. Sometimes, you just have to “let it happen”. It seems to happen easier when you aren’t pushing so hard.

In hindsight, it was about results and also about how I approached my responsibility.

My perception of myself before the reorganization was very different from my senior manager’s perception of me. I thought I was getting great results, but the reality was I was probably getting meager results at best. And I was always pushing for more every chance I got, , , and this created a negative vibe that I didn’t realize.

After the reorganization, the results were specific, quantifiable and matched up with what senior management wanted. It also helped that these results were visible, , , they have to know about it to appreciate the effort. Our monthly reporting processes communicated the results in an objective fashion and it made a difference.

Two more tips that may be worthwhile
First, raise your perspective to a senior manager level. They want managers to be mature and to think in terms of the client and in providing tangible business value. Being proactive in developing a strategy that’s in sync with the client and business owner’s needs is critical. Do things that reduces cost or improves productivity of groups of people and you endear yourself to senior management, especially if it helps achieve business financial goals.

Second, I can’t tell you how many times I have sat in senior management meetings to discuss the need to fill a senior management position and we had to turn potential candidates down because they didn’t have anyone in their organization who could step up and fill their management position if we promoted them.

To move up, you have to be able to fill your position with as little ripple as possible.

When we make management changes or promote someone, we look closely at the impact it’s going to have, both positive and negative. Management Rule #1 is to identify and develop your replacement.

Many managers tend to avoid doing this because they are concerned it makes them vulnerable. That’s completely wrong in my mind. Getting your replacement in position actually shows us you can develop a strong organization and it positions you to take on more responsibility.

Focus on positive results and how you go about getting those results. Both are important.

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Preparing for an IT Manager role

Posted on February 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

I receive quite a few inquiries about how to prepare for an IT manager role.  Often, these inquiries come from a parent who wants to help a son or daughter position themselves for a successful career.

Here is a message I received just this week from a supportive parent:  “My son is studying computers and he is in his early year of computer engineering and later on he will decide which branch of IT to specialize in. I want your help to give him tips and a head start to become an IT manager one day.”

In many cases, the parent has little or no knowledge of technology or how to prepare for IT management. What they do have is concern for their child’s future and a strong  interest in helping them prepare for the future. Often I will hear, “When he (or she) gets the opportunity to manage, I want him to be prepared so he will be successful.”

It’s something anyone who wants to be an IT manager one day should think about and devise a plan to prepare for.

My response:

——————————————-

Here is the path I would suggest:

1.  Read the free book you receive when signing up for my Practical IT Manager Newsletter – IT Management-101: fundamentals to achieve more. This book is a good foundational starting point. Sign up at www.mde.net/free

2.  Have him subscribe to my ITLever Blog at www.itlever.com so he receives free weekly tips and tools directed to helping IT managers achieve more success. There are hundreds of free articles, tools to download and other items to help an IT manager and I add new content every week.

A recent ITLever post will be of particular help titled, Solve the IT Management Maze with an IT Management Process. CLICK HERE to see it.

3.  Watch the 20 Minute IT Manager session titled Fast Start for a New IT Manager  at  http://www.20minuteitmanager.com/sessions/060602FASTSTART

There are 162 sessions in the 20 Minute IT Manager series, , , purchase all for $249.00 or $9.99 each. Details at www.20minuteitmanager.com
CLICK HERE for a special 50% discount offer for ITLever Blog readers – only $249.00. Included in this bundle are 12 sessions of a series titled, “12 Secrets to IT Success” that outlines the IT management process I use in managing technology resources.

4.  He will need to establish a positive record of delivering projects successfully in his technical role. My IT Project Management: a practical approach book is a simplified methodology that can help. There are 14 books in my library, , , available for $29.95 each or $279.00 for the first ten, , , $399.00 for the entire library that includes my IT Manager ToolKit.  Details are at www.mde.net/cio

5.  If and when he truly decides to position himself for a manager role, he should attend the IT Manager Institute. It is available in classroom and online self study and includes Bonus items of all my books and tools.

This class will do more for his preparation in becoming an effective IT manager than anything he will find. Both the classroom version and the self study are exactly the same material and lead to an IT Business Manager Certification (ITBMC) that was co-developed by Belmont University and my company to focus on the importance of IT organizations to provide tangible business value for their company.
    Self Study  –  www.mde.net/selfstudy
    Class schedule   –  www.mde.net/institute 

6.  Find an IT manager mentor, , , someone who is interested in helping your son learn about aspects of managing technology resources and a resource to go to for questions and discussions of interest. It is helpful to work with someone local who is willing to be a mentor at no cost, , , as long as the “mentor” knows what he is doing and has a successful track record. Poor or weak resources can actually damage your son’s career.

I have plans to provide a monthly IT manager membership program to provide mentoring services and IT manager development training because of the need we have seen. Watch my ITLever Blog or Practical IT Manager Tips Newsletter for a future announcement. Contact me at info@mde.net if you are potentially interested in a monthly IT manager mentoring program. I must warn you beforehand, , , it will not be cheap due to the effort required to set it up and it will be limited to a designated number of members.

7.  Your son can gain a sense of management by managing a project. In doing this he will be exposed to people management, managing client expectations, and budgeting. If he learns to manage projects well, it is good development for future IT management roles.

I hope this is of help and wish your son the best of success in his young career.

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The important thing to do when preparing for an IT manager role is to start learning from someone who knows how to manage technology resources, , , and to learn about what a successful IT manager really does, , , it is not all about technology actually. Focus only on technology and not the business and you will have major difficulty in becoming a successful IT manager.

One last piece of advice is to observe others and incorporate the best of what you see into how you go about doing things. I’ve done this throughout my career and know it has made a big difference in my management career. It’s another reason why having a good mentor is so important.

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Solve the IT management maze with an IT Management Process

Posted on February 17, 2011 | 1 comment

Does this look like what you found when you first became an IT manager?

If so, it’s not really surprising, , , it’s what I discovered and millions of managers around the world discover when they first get their BIG OPPORTUNITY.

Managing an IT organization can seem like one big complicated maze.

Well, it really is unless you have a process to follow and tools to help you achieve the things that are necessary for IT management success.

In my case, I had to learn the hard way about many things, , , but I was also fortunate to have some very strong managers around me to learn from. Not all of them were IT managers, , , some had very little knowledge of technology or in understanding IT employees, , , but they possessed excellent management skills and were good resources to learn from.

Don’t limit yourself to learning from only IT managers, , , it limits your possibilities. It’s going to be helpful to your career to learn things from company executives, sales and marketing, , , Human Resources, , , your client department managers, , , even vendor managers.

What you also need is a proven management process, , , a path to follow that will help you find your way through the maze. There are obstacles at every turn in an IT manager role, , , some can even be deadly impediments to your career.

Here is the management process I use in managing an IT organization.

There are 8 key components:

1.  Assess – Conduct an IT assessment to determine what the business needs and issues are plus what your IT organization’s capabilities and capacity is. Once you understand the “demand and supply”, you can develop a plan of attack.

2.  Plan – Develop an immediate 30-90 day tactical strategy and once you get your people focused on it you can start working on developing your long term strategy.

3.  Projects and Processes –  Delivering projects successfully is the key to credibility and there are key support processes you must put into place in order to support your clients effectively.

4.  Organization – You must build an appropriate IT organization and when you have people, you need to motivate them and develop their skills to create a world class support organization.

5.  Focus –  Evert aspect of your organization needs clear focus, from the individual employee to the entire organization.

6.  Financials and Assets –  Managing the financial side of your business and keeping track of technology assets becomes a key part of managing a successful IT operation.

7.  Measure –  To improve, it is important to know where you are and whether you are making positive strides, , , practical measurements will spell it out for you.

8.  Communicate –  What ties it all together and makes such a powerful difference is being able to communicate well.

CLICK HERE to purchase the 20 Minute IT Manager video for only $9.99 to learn more.

Or, purchase the entire library of 162 sessions of the 20 Minute IT Manager
CLICK HERE for a special 50% discount offer for ITLever Blog readers – only $249.00.

Attend an IT Manager Institute class or access the Self Study program to learn step by step how to become a successful IT manager.

IT Manager Institute classes — www.mde.net/institute

IT Manager Institute Self Study  — www.mde.net/selfstudy

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Manage your manager

Posted on February 16, 2011 | Leave a comment

One of the things you must learn in order to become a great manager is how to “manage your manager”.

I can tell you I was not very good at this early in my career, , , primarily because I didn’t understand it, both from the point of needing to do it and also in understanding how to go about it.

Managing your manager’s expectations is just as important as managing client expectations. As with a client, you want to try and position your manager so you and your team always over deliver what the manager expects from you. No one gets upset when you over deliver, , , it’s certainly not the case when you deliver less than what is expected.

Managing your manager means you do things that shows you are:

  1. Organized
  2. Have a vision of what you are trying to accomplish
  3. Predictable and reliable
  4. Have a successful track record of delivering what you say
  5. On time
  6. Understand the financial consequences of your actions
  7. Support and develop your employees
  8. Meet your budget forecasts
  9. Support your clients effectively
  10. Role model for others to follow

When your manager brings you a more urgent project, you know how to balance this new initiative with the other projects already committed to. Something has to give so you manage your manager’s expectations so he expects one of the older projects will be delayed or maybe even canceled in order to focus on the new initiative.

Managing your manager also means you are proactive in developing a strategy for your organization and getting it approved. It means working on things proactively that are understood and agreed upon by your senior management team, , , no way to be out of sync when you do.

Managing your manager means you provide your manager material that helps him understand your organization’s accomplishments and essentially “wind him up” with information he can share with other senior managers of the company.

The bottom line is that managing your manager means you constantly position yourself and your team to be able to deliver what you say you will do and when you say it will be completed. When you establish a predictable track record, you will find a huge amount of trust develops between you and your manager, , , and with trust becomes “partnership” status.

Learn to manage your manager well and it will help your career.

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Dodge the bullets and arrows

Posted on February 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

In your IT manager role, there are lots of bullets and arrows whizzing by, , , and they come from all directions. In many cases, there isn’t much you can do to avoid getting hit by an arrow.

For example, if a tornado knocks out your Data Center, you definitely get hit by an arrow, , , same thing if the utility company cuts the electrical lines leading into your office building and you have no generator for auxilliary power. OUCH, , , hit again.

The best way to dodge bullets and arrows is to have a strategy in place that you are executing so your team is working proactively versus reactively.

The next thing is that you have to be prepared for when the “event” happens. Things like tornadoes, flood, electrical feeds being cut, etc. One of the things you should do here is to identify what kind of “arrows” and “bullets” could come whizzing by your head and determine how you prevent them, , , or at least minimize the damage if they were to occur.

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“You really know how to work with an Administrative Assistant”

Posted on February 13, 2011 | Leave a comment

In yesterday’s post I mentioned that a senior Administrative Assistant I worked with in a consulting engagement told me, “You really know how to work with an Administrative Assistant.”

My answer was something to the effect of, “I’ve worked with and have been trained by some very capable Administrative Assistants.”

I didn’t tell you in yesterday’s ITLever post why I think some believe I know how to work well with Administrative Assistant professionals, , , so here are some thoughts that may explain.

First, I respect what they do and understand how important their role is for an IT organization. An Administrative Assistant can literally make or break your organization.

Respect is a two-way experience. You won’t get respect unless you respect the other person and genuinely appreciate what they do for your team.

Second, what a good Administrative Assistant does will boost your productivity and with that in mind, you want to do everything you can that helps your assistant do their work well.

What this means is that managers need to follow a few guidelines:

  • Give clear definition of what you expect when making an assignment.
  • Provide simple and straightforward instructions.
  • Give your assistant examples if it helps her, or him, understand what you are looking for.
  • Don’t assume your assistant knows what you want, , , explain it.
  • Provide feedback and coach your assistant on what should have been handled differently or what can make the end product of the work better, , , coach.
  • Be supportive and give your assistant the tools to do the job.
  • Provide training and education to boost your assistant’s skills.
  • Ask your assistant for recommendations to improve your IT processes.
  • Ask your assistant what you can do to help her do a better job.
  • Give your assistant ownership of certain areas of work such as developing monthly reports, maintaining asset inventories, etc.

I guess my real message is that it helps when you “work with” someone and treat them like a partner rather than looking at your assistant as someone who “works for” you. Obviously, the reporting relationship is that she or he does work for you, but when you treat them like a “partner”, it affects how you work with the person, how you communicate with them, and even how much effort you place into providing instructions about a new project.

Take the time and make the extra effort like you would with a partner and you will probably see much better results from your assistant’s efforts.

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IT clients, , , 17 types you must work with

Posted on February 7, 2011 | Leave a comment

As an IT manager, you deal with all types. Your clients can be very different in many ways, , , being able to work with them can be challenging, even frustrating at times.

Let’s take a “fun” look at the type of clients you must deal with. This list is probably not a complete list, , , so if you have others you want to add, , , make a comment to this post and let us know. You can use this list to describe almost any group, , , employees, people, friends, etc.

“Client” as I define an IT client are two groups, , , possibly three.
Group 1 – Senior managers, , , CEO, CFO, COO, President, etc.
Group 2 – Department managers of your company and their organizations.
Group 3 – External clients your IT organization supports. 90% of all IT organizations do not have these. They are very similar to Group 2 clients.

OK, let’s get to the list of client types and see if you relate to any of them.

1.  Happy –  Our favorite, , , this client is happy with IT services and likes what we do.

2.  Unhappy –  An opportunity when we learn what makes this client unhappy and address his issues.

3.  Ray of sunshine –  Always happy and positive, , , this client likes everyone and everything.

4.  Tuned out –  This client isn’t listening to anything you have to say, , , they have you and others “tuned out”.

5.  Cool –  Some clients simply ooze with cool. This client will be one of the top dressers and appears to have his act together.

6.  Hidden agenda –  You may have a client who acts happy but in reality has another agenda, , , CAUTION.

7.  Worried –  Some clients worry about everything. They are skeptical of change and easily scared by the slightest problem.

8.  Second guesser –  This client second guesses everything you do and often challenges how you do things.

9.  No clue –  Some people you work with have no clue as to what is going on, , , they are in the dark on most things.

10.  Green with envy –  These guys don’t like IT or anyone outside their own organization getting credit for anything.

11.  Fighter –  Some clients seem to always be looking for a fight and are easy to get into disagreements with.

12.  Angry –  An angry client can seem unreasonable and likes to call you bad names. Don’t take it personal, , , fix it.

13.  Crazy –  Some people, clients included, have crazy ideas about what IT should be doing. BE CAREFUL with these.

14.  Bent out of shape –  Between angry and unhappy, , , pay attention to these before they get worse.

15.  Confused –  Confused clients have difficulty becoming happy. Clear up their confusion by speaking their language.

16.  Professor –  Some clients think they know technology better than you. Try to embrace them, don’t alienate them.

17.  Sleeper –  Some clients are asleep at the wheel, , , they tend to be lazy and lack focus in their organizations.

Recognize any of these in your company?

Each type has unique characteristics and creates different challenges in working with them, , , another reason why your IT management role can be such a challenge.

Got additional types worth mentioning? Add a comment below and share your thoughts.

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IT managers can put a cost on anything

Posted on February 7, 2011 | Leave a comment

One of the difficulties we have as IT managers is in communicating with business managers.

–  We are technical, , ,  they are not.
–  We speak in technical terms, , , they do not.
–  We understand the technology, , , they do not.
–  They discuss things in financial terms, , , we do not.
–  They understand their business, , , we do not.

It’s material for a big gap to develop and prevent us from getting on the same page with our client.

One of the things we can do is learn to discuss things in financial terms. Are you aware, it’s possible for you to put a cost on virtually anything? Well you can, , , and you need to. Here’s why.

Business managers speak in financial terms, , , especially senior managers like your CEO and CFO. They mentally convert most things they hear into either business value, business cost, or business risk. All three of these have financial implications.

Let’s look at typical examples:

  1. Cost of downtime  –  Downtime is certainly a risk and a cost to your company. Are you aware you can literally identify the cost impact of a printer going down, a router failing, or a server crashing? Need to upgrade your infrastructure? Conveying your strategy in “cost of downtime” can be a big help when you discuss this with your senior manager. CLICK HERE to learn how easy this is and use a tool I developed for this purpose.
  2. Cost of losing a client  –  Here, I’m talking about your company losing a paying client, , , someone who buys your company’s products or services. Any good marketing or sales manager can tell you what losing a client is worth, , , in financial terms. If you have an IT initiative targeted to help your internal marketing or sales client improve client satisfaction, , , they should be able to help you identify what your work value will be in helping “keep clients”. It’s always cheaper to keep a client than to lose one and have to replace him.
  3. Business opportunities – Projects that help the company sell more widgets or services, , , or add clients have a definite financial value. Your marketing and sales teams always forecasts future sales, , , seek their help in identifying worthwhile projects that help them succeed and in outlining the opportunity value your IT project work adds to the mix.
  4. Cost avoidance  –  Doing a project now can avoid costs down the road. Don’t forget to include this aspect when looking at the financial value of your project.
  5. Productivity savings  –  Improving productivity of the company’s workforce can be a big financial value. Improved productivity lets a department do more work without hiring more staff or the ability to reduce staff to do the same amount of work. The department managers and their bosses can help you determine the financial value of improving productivity. For example, in one company every time we developed a data interface from a hospital system into our systems we knew it would be the equivalent of one full-time equivalent (FTE). As a result, our operations people wanted as many interfaces programmed as possible because it eliminated clerical workers having to key in data and handle paper, , ,  big help in improving their financial position. Identifying the financial value in this case is simply the cost of a clerical worker in salary and benefits.

Talk in financial terms and business managers hear you, , , speak in technical terms and use all the acronyms we like to throw around in the IT world and they not only do not hear you, , , they don’t want to meet with you because they simply can’t understand what you are saying.

Make your discussions conversational and put things into financial perspectives and see what a difference it makes with senior managers.

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