Doing the Right Thing

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We are faced with many visions, trends, and buzzwords daily.  It is difficult to decide where to focus.   In addition, so much needs our attention.  Where do we begin?  What deserves the most focus?  I am a firm believer in doing the right thing.  And, by targeting areas where we are most knowledgeable and passionate, we have the greatest impact.  Fortunately, I work in an industry and for a company where my knowledge and passion align.  It is my privilege to work with enterprises around the world and to determine the best path for their technology services teams.

The first step is to understand the business.  Now, don’t roll your eyes.  This isn’t a training class for selling or executive conversation.  This is how we do the right thing.  It is imperative to understand the business.  We cannot think in vague terms such as “reduce CapEx spend” or “become agile”.  We would only be playing boardroom bingo.  We need to roll up our sleeves: read annual reports and press releases, listen to quarterly earnings calls, talk to representatives from each line of business, read consumer feedback, read partner feedback, try it out ourselves, and live it as much as possible.

Are you working with a manufacturing company?  Walk a plant floor.  A hospital?  Follow around a doctor or nurse, carefully.  A financial institution?  Leverage a service from the website.  A retail store?  Go buy something.   A technology company?  Install a product and use it as anyone else would…  You can see where I am going with this.

All of this is hard work.  But, it is worth it!  With this newfound knowledge, we can do the right thing.   Instead of regurgitating sayings like “time to market” and “lower costs”, instead we can make meaningful conjectures about what will truly help the institution we are supporting.  This type of engagement is appropriate for anyone, at any level.  Are you a Cloud Architect wanting to create IT as a Service?  Are you a VP looking to achieve your MBOs?  Are you in sales trying to meet a quota?  By aligning ourselves to exactly what the business needs to be successful, we in turn, will excel at our jobs.  It is a win-win for us all.

If you are thinking, “What’s in it for me?” or “I’ve come this far without doing those things.,” that’s ok.  It is possible to continue in your career without proactive business alignment.  However, you will most likely be limiting yourself in advancement and opportunity.  If you map yourself, a project, or an initiative to a revenue stream, you will greatly increase your chance of success.  There are many things that motivate people, such as money, recognition, impactful contributions, self-satisfaction, et cetera.  I cannot think of a dimension of motivation that would not be fulfilled by aligning to what the business needs. 

By taking this path, you could begin a new program inside your company, create a new position for yourself, sell more products and services to your customers, or be a good corporate citizen.  It would be very difficult for anyone to say no to your proposal when it clearly meets the needs of the enterprise as a whole, not just an area of IT.  And if the company you work for or with vetoes your suggestions in favor of those that do not directly enable the business, then it is possible you are ready to expand your horizons to somewhere that is forward-thinking.

For those looking for more detail around questions you might ask yourself or others, these are a good start:

  • What are the lines of business in the enterprise?
  • How does each line of business generate revenue?
  • What metrics does each line of business use to report success or failure?
  • What type of  industry or consumer insight does each line of business need to be more successful?
  • What types of new ventures is the company considering?
  • Who or what is the target consumer for each line of business?
  • How do the various business units interact today?
  • How do the business units need to interact in the future?
  • What types of merges and acquisitions occur and with what frequency?
  • What new markets is the enterprise entering?
  • What are the CEOs most important initiatives?
  • What are the CIOs most important initiatives?
  • How are the executives measured and what are their compensation plans?
  • What are the company’s competitors doing?  Can the enterprise react quickly enough to or surpass these competitors with new offerings?
  • What will attract new talent to the company?
  • How does the enterprise measure employee satisfaction?
  • How does communication occur to external partners and consumers?
  • What is the biggest concern of the business three years out?

There are many more questions that you may think of after reading this list - please share them!  While the above thoughts are by no means exhaustive, it will begin a great journey of discovery.  Once we are armed with this information, we can create a roadmap of technology solutions and transformation activities that align to these needs and goals.  This roadmap will be the guide for all of us to do the right thing,.