Oct.
19th

Creating Value in IT

By Tom | No comments yet
In our view, a critical requirement for IT project success is effective collaboration
between IT and the business unit(s) who rely on IT products and services to produce
value for the enterprise. This collaboration is not only needed in the planning and
execution of projects, but must a priori be a continuous and regular planning practice.
Collaboration, in turn, is impossible without three other factors: leadership, management
coordination and trust-based team mobilization. We believe that lack of excellent
performance in any of these three areas significantly contributes to the Crisis of Lost
Value described above. Let’s take a brief look at each of these three pillars of successful
collaboration between IT service providers and their customers.
Leadership. Effective leaders do two things: establish a compelling vision for the future,
and motivate and direct others to take effective action in realizing the vision. Far too
often, people with leadership responsibility speak of “vision” when they are really talking
about “alteration.” The difference is that the articulation of vision requires a leader to
declare a future that, in the present, could not possibly exist. Probably the best known
and most quoted example of this is the challenge issued by John F. Kennedy in 1960 to
enable an American to land on the moon and return safety within 10 years. However, the
ability to bring forth “impossible” futures is not the province only of presidents. There
are numerous examples in business literature; the reader can almost certainly think of
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several in his or her own experience. This kind of declaration does not merely require
that we imagine the world as “altered” in some way, for example, moving from the
number 4 spot in our market to the number 3 spot. The leader who articulates a
compelling vision may be asking us to redefine what we mean by “our market”. Almost
always, when a compelling vision becomes reality, the identities of those whose efforts
realized that vision are shifted in ways no one could have anticipated. Certainly the
identity not only of the U.S. Space program, but that of the United States itself shifted
profoundly as a result of the Apollo Mission successes. We emphasize here that the
Apollo mission contributed dramatically to a shift in the identity of the United States at
that time – what it meant to be an American, what was then envisioned as possible, and
how the rest of the world saw America.
What does this have to do with IT Projects?
We believe that in order for an IT organization to realize its potential, it must embody a
shift in its identity. In other words it must be seen very differently than it has in the past,
both from within and by its customers and its other partners in the enterprise. Moreover,
it must be seen as a different kind of possibility by those who rely on its products and
services to fulfill their own missions. This requires a shift of identity in IT leaders
themselves. Most IT work comes in the form of projects. What does an IT project leader
do?
In the world of information technology, project success can be achieved if the leader
presents a compelling technical solution to an important business problem or opportunity,
and effectively recruits and coordinates the activities of other business and technical
experts to develop and implement that solution.
However, this in itself, though resulting in technical and practical achievement, is no
longer enough. The leader must also elicit a vision of a world in which something that
the organization cares about, and which is now missing, will come into existence, thereby
contributing to a shift in the organization’s identity itself.

A critical requirement for IT project success is effective collaboration between IT and the business unit(s) who rely on IT products and services to produce value for the enterprise. This collaboration is not only needed in the planning and execution of projects, but must  be a continuous and regular planning practice.  Collaboration, in turn, is impossible without three other factors: leadership, management coordination and trust-based team mobilization. Lack of excellent performance in any of these three areas is a significant barrier to creating value in IT.  Let’s take a look at each of these:

Leadership. Effective leaders do two things: establish a compelling vision for the future, and motivate and direct others to take effective action in realizing the vision. Far too often, people with leadership responsibility speak of “vision” when they are really talking about “alteration.” The difference is that the articulation of vision requires a leader to declare a future that, in the present, could not possibly exist. Probably the best known and most quoted example of this is the challenge issued by John F. Kennedy in 1960 to enable an American to land on the moon and return safety within 10 years.  This kind of declaration requires more than imagining the world as “altered” in some way, for example, moving from the number 4 spot in our market to the number 3 spot.  Almost always, when a compelling vision becomes reality, the identities of those whose efforts realized that vision are shifted in ways no one could have anticipated. Certainly the identity not only of the U.S. Space program, but that of the United States itself shifted profoundly as a result of the Apollo Mission successes.

What does this have to do with IT services and projects?

In order for an IT organization to realize its potential, it must embody a shift in its identity. In other words it must be seen very differently than it has in the past, both from within and by its customers and its other partners in the enterprise. Moreover,  it must be seen as a different kind of possibility by those who rely on its products and services to fulfill their own missions, and to live their lives. This requires a shift of identity in IT leaders themselves. The IT leader presents a compelling technical solution to an important business problem or opportunity, and effectively recruits and coordinates the activities of other business and technical experts to develop and implement that solution.  But this is not enough.  The leader must also elicit a vision of a world in which something that the organization cares about, and which is now missing, will come into existence, changing the organization’s very identity.

Management Coordination. With the myriad of complex tasks and activities, and the multiple players involved in nearly all IT projects, coordination is essential and at the same time difficult for project managers to get their arms around. Successful coordination requires the following:

• the ability to manage intersecting networks of commitments

• the ability to resolve conflicts among different strategies for achieving the desired results

• the ability to elicit timely, open and honest updates about deadlines, costs, resources and unexpected changes

• the ability to renegotiate commitments if and when necessary

Trust-based Team Mobilization. Before committing money and resources to the project, business executives must trust that IT can actually deliver the goods promised. Before agreeing to dedicate a year or more to the project, possibly putting their careers on the line, IT managers and staff look for the same kind of assurance. How is trust built? By consistently making, managing and fulfilling promises. So the effective IT leader must have a history of promising and delivering technical solutions that work and are effective. On a smaller scale, but just as importantly, trust is built in the many daily exchanges among project team members. One of the most important things an effective IT Project Manager can do is respect others’ time and contributions to the project, and be accountable for requests, offers and promises which he or she has made. Showing up on time for meetings he calls, revising the project schedule to reflect the work estimates developed by technical staff, communicating both good and bad news about project progress to the Executive Sponsor—these are some of the small but important contributors to a trust-based project. However, leadership-by-example is not enough. Each member of the team must be made aware that he or she is contributing to the identity of the team by either managing commitments well. Much has been made of ”managing customer expectations.” The ability to do this is simply the ability to make, manage and fulfill promises made to the customer, and having done this, earned the right to hold the customer accountable for his or her commitments.

Let me know your thoughts on all of this.  For those of you with experience on IT projects, what practices did you find most effective for producing business value?   What are examples you have for creating great collaboration between IT and business managers, or among various IT organizations?

Posted in Information technology, Leadership, Value creation, collaboration, coordination

Sep.
13th

Leadership in committees (part 2)

By Tom | 2 Comments

Often committees are formed to help executives and senior management answer critical questions about the organization’s goals and future.  To be successful, the committee must have leadership that helps the members thoroughly understand and build commitment to answering those questions.  Here are some questions that group leaders (both formal and informal) can use to help guide and motivate the group to achieve its goals.

–What is the desired result? Do we have, or can we build and get agreement with our sponsor/customer around, an outline of the desired work product (document)?

–What is “good enough” for success, for the purposes at hand?  Who will use the result, for what purpose?

–Who has called for the result, has given the charge to the committee?  What are their critical interests, what’s their “bottom line” need or expectation?

–When is the desired result needed?

–To what extent are the product, criteria, and due date flexible?  What are consequences of not satisfying those expectations and needs of the chartering person or entity?

–How can the work be distributed among members, including making specific requests of individuals that include due date, desired contents, and quality criteria (what’s “good enough”)?  What is each group member ready and motivated to contribute? What does the group need from each of its members?

Each of these questions need continual attention by the committee.  A skilled facilitator will encourage the group’s leadership to ask these questions at the beginning of the project to build a common initial understanding of what is to be achieved, and will help the group develop its game plan for producing those results.  These questions can also be used throughout the group’s work to help it stay “on course”, to keep its members engaged, and to ensure it stays connected to the manager or governing body that commissioned its work.

What’s your experience with committees and boards, either as a facilitator or a member?  What questions, prompts and other techniques have you found effective in keeping the group focused and on-track?  What kinds of leadership techniques have worked best for you?

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Posted in Leadership, collaboration, coordination

Sep.
8th

Leadership in committees (part 1)

By Tom | No comments yet

Recent experience with a client reminded me of how subtle and yet strategic leadership can be within a committee tasked to create a new program.  Some symptoms of the leadership challenge in groups are: 

–Committee members spend their time on fine tuning document details, including wording and budget numbers.  This can push the important questions about goals and strategies to the very end of a meeting, with little time left to tackle them.

– When a large, significant task is in play, there are various interpretations and visions of the desired result and schedule.  These interpretations create various understandings about what it will take to achieve the result.  As a result, members get impatient with how long the work is taking, and others get frustrated that there isn’t more discussion allowed because of the need to stay on schedule.

–A small minority within the group takes on the bulk of the writing and other program development work.  Other members simply attend meetings, and it is difficult to get common agreement on the work products developed.

–The group ends up building a document that contains more or less content than was in the original outline.

In my next post, I’ll offer some suggestions for improving leadership within the committee.

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Posted in Leadership, collaboration, coordination

Apr.
14th

From “somebody should” to “let’s get started”

By Tom | 1 Comment

As with most “issue oriented” organizations, the Thurston Climate Action Team started with a series of discussion-oriented meetings to look at local actions that could be taken to reduce the effects of climate change, and what the roles of various sectors (local governmenets, citizens, businesses) might be in working toward that goal.  This discussion eventually led to establishing a mission statement and set of goals, and agreeing on priority areas to work on.  This allowed TCAT to narrow down its concerns into a set of “offers” it could make to the community in the areas of energy efficiency, transportation, and land use.  Group members also clearly expressed their focus on taking action locally to produce a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gases resulting from community activities.

One group that “self-organized” within TCAT was an education committee.  That group created two outreach and learning programs to engage both citizens and policy makers. 

One education effort became the Cool Thurston Campaign, modeled on the Low Carbon Diet program developed nationally by David Gershon and others.  This resulted in creation of over a dozen neighborhood teams working to improve their individual carbon footprints.   Each participant committed to carbon reduction targets, and reported regularly to the team. 

The other initiative targeted policy makers and business leaders in a series of educational events hosted by a local college.  Topics included national climate and energy policy, innovative financing of energy efficiency projects, transportation alternatives, and climate action plans.  These events used a combination of lecture and small group work focused on questions and challenges that were relevant and immediate. Participants were invited  to name “next steps” they intended to take.

In a sesne, TCAT was still engaging in lots of “talking.”  The difference was the conversations increasingly took the form of commitments to action and building partnerships.  City and county officials found themselves talking more about climate change, and hiring and assigning staff to work on it. They also increased their discussions on collaborating together on a wide range of issues, including climate change.

So this is how one local initiative started moving from “somebody should” to “let’s get started.”  Next time, I’ll discuss how this group started signing up partners in the region, and building financial support.

In the meantime, I invite you to share your own experiences and reflections on moving from talking to action.  Here are some questions that might help:

  • What was your most satisfying experience in taking action with others on a concern you were passionate about?  What do you think was the most important factor in its success?
  • What issue or concern in your organization or community would you like to see more action on?  What questions could you ask of others to get things moving?
  • What formal or informal learning experiences have you had that helped you get things done?  What made them especially practical and useful?

Have fun with these…I’m looking forward to your response, reflections and wisdom!

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Posted in climate change, collaboration, coordination, sustainability

Jan.
14th

From Talking to Doing: A Climate Change Case Study

By Tom | No comments yet

Folks passionate about a cause often find outlets for their energies by joining groups, attending meetings, and energetically expounding on their concerns and issues.  Converting the passion and sense of urgency around a cause or issue, into usable, practical action is gaining new prominence with the climate change movement.   There are pretty big reasons to be concerned and passionate about the threats associated with climate change.  How can the energy around this issue be harnessed and targeted in ways that produce concerted and effective action?  How can collaborative relationships be built among citizens, businesses, governments and NGOs to work toward solutions?

Over the past 18 months I’ve worked with a climate change organization which has done exactly that.  The Thurston Climate Action Team  has brought diverse  political leaders, companies, citizens and service organizations together to achieve the common goal of energy efficiency.  They did this starting with no money in the bank, no existing organization or track record, and limited community awareness of energy efficiency and climate change. Within those eighteen months they have:

  • Received  seed money contributions from four city governments, the county commissioners, and the local wastewater utility;
  • Been awarded $1.5 million in stimulus grants to fund an innovative community energy efficiency program.
  • Built a coalition of businesses, financial institutions, the local utility, building contractors, the economic development council,  local governments and others to promote energy efficiency.

 Key to the success of their work so far has been a set of very simple but powerful tools which helped them  convert talking to action.

  • They communicated a compelling vision for a new energy future,
  • They challenged potential partners– community organizations and institutions — to join in a bold county wide effort to dramatically improve energy efficiency,
  • They spoke in language local leaders understood, especially linking energy efficiency to cost savings and other benefits for the community, and
  • They made and followed up on specific requests and offers among themselves, and with potential partners.

 

In the next installments of my blog, I’ll expand on this story, covering some of the major stages in developing the program:

  • From “somebody should” to “let’s get started”– Early discussions, setting priorities, and initial outreach efforts
  • Expanding the reach –Recruiting partners and establishing identity.
  • From nice words to real money– Gaining financial support

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Posted in climate change, collaboration, coordination, sustainability