All Posts in Leadership

|In: Leadership|Last Updated:

I’m sitting in our cottage in the Wisconsin woods. My laptop computer is working perfectly, unlike the pipe to the septic tank, which froze in the 15-below-zero cold. Is this juxtaposition of working and failed technologies irony, I wonder?

Speaking of technology that sometimes fails, I continue to digest reader comments about my proposed policy of “Productive Flexibility” which allows end-user software installation for business purposes with manager approval.

One comment came from a client and friend — a CIO whose opinion I respect. “You got that one wrong, Bob,” he told me, describing a current project for which total lockdown is the plan. It’s the best decision for his circumstance, as I agreed after he’d described his situation.

Which brings me to James Reaney, a reader who found himself agreeing with me, at least partially, even though he describes himself as, “… an individualist with VPS-leaning tendencies when I wear my IT manager hat.” Mr. Reaney challenged me to take the other side of this issue, instead writing from the point of view of a poor, beleaguered PC support manager.

Hmmm. Okay, I’m managing PC support again. (It’s been awhile — the last time I held this job my team supported Windows 3.1 and Netware 4.1.) I have a limited budget and staff. We’re keeping our heads above water, but only because we’ve standardized the PC build and enforce that build through total lockdown. Will I really take my own advice and allow end-user software installations?

Wattayou, nuts? Stick my neck out for an IT budget increase that will benefit someone else’s cost center at the expense of my own? Not a chance. That would be political suicide.

Here’s what I would do: Meet with every budget manager in the company to discuss the costs and benefits of a Productive Flexibility policy. I’ll put it into practice for every manager willing to support it. My department will track help desk calls to determine which workgroups are asking for the most additional support as a result of the new approach. Those driving the need for more staffing will either support my request for additional headcount or roll back the software packages that drive my department’s workload the most.

What about those cost center managers who won’t commit? If they won’t sign up to the business benefit, to heck with them.

Lock ’em down!

Comments

|In: Industry Commentary|Last Updated:

During the last presidential campaign, Al Gore received ridicule, and inspired the best candy bar ad ever (by Snickers) by claiming he’d invented the Internet.

The only problem is, that isn’t what he said. Here’s the exact quote: “During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.” Which, depending how you define “the Internet,” he did, in 1988 when neither business leaders nor the party of business had any idea something important was going on.

As an IT leader, this fact is worth your knowing, if for no other reason than to give credit where it’s due for the central reality of information technology in 2003.

It’s also worth your knowing for more practical reasons: Understanding how Gore got skewered just might help you avoid a common and deadly leadership mistake.

Gore’s skewering came from the public relations arm of the Republican National Committee, which planted the distortion among friendly political commentators. The RNC deserves credit for highly effective PR. The political press, on the other hand, bought the story hook, line and sinker, likely because many reporters found Gore personally unlikable. Shame on them for lazy reporting. (Check The Daily Howler — www.dailyhowler.com — for a detailed account of these events in all their glory.)

Back to you: Is there a chance you’re … Goring … someone who reports to you for similar reasons?

Perhaps you have a backstabber in your organization — someone who is adept at planting falsehoods that are damaging to a rival and close enough to the facts that the backstabber will be safe if you see through the deception?

Or perhaps someone in your department is arrogant, obnoxious, or even suffers from Asperger’s syndrome (which can make someone an excellent technologist but difficult to relate to), but does both their job and those of several other employees whose main skill is taking the credit. Do you recognize the real contributor, or do praise and raises go to the employees with whom you’re most comfortable?

It’s important to know who your best performers are, and even more important to understand what each of your performers is best at. As you work to gain this information, remember: Political maneuvering is far more evident when you’re a spectator than a participant — especially an unwitting one.

Comments