- Whether to mention a pregnancy in a job interview
- A possible meeting protocol
- What are an end-user's responsibilities?
- Another take on opening PCs, or not
- Getting some process going
- Selling a more open environment to management
- Running an effective meeting
- Licensing rules for virtual machines
- The ROI of metrics
- Legal challenges to virtual machines
September 11, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Engaging the business
Dear Bob ...
What are your tools of choice for actively involving upper management or "executives with vision" in constructive work? What I'm looking for must effectively involve high-level people who don't have a lot of time or patience, without devolving into showing them Powerpoints and giving them multiple-choice decisions to make.
- Business-oriented
Dear Oriented ...
Simple, practical tools for involving upper management? There are two basic elements to the toolkit - relationship management, and the governance process.
The relationship management piece is one I've mentioned lots of times. Without it, all you have at your disposal are facts and logic, and an audience with no patience to hear either of them. With it, you get the time you need to make your case.
The governance piece is straightforward, and I've also mentioned it from time to time: IT signs up for the costs; the business sponsor signs up for the benefits; the project manager and business sponsor take joint responsibility for the project's success or there's no project.
Nuthin' to it, other than getting companies to buy into it.
- Bob
Dear Bob ...
I still feel like there is a disconnect somewhere. I can't put my finger on it, though.
Unless it's this: the two elements to the toolkit may be "basic" but they're not actually "simple"; the devil is still in the details of this particular toolkit, just as it would be in implementation of any plan.
- Business-oriented
Dear Oriented ...
I never meant to say they were simple as in easy. I meant to say they're simple as in uncomplicated.
Both require hard work, consistency, and diligence.
The also require that someone makes sure that behind all the relationship-building and governance processes are solid delivery mechanisms, so that IT can keep the promises it makes. That's far from easy.
Or simple.
- Bob
Posted by Bob Lewis on September 11, 2006 07:11 AM
RATE THIS ARTICLE:
-
- COMMENTS
|
Three books. Three ways to change the world, your life, or at least Bob Lewis' bank account. Leading IT: The Toughest Job in the World distills the world of IT leadership into eight learnable skills and gives you concrete, practical techniques for each one of them. Bare Bones Project Management: What you can't not do makes project management manageable, even for first-time project managers with no formal training in the discipline. ManagementSpeak: What managers say/What they mean … well, it won't help your career, and won't make you a better manager. Mostly, it will make you chuckle, guffaw, and maybe even chortle. Make friends - it's the perfect gift for anyone who has ever suffered through one of those meetings. Order your copies today! |
TOP STORIES
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Do you have the power to resolve technical issues with one call?
- Take control of your content- leverage Microsoft SharePoint
- Keeping the E-Mail Flowing
- SGI Adaptive Data Warehouse: Building a High-End Oracle Data Warehouse
- Five Steps to Secure Outsourced Application Development
- Global Shared Memory: Performance and Productivity Breakthroughs
