- 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
December 16, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Who should own the company's website?
Dear Bob ...
I find myself in the midst of a turf war. The president of the company is battling the CIO over the issue of who should control the website. The president says it belongs in the Marketing department, the CIO says it belongs in IT.
Personally, I'm more than happy to leave control of the website in the hands of marketing (where it's been since 1996) - but the CIO sees this as an encroachment on IT's territory.
The president's argument is that IT, and specifically this CIO, is so bound up in procedures and risk avoidance, that IT cannot be responsive enough to the flexibility needed in current web site design changes.
I have a very good relationship with the company president, and a not very good relationship with the CIO (I'm hoping his is a short reign). Unfortunately, the CIO is part of the parent company (we were purchased a couple of years ago), and has influence on my career path.
Do you have any insight on this issue?
- Turfbound
Dear Turfbound ...
Several thoughts occur to me. The first is, what on earth is the CIO thinking? Engaging in a turf issue with the president is politically foolish, even if he is part of corporate. If he calls the question back at headquarters, he's asking the CEO to override a business-unit head to support the head of a service function.
Not smart.
And anyway, the whole turf issue is a perfect example of a false dichotomy - an argument based on the wrong premise that if the answer isn't one thing, it's the other.
Here's how it should work (forgive me if I'm pointing out what's painfully obvious): IT is responsible for web technology - its overall architecture, operations, data design and coding. Marketing is responsible for the web strategy, scope, design, publishing workflow, and marketing content.
To the extent that the scope of the website encompasses areas beyond marketing, other areas also have content responsibilities - shareholder relations and recruiting being two of the most common.
Another thought, that stems from the first, is that your president's thought process also worries me. He/she is making a common mistake - making a decision about organizational alignment based on the existence of a performance problem instead of fixing the problem.
What I'm trying to say is that If IT isn't performing, keeping the website away from it still leaves the company with an IT organization that isn't performing.
One more, partially self-serving thought: If, for political reasons, this is too tough a nut to crack through internal decision-making processes, encourage the president to bring in an outside consulting company to help (mine, for instance). Unless the company has some issues that seriously complicate the question, any competent organization consultant should be able to bring something like this to closure pretty quickly.
- Bob
Posted by Bob Lewis on December 16, 2006 08:02 AM
RATE THIS ARTICLE:
-
- COMMENTS
IMHO, the website should be handled like any other departmental app. You have a financials app. you probably have an HRIS app. My guess is that your IT dept is responsible for making sure they're up and running, but not how they're managed or used. Same applies for the website.
Posted by: anon at December 19, 2006 08:06 AMThis is a perfect situation for a content-managed web site. We went to one tailored for our business (local government) several years ago. Our Server Support team make sure the infrastructure works, the Webmaster coordinates the overall appearance and performance, and each department has a web contact, trained by the webmaster, who is responsible for all the material on that department's page. It's like sailing - everybody pulls their assigned line, or cranks their winch, or steers the course, or determines tactics, and the boat moves swiftly. Perhaps this outfit DOES need a consultant to bring them into the real world!
Posted by: Fred Wagner at December 20, 2006 11:15 AMSuspecting your company only recently developed a web presence, as most companies faced and addressed this issue back in the late 90s.
Simple rule of thumb: Marketing (or the appropriate business unit) owns, creates & maintains content (layouts, impages, text, etc.). I.T. controls the infrastructure. Marketing and IT jointly address issues where content impacts architecture -- choice of content management systems, high bandwith applications, data formats that are easily shared, etc. -- with Marketing providing requirements and IT investigating solutions. Marketing and IT jointly pick the the solutions based on the analysis.
For Marketing to control infrastructure or IT to control content is asking that group to do something that's not *usually* part of their core competencies. In general, each group has to know their role, contribute, and work with the other for the web project to be a success. Historically, though, I've found that IT folks contribute some useful content/marketing ideas and vice versa -- so do listen to suggestions from the "other" side or you could lose a few good ideas.
Posted by: Mike at December 20, 2006 11:52 AMAt the risk of missing the point, what is Turfbound doing in the middle of this fight? Who is organizationally between the CEO and the CIO?
Unless Turfbound is something like a CFO and there's a direct report (CEO - CFO - CIO). And even then, there's a simple solution: defer to authority, or exert it yourself.
Sure, it's absurd that the fight exists, but that's organizational politics. If the CIO wants to slit his own throat, well, realistically you're not going to stop him.
Otherwise sit back and let the two pugilists have at it. Stay out of the tussle until a winner emerges. Make any excuse. Claim that you don't have jurisdiction, or need a steering committee, or the skill set required isn't at hand. Tell them your dog died for goodness' sake!
My first thought was: Who hired this guy as a CIO?
My second was: Why is he still CIO?
Buddy, you're head a service function, provide service - do not tell business units what their job is!
Posted by: Ian Simpson at December 20, 2006 02:34 PM|
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
- Remote Access: Maintain Security and Decrease the Burden on IT
- Beyond AntiVirus: Symantec Endpoint Protection
- What Every Enterprise Needs to Know About VDI
- Disaster Recovery in Minutes
- Protecting Microsoft(R) Applications
- Reduce Recovery Times and Tape Costs
