Wed 7 Jun 2006
How do we Change Management’s Perception of Technology?
Posted by Jake Carey-Rand under IV General Posts, Productivity, Technology Planning
I must start by saying that it has been too long since my last post on the proverbial soapbox. In addition, I am not one for making excuses for my actions (or inaction) however I’m going to make an exception this time. I’ve found myself being brought into the middle of a fight of sorts. It’s taking a lot of my time… However, rather than just call it a fight, let’s call it what it really is: Management’s inability to make a decision regarding the company’s technology and its current and future impact on the business and bottom line!
Let me clarify this idea a bit more. This is not ALL management and it’s certainly NOT all companies. However, as an IT Director, Telecom Manager, IT Administrator, et al, how can we effectively communicate the importance of technology to those who control the purse strings?
There are times when it is just a requirement to spend the money to get something fixed and to get the business back online. That’s the EASY part, although the bottle of Tums suffers somewhat! If the phone lines are down and salespeople can’t make or receive calls, this is a problem management can see very clearly. However, do they really recognize the bleeding productivity or monthly costs that they merely just sign a check for, which are REALLY affecting the business’ future?
Again, this comes down to their perception (and ours as well) of technology. Is it a cost center or a profit center in your company? I’m interested in hearing more… If it’s a cost center, how do you accomplish what needs to be done, or do you just do the bare minimum and worry about the future when that comes? If your department is viewed as a profit center (very rare still), is there a proactive approach towards technology from the top, down (and the bottom, up) whereby management wants to actively seek ways to cut costs and improve productivity with technology investment? If it’s the former, how do we go about reshaping this perception? Not an easy task, but I’m interested to hear more of what’s being done in this critically connected area of the business.
One Response to “ How do we Change Management’s Perception of Technology? ”
Comments:
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
June 29th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
As IT Director of an under 500 employee Houston Company, my job comes down to a gamble of risk vs. reward. IT is viewed as a complex service that should always be available within reasonable cost. The executives have no desire to understand the IT machine and many IT Directors and Managers have make the fatal mistake of aggressively, impressing this upon their CEO’s or Presidents usually ending in the IT jock’s early disposal. Almost as bad, is the timid and fearful IT Manager who will not stand up to purchase what is needed for the company. Sure, your expense report looks great and the CFO loves you, but again you die when a legacy system fails that you knew eventually would, yet did not replace or upgrade because of fear. Most of my peers (I admit, I am lucky to be part of the executive team), do not understand or trust technology, but they do trust me. This is not by accident, I actively keep metrics that are technically unimportant to the IT dept., but are re-assuring to the executive team. The bottom line is: be able to explain any purchase in terms of what it will do and why we need it in one short breath –in business language.
As far as the perception of cost vs. profit center, well, the perception is both, depending on how well or badly a given technology purchase is working in relation to the companies quarterly revenue and profits. During prosperous times, mistakes are easily forgiven and likewise during a downturn, every purchase and user complaint is magnified and the blame shifting begins.
How do I survive in this environment? I make and maintain relations with both key managers AND employees who really need and use their computers. I know my company, what it will tolerate and what it will not. I took a page from the Sales playbook and talk up the wins to buy what I need when times are good and I hold the line and shift to service when times are rough. If your staff respects you (notice I didn’t say like) and the executives trust you, it will allow you to make consistent, competent decisions about your purchases. If I do not know the answer, I get the answer, from my staff, colleagues and vendors. It’s all in the relationships.