Make Excellence in IT a Habit

by Palomino Consulting Group

Building Trust and Credibility

Mar 1

Posted by Ross Holman in Build Trust, IT Credibility, IT Success, Lead People, Manage Things, Make Excellence a Habit | No Comments

TrustTrust is like oil.  Its the stuff that makes relationships in and with IT work.  Without it goverance, project management, conflict resolution, career progression, etc. can happen, but are slower and have many issues.  Consider this. “With high trust, success comes faster, better and at a lower cost” says David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue.  In IT organizations that are struggling, it’s the single most important habit for IT leaders (and staff) to build, improve and maintain.

Trust is difficult to build, remains fragile and can be lost.  Some believe once Trust is lost it can not be regained, but from experience is not true.  The best sources on Trust are from Stephen R. Covey and his son Stephen M.R. Covey, and much of this blog is based on their work and my experiences in using their concepts.

Trust is not just a touchy, feely concept.  It (interpersonal trust) is an attitude or state of mind that has been cultivated between two people.  Consider this definition of trust from the Covey’s:

TRUST = One’s Character + One’s Competency

Trust between people is a combination of a person’s:

  •  Character – What you say/do, How you say/do, and  Why you say/do
  •  Competency -  What you can do, What you do and What results you get

So why is competency required to build trust?  I thought you just needed to be a ‘good person’ – high character.  Let’s look at a doctor/patient relationship.  As a patient needing open heart surgery, would you trust a doctor that had good bed side manners and high personal integrity, but was in their first year as a cardiologist, and had never performed open heart surgery?  Partially, but I was the patient, I want someone more accomplished to do the surgery.

People build trust by building ‘wealth’ in what the Covey’s call an ‘Emotional Bank Account’.  As with any bank account one can add to the account with deposits and reduce the account with withdrawals.  Here are just a few examples of deposits and withdrawals with IT professionals and organizations.

Character

Deposits – Think Straight, Talk Straight; Listens to Understand; Manages Expectations; Works to Right Wrongs; Puts Employees First, Then Customers, Then Stockholders; Promotes Win/Win Decisions

Withdrawals -  Shows Disrespect; Listens to Respond; Not Trusting; Talks Behind People’s Backs; Avoids Conflict; Talks the Talk, Does Not Walk the Walk; Being Intolerant/Inflexible

Competency

  • Deposits – Keep Commitments and Delivers Results; Manages Risks; Solves Root Cause of  Problems; Promotes Continuous Improvements; Admit When Wrong or Do Not Know; Demonstrates Leadership
  • Withdrawals -  Does Not Hold People Accountable; Makes Excuses-Blaming Others; Does Not Take Responsibility; Sells Poor Ideas; Does Not Understand the Business; Does Not Measure Success; Is Reactive versus Proactive; Does Not Align with Business

So how can you objectively measure your EBA with colleagues? I use the Trust Quotient:

TQ = EBA Deposits / (EBA Withdrawals * 2.5)

That’s right – withdrawals are more expensive than a single deposit.  So you need 3 deposits to make up for a single withdrawal.

 

Do you have stories/experiences with trust in IT??

 

PS Check out HBR blog on Trust – http://blogs.hbr.org/hill-lineback/2012/03/do-your-people-trust-you.html

 

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Resolve ‘IT’ Paradoxes

Feb 25

Posted by Ross Holman in IT Success, Make Excellence a Habit | No Comments

 

 

In my last blog, I introduced several  ‘IT Paradoxes’  from Martha Heller and from my experiences, and the Seven ‘IT’ Habits that can mitigate or resolve these paradoxes.  By developing and improving these Habits and using them to address paradoxes, barriers, and issues, IT organizations, and the business, will see these improvements:

 

  • Faster Throughput (projects and processes)
  • Less Costly (unit costs)
  • Better Quality (products, software, systems and processes)
  • More Agility (ability to change)
  • More Capacity (do more with less)
  • Better Risk Management
  • Better Place to Work (less stress, turnover, etc)
  • Improved Trust and Credibility (less conflicts)

 

Let’s take a couple of paradoxes/barriers mentioned before and see which Habits IT Leaders must develop/improve to mitigate or eliminate the paradox/barrier.

1. The Business wants IT to be strategic, but force them to spend most of their time on operational issues.

This paradox can be complex, but usually exists because IT has low credibility with the its business peers and/or inadequate IT leadership.  ‘Leaders’ in IT must resolve this paradox by: (1) Build  trust and credibility; (2) Understand  the business, model and industry; (3) Align goals and objectives; and (4) Lead  People.

2. ‘IT’ can make or break a company, but its leader(s) are infrequently members of C – level executive groups.

This paradox is a good measurement of the overall success of, or lack of, an IT organization, and is a direct measure of leadership in IT.  C-level leaders in other parts of the business tend to see opportunities, issues, etc. in ‘shades of gray’ where many IT leaders see the same in terms of ‘black and white’, which can cause a lack of trust and credibility, and thus conflicts.   ‘Leaders’ in IT need to improve these Habits to resolve this paradox: (1) Build  trust and credibility; (2) Understand  the business, model and industry; (3) Lead  People; and (4) Adapt to change.

Next blog, I will discuss what it means to build trust and credibility, and how to begin.

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IT Organization Success

Feb 20

Posted by Ross Holman in Adapt to Change, Build Trust, Develop Proactive Culture, IT Business Alignment, IT Success, Lead People, Manage Things, Make Excellence a Habit, Passion for Learning and Improvement, Understand the Business | No Comments

Keys to IT Succes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No secret, for decades many IT organizations have struggled to be successful – probably more so than any other.  When is the last time you saw a dozen articles on the struggling accounting, marketing or human resources organizations?

Martha Heller in a 2010 CIO Magazine article discusses IT struggles and suggests a few ‘paradoxes’ in IT organizations that may be barriers to a successful IT organization.

  • The Business wants IT to be strategic, but force them to spend most of their time on operational issues.
  • IT needs to be stewards of risk mitigation and cost containment, yet expected to innovate.
  • IT is seen as that of an enabler, yet is also expected to be a business driver.
  • IT can make or break a company, but its leaders are infrequently members of C-level executive groups.
  • IT is one of the most pervasive, critical functions, yet must prove its value constantly.
  • Many IT successes are invisible, yet its few mistakes are highly visible.
  • IT project teams are accountable for project success, even if the Business has ownership.
  • IT staff loves new technology, but must embrace/understand the Business to be successful.
  • Many IT teams/people are uncomfortable dealing with people, but to succeed must build relationships, influence others, and resolve conflicts.
  • IT infrastructure is a consistent, long-term investment, but the Business thinks in quarters.

And here are a few more paradoxes I have experienced:

  • The Business wholly adopted  ‘BPI’, but IT has poor processes and rarely has budget for improvement.
  • C-level executives believe IT costs too much and fails to provide comparable value, but have limited knowledge of IT project or operational successes.
  • C-level executives expect IT to deliver new, strategic capabilities to their Business unit, yet most of the project identification, priorities and governance is driven by Business users and managers.
  • IT needs/must align its goals/objectives to the Business, yet the Business units goals/objectives are not always aligned with each other.

Any of these barriers hinder IT leaders and organizations from being valued and successful.  They can be mitigated and/or knocked down, but requires a relevant, achievable Strategy, competent People, and consistent, repeatable Processes.  In addition it also takes the IT leaders and staff to embrace/develop these 7 Habits of Excellence.

  • Build  Trust and Credibility
  • Develop  a Proactive Culture
  • Understand  the Company, Business Model, and Industry
  • Align  with Company’s Goals and Objectives
  • Lead  People  -  Manage Things
  • Adapt  to Change
  • Embrace  a Passion for Learning and Improvement

 

Developing these 7 Habits of Excellence will mitigate or eliminate barriers and result in these IT organization benefits:

  • Faster Throughput (projects and processes)
  • Less Costly (unit costs)
  • Better  Quality (products, software, systems and processes)
  • More Agility  (change)
  • More Capacity  (w/o more resources)
  • Better Risk Management
  • Better Place to Work

Can you match which habits would mitigate or eliminate the IT paradoxes and barriers??

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Was Your Project a Success Or . . .

Jan 15

Posted by Ross Holman in Build Trust, Lead People, Manage Things, Make Excellence a Habit, Passion for Learning and Improvement | 1 Comment

Project Balance Scorecard

Project Success

Just started or completed a project? How will you know if it was a success – met or exceeded expectations? Or how will you know if it was not a success – didn’t meet expectations or failed? Which stakeholders’ expectations are important? What can be improved to insure more success next time?

Did you know that most software development (SD) organizations do not have a process or commitment in place to even try to measure a project’s success, failure or areas for improvement? These are usually CMM Level 1 organizations, Chaotic. CMM Level 2 SD organizations, Repeatable, typically has a process that measures a projects success, or lack of, whether it was “On Schedule” and/or “On Budget”, but this measurement falls short of answering the questions above.

So what process and commitment is needed to answer all of the questions above. Many CMM Level 3-5 SD organizations have implemented Project Balanced Scorecards (PBSC) as the process and tool to give a ‘balanced’ view of project success, or not, and areas for improvement.

A good PBSC follows the guidelines of the Balanced Scorecard Institute and based on The Balanced Scorecard from Kaplan and Norton. The PBSC starts with identifying all key stakeholders for a project including:

1) Business stakeholders
2) IT Service Delivery, operations, stakeholders
3) Customers
4) Employees, project team

These stakeholders determine a project’s level of success and areas for improvement. Next is to develop criteria for each stakeholder’s focus on the project’s success. Major criteria categories and criteria might be:

1) Financial Focus – Business financial stakeholders

2) Service Delivery Focus – Operations and support stakeholders

3) Customer Focus – Business and external customer stakeholders

4) Employee Focus – Project team stakeholders

The above criteria contain quantitative and qualitative areas of focus to determine a project’s success – a balanced view.

For an example of a Project Balanced Scorecard, check out our web site at Palomino Consulting Group – Products

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“An ounce of prevention . . . “

Dec 2

Posted by Ross Holman in Develop Proactive Culture, Make Excellence a Habit | No Comments

Pound of Cure-Firefighting

Pound of Cure-Firefighting


“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” We all have heard this old saying - about being proactive versus reactive in life, at home or work. We need both concepts. When a crisis happens, we need the BEST people to react to the crisis, like firefighters, doctors, policemen, etc. They are invaluable in a crisis. But after the crisis, they all would tell you that preventing the crisis in the first place is more valuable and less costly than ‘firefighting’.

Yet many businesses and IT organizations ignore the benefits of being proactive, reverting to reactive processes and behaviors usually for the sake of ‘speed’. How many times has an IT team become totally reactive in implementing a project and then ‘fixing’ it after the fact. Yet they hope that being great firefighters will ‘reduce’ the impact on the business and its suppliers and customers. Some people even thrive on being a firefighter. They love the adrenalin rush and immediate satisfaction of ‘fixing’ a problem. Love them because they are needed in IT. But they are needed as a secondary process and behavior.

Being proactive means anticipating, acting and preventing a problem or crisis, or after the firefighting, taking the time to solve the ‘root cause’ of the problem or crisis so it never happens again. It may seem at the time that it is slowing a project, process or service, but if you look at the overall timeline it usually does not take longer. The benefits are reduced costs, improved quality and less negative impacts on employees, suppliers and customers. All are much more valuable than the best ‘firefighters’ in the world.

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Danger – Thin Ice

Nov 22

Posted by Ross Holman in Develop Proactive Culture, Lead People, Manage Things, Make Excellence a Habit | No Comments

Risk

Risk

The high ‘failure’ rates of IT projects have been documented for over four decades by numerous studies and publications.  The Standish Group International reported in 2001 that around 23% of projects are failures, and 49% are ‘challenged’.  Doing the math indicates that only around 28% of IT projects meet their expectations.  My experience suggests one of the primary reasons for these continued poor results is the lack of formal, aggressive IT project complexity and risk assessment and management – a responsibility of the IT project sponsor and project manager.

Software development is a process – a process with varying degrees of complexity.  A process’s complexity, therefore, defines, qualitatively and quantitatively, the relative difficulty, time consumption, resource requirements and skill requirements necessary to successfully complete.  The more complex the process – the more difficult, time consuming, resources intensive and more experienced skills are required.  Many project managers use complexity and risk synonymously – but they are not.  Project risks are qualitative and quantitative issues or events which could lead to negative consequences.  Risks can be prevented, repaired if they become an issue or mitigated.  Complexity is not an event and is harder or impossible to prevent, repair or mitigate once the IT project begins.

So why do most IT sponsors and project managers do a lousy job of complexity and risk assessment and management?  A few reasons are:

  1. Lack of skills – training and/or experience
  2. Internal politics
  3. Lack of formal assessment and management process that is consistent and repeatable
  4. Lack of assessment, management and reporting tools
  5. Lack of emphasis in CMM, ITIL and other methodologies

 

What is the complexity of your current project?  What are the five major risk areas?

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The Weakest Link in IT

Nov 16

Posted by Ross Holman in Lead People, Manage Things, Make Excellence a Habit | No Comments

Weak Link

Weak Link

You LEAD people  -  manage things.  Don’t buy in?  Ever tried to manage your spouse  -  or your children??  Me too!  Yet to many the two concepts are the same.  Don’t get me wrong – leaders have to to both, but leading and managing are different.

That leads me to the weakest link in most IT organizations  – leadership.  IT organizations and  profession have not done enough to DEVELOP leadership skills and leaders.  They mostly focus on developing people to manage things – projects, systems, budgets, etc.  IT, therefore, is much better at managing things than leading people.  Most IT organizations do not have formal leadership training or mentoring.  Instead they promote good technical people and people that are good at managing things into leadership roles – and then see them struggle in their new roles.  IT’s colleagues in other parts of the business do a much better job of developing leadership skills and leaders, and have formal training and mentoring.

Check out my Web Sites Favorites page for other’s input on leaders and leadership at:  http://www.palominoconsultinggroup.com/favorites.html

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