IT's All about the People: Technology Management That Overcomes Disaffected People, Stupid Processes, and Deranged Corporate Cultures

216 Pages·2011·3.17 MB·English

by  Stephen J. Andriole

Information Technology / IT Management A
N
By and large, cost-effective information technology (IT) management D
is more about people, per sonal relationships, and corporate culture R
I
than it is about the technology itself. Simply put, IT doesn’t work if you O
L
are surrounded by bad people and stupid processes in a deranged
E
corporate culture.
IT’s All about the People: Technology Management That Overcomes
Disaffected People, Stupid Processes, and Deranged Corporate
Cultures explains how to achieve dramatic improvements in service I
T
and agility by enhancing the people, processes, and culture within
’
your organization. It details the various roles within the technology s
management process and supplies authoritative insight into the realities
A
of human behavior—including the range of best and worst behaviors
from managers, executives, and corporate culture. L
L
• Considers organizational politics, among other reporting,
a
gov ernance, and power realities
b
• Unveils new management best practices, given the perennial
o
constraints of people, processes, and cultures
u
• Explores outsourcing and the cloud t

t
Industry veteran Stephen J. Andriole explains the reason behind h
why many business cases fail and includes helpful insights on new e
governance models, organic transformation, guerilla budgeting, and
P
open-source software. Providing a fresh perspective on the old basics
of IT management through a twenty-first-century lens, this book arms E
you with the methods needed to master the soft art of IT management O
as well as purchasing, deployment, and technological support.
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L
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K13557
ISBN: 978-1-4398-7658-9
90000
www.crcpress.com
9 781439 876589
www.auerbach-publications.com
K13557 cvr mech.indd 1 9/22/11 10:10 AM
IT’s ALL about
PEOPLE
the
Technology Management That
Overcomes Disaffected People,
Stupid Processes, and
Deranged Corporate Cultures

IT’s ALL about
PEOPLE
the
Technology Management That
Overcomes Disaffected People,
Stupid Processes, and
Deranged Corporate Cultures
STEPHEN J. ANDRIOLE
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2012 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
No claim to original U.S. Government works
Version Date: 2011909
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4398-7660-2 (eBook - PDF)
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Contents
Preface.....................................................................................................xi
Chapter 1 People...................................................................................1
Some.Dirty.Little.Secrets.............................................................2
Many.Technologists.Are.Not.Technical...............................3
No.One.Knows.What.the.Hell.“Architecture”.Is................4
Technology.Is.Operational,.Not.Strategic—at.Least.
for.Now......................................................................................5
Vendor.Management.Is.an.Oxymoron:.No.One.
Does.it.Well..............................................................................5
Software.Costs.Way.Too.Much.(Way, Way Too Much)......6
Can.You.Handle.the.Truth?........................................................8
When.Reason,.Logic,.and.Business.Cases.Fail.......................12
Soft.Skills.from.the.Dark.Side...................................................14
What.Will.You.(Really).Be.Doing.in.a.Few.Years?................16
The.(Really).Perfect.CIO.(You.Know.the.Type).....................18
Will.You.Work.for.Results?......................................................20
Sometimes.You.Must.Go.Negative..........................................23
Pay.Very.Close.Attention.to.New.Era.Skills...........................25
Everyone.to.the.Woodshed..................................................27
Politics,.Culture,.and.You.....................................................29
Can.You.Smell.Change?........................................................32
The.Consolidating.Technology.Industry.......................32
Major.Changes.in.the.Value.and.Location.of.
Skill Sets.............................................................................32
Innovation.at.Risk.............................................................33
Leadership,.Likeability,.and.Life.............................................34
Do.You.Speak.Business?............................................................36
Pain.→.Pleasure.....................................................................37
Credibility.→.Influence........................................................37
Operations.→.Strategy..........................................................37
Three.Easy.First.Steps................................................................37
v
vi  •  Contents
Whatever.Happened.to.Mentoring,.Meritocracies,.and.
Sabbaticals?..................................................................................38
Three.Brands.for.the.Millennium............................................41
Final.Thoughts.about.People....................................................43
Chapter 2 Organization......................................................................45
“I.Want.a.Divorce”....................................................................46
New.Governance.versus.Organizational.Terrorism..............50
Driving.Trends.......................................................................50
All.New.Governance.Models....................................................51
Core.Competency.Challenges..............................................52
Enterprise.Business.Technology.Architecture.
Challenges...............................................................................52
Alternative.Hardware.and.Software.Delivery.Model.
Challenges...............................................................................53
User-Managed.Web.2.0.Technology.Challenges..............54
Web.Transaction.Platform.Challenges...............................55
Globalization.Challenges......................................................55
Organizational.Implications...............................................56
Why.You.Need.a.Business.Technology.Management.
Office...........................................................................................56
What.to.Do.When.the.Regions.Rebel....................................60
Processes,.Clear.and.Messy......................................................64
Process.World.......................................................................64
Process.Control.....................................................................66
Process.Improvement............................................................67
Process.Incentives..................................................................67
Takeaways..............................................................................68
The.Subtle,.Sublime,.and.Nefarious.(or,.Watch.
Your Back)...............................................................................68
Training.to.Obsolescence.....................................................69
CAPEX.versus.Expensing.....................................................69
Those.Things.Are.Expensive................................................70
Sourcing..................................................................................71
Telecommuting’s.Not.for.Everyone.....................................71
Change.for.Their.Own.Sake.................................................72
Having.IT.Both.Ways,.You.Bastards.......................................73
Save.Money.Today.and.Make.Money.Tomorrow.............73
Contents  •  vii
Stop.Worrying.about.Devices..............................................74
Software.and.Hardware.Are.Already.Services..................74
Open-Source.is.Safe,.Honestly.............................................74
There’s.Gold.in.Them.There.Processes...............................75
Web.2.0.Is.Really.Your.Friend..................................................75
Data.without.Analytics.Are.Useless...................................75
Organizational.Surgery.Is.No.Longer.Elective......................76
Loosen.Up...............................................................................76
It’s.Getting.Cloudy.Out.There..............................................77
Five.Hours.to.Influence.............................................................78
Ten.Things.the.IT.Department.Should.Tell.
Management..........................................................................80
Final.Thoughts.about.Organization.........................................82
Chapter 3 Management......................................................................83
Really.Stupid.Meetings.............................................................84
Many.Happy.Returns................................................................86
A.Crisis.Is.a.Terrible.Thing.to.Waste......................................88
Changing.Our.Minds.(about.Everything).............................90
Vitamin.Pills.versus.Painkillers...............................................93
Save.Money,.Make.Money,.or.Go.Home.................................95
Ten.“New.Rules”.for.IT.............................................................96
Guerilla.Budgeting.....................................................................98
Another.Audit?........................................................................100
Innovation.in.Flight.................................................................102
Innovation.Parameters............................................................102
Incentives..............................................................................103
Governance...........................................................................104
Funding.................................................................................105
Initiatives..............................................................................105
Assessment...........................................................................106
Why.Strategic.Risk.Management.Is.So.Important..............107
Strategic.Risk.Management....................................................108
The.New.Risk.Equation...........................................................108
Innovation.on.the.Cheap;.Moving.Forward.while.
Standing.Still.............................................................................111
Way.Overdue—Yet.Still.Really.Cheap:.BPM........................112
Crowdsourcing.for.Fun.and.Profit.........................................113
viii  •  Contents
Tell.Them.You.Love.Them—To.Innovate..............................113
Social.Media.(Poor.Man’s.Marketing,.Customer.
Service).and.Innovation..........................................................114
Innovation.Talent.Development.That.You.
Actually Mean.......................................................................115
Tough.Love.Business.Cases.....................................................116
Tough.Love...........................................................................117
Web.2.0.............................................................................117
Alternative.Delivery.Models...................................................118
People.........................................................................................119
Organizations...........................................................................120
Strategy.....................................................................................120
Technology.Adoption—One.More.Time..............................121
Final.Thoughts.about.Management.......................................121
Chapter 4 Sourcing...........................................................................123
Why.More.(and.More.and.More).Outsourcing.Is.
Inevitable..................................................................................124
Vendors,.Vendors,.Everywhere...............................................125
Has.Anyone.Been.to.Nordstrom?..........................................127
Technology.Life.in.the.Clouds................................................129
What.Start-Ups.and.Wind-Downs.Do.Now........................133
Start-Up.Tactics...................................................................133
Wind-Down.Tactics............................................................135
Sourcing,.Sourcing.Everywhere.............................................138
New.Ways.to.Deliver.Old.Services.for.Less.Money.............140
Clashing.Rocks.........................................................................141
Open-Source.Software........................................................141
Web.2.0.Technologies..........................................................143
Hardware-as-a-Service.......................................................144
Software-as-a-Service..........................................................144
Thin.Client.Architectures...................................................145
Caution.to.the.Rocks...........................................................146
Why.Crowdsourcing.Makes.Sense........................................148
IT’s.a.Done.Deal.......................................................................150
Enterprise.Software:.Now.You.See.IT—Now.You.Don’t.....153
Contents  •  ix
What.the.Early.Twenty-First.Century.(in.Ruins).Is.
Teaching.Us.about.Technology.Delivery..............................155
Renegotiations......................................................................155
Subsidies................................................................................156
Technology.Trends.Assessments.......................................156
Alternative.Delivery.Models..............................................157
Final.Thoughts.about.Sourcing..............................................159
Chapter 5 Organic.Transformation.................................................161
Over.and.Over.Again.and.Again...........................................161
People.........................................................................................161
Processes....................................................................................162
Governance...............................................................................162
Rationalization..........................................................................168
Sourcing.....................................................................................169
Innovation.................................................................................169
Management.“Best.Practices”.................................................170
Internal.Consulting—Go.for.IT.............................................171
Internal.versus.External.Consultants....................................172
The.Consulting.Process:.Identifying.Meaningful.
Problems....................................................................................175
The.Consulting.Process:.Assessing.the.Appetite.for.
Solutions....................................................................................177
The.Consulting.Process:.Determining.Likely.Costs.
and.Risks....................................................................................178
The.Consulting.Process:.Finding.the.Right.Sponsors.........180
The.Consulting.Process:.Developing.Compelling.
Business.Cases..........................................................................181
The.Consulting.Process:.Realistically.Defining.Projects....181
The.Consulting.Process:.Chunking.......................................182
The.Consulting.Process:.Executing.......................................182
The.Consulting.Process:.Revisiting.Value/Cost/Risk.........183
The.Consulting.Process:.Reporting.......................................183
Consulting.Knowledge.and.Skills..........................................184
Knowledge.of.the.Business.and.Functional.Business.
Areas......................................................................................185
Knowledge.of.Technology..................................................186
Skills,.Abilities,.and.Behavior............................................189