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Run IT as a Business: Part 2, How?

April 8, 2008

In “Run IT as a Business: Part 1, Why…?”, I stated that we need to run IT as a business because our very existence is at stake. For IT to remain a factor alive it needs to compete. I talked about IT acting as a monopoly within the average company and how monopolies are bad for everyone; high prices, long wait and bad service.  I also noted how competition is like the sandpaper that makes that rough wood beautiful and safe to handle. Well, today’s post is about the How.

The question then becomes how do we compete? There are strategic and tactical answers to this question. First, the strategic.  Very easy…one word… “VALUE”.  To compete in an economy one must provide more value than another.  Its as easy as a man buying cloths but can be as complex as a women buying cloths J.  I say this tongue-in-cheek, but the value equation is not straight-lined. Rather it has an infinite number of arrangements that are different to everyone and changes over time.  Lets take a closer look.

 Given: Value is relative worth, merit, or importance (www.dictionary.com).

 Expanded, value can be represented as follows:

  

When we put this definition on the table, we cannot pretend that we don’t see the impact that image and relationship has with value. Nor can we escape that iron triangle (Time, Cost, Functionality)…and this value equation adds a fourth dimension; quality. I suppose that adding quality as a fourth dimension would make for a nice pyramid representation of that Iron Triangle (if someone creates one, I’ll post it here and give you a nice reference).

 Take the example of my car buying value equation over time.

 

When

Drivers

Outcome

Teenaged boy

Car had to be fast, cheap and wanted it now.

Picked up a 72 cutlass from some guy living in a trailer down by the river. Got it now, but it lasted 2 years.

Married, first car together (how romantic)

Cheap, cheap and good on gas.

Bought a new 1985 Ford Escort for $6250. Financed it but wife wrecked – we drove it rebuilt until…see next box.

Wife pregnant with first baby and I was working a lot.

Price had to be decent, but wanted to reclaim some of my coolness. Wanted it black and sporty.

Purchased a used Camaro from an Acura dealership. They took my wrecked Escort sight unseen and let me just finance the gap (what a sucker I was). 

Wife pregnant with third baby and we had no money.

Needed it now and needed a miracle.

Father in law gives us his Dodge Omni as it comes off of lease. I wasn’t choosy!

Kids are growing older.

Wanted a good quality van with leather and all the options so I can honor my wife. Wanted an extended warranty from a good place.

Purchased a Chevy van with all the bells and whistles. Still have it, fantastic service department. 140k miles and running great!

I turned 44. Two of the three girls are now driving.

Wanted a sports car (convertible), black with manual transmission (so no one else in my family can drive it). Price still important as is image and relationship of dealer.

Entered in to a partnership with the local dealership and picked up a new Crossfire with lifetime warranty.  They know me by name and that’s important to me.

Value is value, but it changed for me over time. Notice how even my term for buying a car changes…(picked up, bought, purchased, then partnership).  At each stage of my life, I still made my decisions based on the value that I perceived, but my needs and current situation dictated which of the value elements were important to me.

It’s the same way with your customers – whether internal or external customers, they each have their own unique value equation and their current circumstances dictate even their own perceptions of their value equation.  Often, it is a moving target that even changes between project stages.  It is up to the IT leader to engage the customer and build a relationship – this means that during this partnering, we need to be learning how to calibrate our solutions into their value expectations. 

But this is only an overview of the first part; strategy.  The next part is where the work begins, tactical. How do we demonstrate to the organization that we have delivered this value?  Tune in next time for Part Three: Run IT as a Business – Demonstrating the value of IT.

Drive safely,

~ Scott Felten

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Written by Scott Felten · Filed Under Information Technology | Leave a Comment 

Recession-Proof Your Software Development Career

February 28, 2008

Some time ago I answered the LinkedIn question, “What does networking mean to you?” Suzette West, a west-coast real estate broker, asked the question, and she marked my response the best answer. Here is how I responded:

For me, networking is local. Although I have global and regional reach through LinkedIn and social networking sites, my most valuable contacts are local. Local, that is, through my sphere of influence. Folks I reach out to gain some level of immediate trust due to my proximity to them, whether geographical or relational. Then, it’s up to me to take the first step and add value.

Because most of my most valuable networking relationships are also geographically local, part of my next step is a face-to-face meeting. Connecting with the best-of-the-best becomes very difficult without a face-to-face meeting. Of course this takes time, effort, and generally some small amount of money for coffee or lunch. And when we meet I’m looking for ways I can offer them value. If my colleague understands networking, I’ll quickly receive value from them. If not, then I’ll follow up our conversation with email or a phone call when I have the ability to offer more value. Eventually my colleague will catch on and begin offering value to others as part of the cycle.

So my philosophy towards networking is, “What can I give?” I view my role as building community and bringing others together. I subscribe to the notion of what goes around comes around, and I’ve been amazed more than once at what has come around to me when I’ve least expected it. I suppose another way to look at this is, those who are the luckiest work the hardest.

That’s what networking means to me.

Networking is having value and then giving that value away. It’s serving. It’s mentoring. Networking is sharing for the benefit of others. It’s looking for ways to help without an expected reward. Suzette and I share this philosophy and have since become long-distance friends encouraging each other’s networking activities.

I look to serve the Cincinnati IT software developer community. My goal is to strengthen this community and make it a place that people want to be a part of. I devote most of my time and energy bringing folks in this community together. And I’ve been able to watch a number of other folks do the same thing.

I especially look around at local developer events that take place about 10 times a month and think of folks like Mike Wood, Kishore Subramanyam, Mark Windholtz, Melissa Messersmith, and Marco Morena. These folks lead local user groups and spend countless unseen hours organizing, preparing, and presenting in order to bring the most valuable information to our local community. Why? Because they believe in our IT community. Do they ask for thanks? No. In fact, these folks usually give things away at their events on top of all the time they spend. Because they are givers.

Here is a snippet of an email that Natasha Allie recently sent me:

Networking is defined as developing an extended group of people with similar interests or concerns who interact and remain in informal contact for mutual assistance or support. It needs to start well before you need something. Indeed, it is a continuous long-term proposition that’s about building positive win-win relationships. We live in an unpredictable world. We don’t know when a recession will hit, if we’ll lose our job, or if a contract will be cut short. We don’t know if our skills will be relevant or if we’ll outgrow our current careers. Having a strong network helps us deal with those eventualities. A network is a safety net. If you’ve done your job well, developed relationships, given more than you’ve received and kept in touch, your network will have no problem helping and supporting you when you need it most. Eighty-five percent of all jobs are filled through personal references and contacts. It’s how you meet future clients, employers, life long friends and business partners. It’s how you find amazing employees, unearth tremendous opportunities and learn how to transition your career. It’s also how you establish information avenues, solve problems and mentor other people. Networking accelerates your career and business success.

I don’t know how accurate the statistics are, but I do know that software developers generally don’t pay attention to their network “well before [they] need something.” And many do not spend time, at least professionally, giving to their network more than they receive. My understanding may not be entirely quantifiable. My first-hand experience is. I attend quite a few of the Cincinnati IT community events, and I probably meet or see a total of 200 people a month. I would bet this is about 5% of the total community.

So my admonition, especially in the face of a recession, is to start to understand networking. Get out there and give of yourself a little. You have a job today? Great! That is the best time to start. So you’re introverted or shy? That’s okay, too. Find me at an event. I’ll start a conversation with you. I’ll also introduce you to the folks you should probably get to know. Consider yourself having an insider that wants to show you the ropes. These events give the developer community an opportunity to network together, branch out, and build relationships outside of their glass-walled corporate towers. I bet you’ll see that you’ll be welcomed. And when you *need* your network, you’ll be glad you came.

- Andy

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Written by AndyErickson · Filed Under Business & Leadership | 2 Comments