Unleashing the Power of IT

Dan Roberts is President and CEO of Ouellette & Associates Consulting, Inc., the IT leadership and professional development company known globally for developing the "human side" of the IT equation. Drawing on more than twenty-five years of industry experience, and based on their work helping more than 3,000 IT organizations transform their workforces and cultures, Roberts and his team share a road map for succeeding in today's increasingly complex, ever-changing business environment. Roberts has contributed to several books and published numerous articles in leading industry journals on topics relating to IT transformation and preparing IT for the future. To learn more, visit www.ouellette-online.com. OUELLETTE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC ., has worked with more than 3,000 IT and shared service organizations since its founding in 1984 and is the leading provider of IT professional development and project management training, focusing on the "human side of technology." Unleashing the Power of IT: Bringing People, Business, and Technology Together has been years in the making and is based on this extensive real-world experience.

Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgments. CHAPTER 1 Creating Your Twenty-First Century Workforce and Culture. Core Skills for Success. A Consistent Terminology. Who Will Benefit Most. Leveraging This Book. CHAPTER 2 Transforming Your IT Team. How to Make This Transition: Learn to Think Differently. Five Critical Success Factors that Enable IT Organizational Excellence. Conclusion: High-Performance Reality. CHAPTER 3 Building a Client-Focused IT Culture. What Good Service Looks Like. Service Skills and Mindsets. Strategies for Developing a Service Mentality. Conclusion. CHAPTER 4 Evolving into the Role of Consultant. What Exactly Is a Consultant's Role, Anyway? Why Do I Need to Become More Consultative? Learning to Change Hats: The Four Roles of IT. So, How Do I Become a Consultant? How Difficult Can This Be? Conclusion. CHAPTER 5 Negotiating: Getting What You Want without Damaging the Relationship. Position versus Interest Negotiations. Three Key Factors; Three-Step Process. Applying the Key Factors to the Second Step: Information Exchange. The Final Step: Now Comes the Bargaining. Conclusion: Effective Negotiators Are Made, Not Born. Notes. CHAPTER 6 Managing Projects: The Science and the Art. The Building Blocks of Project Management. Structuring Projects for Success. Developing Plans that Work. Managing to Successful Completion. The Four Tenets of the Project Manager's Mindset. Conclusion: Thinking like a Project Manager. CHAPTER 7 Changing Your Requirements-Gathering Mindset. The What, Not the How. The Importance of the Interview. Communicating through Pictures. Writing a Solid Requirements Document. Conclusion. CHAPTER 8 Sharpening Your Political Savvy. Picturing Yourself as a Political Player. IT and Politics: Historically Strange Bedfellows. A Five-Step Process for Developing Political Awareness. Developing Political Skills. Conclusion. CHAPTER 9 Marketing IT's Value. Marketing to the IT Department. Build Partnerships. Differentiate Yourself. Establish Credibility. Create Product and Service Awareness. Develop a Formal Plan. Determining Success. Conclusion. CHAPTER 10 Managing the Vendor Relationship. Both Sides of the Coin. Preparing for a New Role. Getting a Fresh Start. Seven Phases of Managing Vendor Partnerships. Conclusion. CHAPTER 11 Driving Change with Intent. Defining Terms. The Components of Change. Achieving Commitment Is Essential for Sustaining Change. Change Takes a Community. Clarity Precedes Activity. Messaging the Change. Conclusion. CHAPTER 12 Putting the Book into Action: Stories from the Trenches. A Newly Consultative IT Function Helps Drive St. Luke's Health System Transformation. At Marriott, a Transformed IT-Business Relationship Is the Underpinning for Hospitality Giant's Success. At Bowdoin College, Trust in IT Created a Culture of Change within a Haven of Liberal Arts. Conclusion. A Call to Action: Create Your Road Map for IT Transformation. Bibliography. About the Contributors. About O&A. Index.