Unleashing the Power of IT (eBook)

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 ix

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

CHAPTER 1 Creating Your Twenty-First Century Workforce and Culture 1

Core Skills for Success 3

A Consistent Terminology 4

Who Will Benefit Most 5

Leveraging This Book 6

CHAPTER 2 Transforming Your IT Team 9

How to Make This Transition: Learn to Think Differently 13

Five Critical Success Factors that Enable IT Organizational Excellence 19

Conclusion: High-Performance Reality 28

CHAPTER 3 Building a Client-Focused IT Culture 31

What Good Service Looks Like 33

Service Skills and Mindsets 38

Strategies for Developing a Service Mentality 46

Conclusion 51

CHAPTER 4 Evolving into the Role of Consultant 55

What Exactly Is a Consultant's Role, Anyway? 58

Why Do I Need to Become More Consultative? 60

Learning to Change Hats: The Four Roles of IT 62

So, How Do I Become a Consultant? 64

How Difficult Can This Be? 72

Conclusion 74

CHAPTER 5 Negotiating: Getting What You Want without Damaging the Relationship 77

Position versus Interest Negotiations 79

Three Key Factors; Three-Step Process 82

Applying the Key Factors to the Second Step: Information Exchange 89

The Final Step: Now Comes the Bargaining 91

Conclusion: Effective Negotiators Are Made, Not Born 92

Notes 94

CHAPTER 6 Managing Projects: The Science and the Art 97

The Building Blocks of Project Management 100

Structuring Projects for Success 104

Developing Plans that Work 105

Managing to Successful Completion 108

The Four Tenets of the Project Manager's Mindset 112

Conclusion: Thinking like a Project Manager 118

CHAPTER 7 Changing Your Requirements-Gathering Mindset 121

The What, Not the How 124

The Importance of the Interview 127

Communicating through Pictures 131

Writing a Solid Requirements Document 134

Conclusion 136

CHAPTER 8 Sharpening Your Political Savvy 139

Picturing Yourself as a Political Player 141

IT and Politics: Historically Strange Bedfellows 142

A Five-Step Process for Developing Political Awareness 145

Developing Political Skills 150

Conclusion 156

CHAPTER 9 Marketing IT's Value 159

Marketing to the IT Department 162

Build Partnerships 165

Differentiate Yourself 166

Establish Credibility 168

Create Product and Service Awareness 169

Develop a Formal Plan 172

Determining Success 172

Conclusion 174

CHAPTER 10 Managing the Vendor Relationship 177

Both Sides of the Coin 178

Preparing for a New Role 180

Getting a Fresh Start 182

Seven Phases of Managing Vendor Partnerships 185

Conclusion 200

CHAPTER 11 Driving Change with Intent 203

Defining Terms 205

The Components of Change 205

Achieving Commitment Is Essential for Sustaining Change 206

Change Takes a Community 211

Clarity Precedes Activity 214

Messaging the Change 217

Conclusion 220

CHAPTER 12 Putting the Book into Action: Stories from the Trenches 223

A Newly Consultative IT Function Helps Drive St. Luke's Health System Transformation 224

At Marriott, a Transformed IT-Business Relationship Is the Underpinning for Hospitality Giant's Success 231

At Bowdoin College, Trust in IT Created a Culture of Change within a Haven of Liberal Arts 236

Conclusion 242

A Call to Action: Create Your Road Map for IT Transformation 243

Bibliography 245

About the Contributors 253

About O&A 257

Index 259