COMMENTARY--Got a cold? Buy some software. Looking for a new dishwasher? Hire a consultant to tell you that what you need is software that will wash your dishes for you. Get a feeling you are being sold something you don't need?
Imagine this...you are in a meeting where the boss is outlining your next project. Then come the words you were expecting yet dreading to hear: "Let's make our performance more effective than last time, let's get this thing done on time and under budget." And with that rousing statement, the meeting is over and everyone files out of the room in silence. Once back at your desk you just sit there and stare at the wall thinking, how on earth are we going to do that?
How often has this happened to you? You wind up with a manager who is great at visualising the big picture, but not so good at telling you how you can achieve those great goals being set out.
Sure you would love the project to be more effective and make deadline this time around, but no proper discourse was actually given to why the previous project wasn't as good as it could have been, and no advice was given to make sure it doesn't happen again. So what are the chances of this project being more successful? Probably not very good. But if 12 months from now that project isn't somehow more effective, you will hear about it.
It sounds ridiculous, but this sort of thing happens all the time, where you are told the big picture goal, but not offered clear advice on how to achieve it.
Companies are going through a similar problem at the moment with the big-picture goal of aligning IT strategy with the goals of the business. A neat phrase and one that is being trotted out more often than Kylie's latest hit single.
However there is a lack of advice being offered on exactly how to make it happen. I brought up this topic last month, and asked for advice on how IT and business units can bring themselves into alignment. One of the responses I received was from a company that said it had come up with a solution. Great news!
So we got to talking and it turns out this company offers software that will keep track of all your business processes and map them to an IT function. If there is a change within that process, or a change to the IT function, then the issue will be highlighted.
Recognising that you first need to know what your business processes are (and surprisingly enough it seems a lot of companies don't) the company is partnering with consulting companies who will come in and determine your processes for you.
| Maybe instead of spending money on software, it should be spent on improving the skills of managers. |
Take our scenario of the manager giving his staff big picture goals without providing tips on how to make it happen. Initially my advice would have been for that manager to attend a leadership course. But on second thought, it probably isn't a managerial problem after all. Maybe all this could be solved with the right software (and the help of a consulting company of course). "Big Picture Goals Explained v1.0" where you plug in the goal--in this case, making the project more effective and on time--and it will calculate the best way of making it happen. Bosses will love it--next up will be "Staff Reviews and Pay Rises v1.0".
Companies have made mistakes in the past with big software implementations, where the project was deemed a failure because it was entered into without first aligning the IT function to the business goal in question. Millions of dollars down the drain. So is the answer really to buy more software?
I do think that having software that will map IT functions to business processes is a good idea, but perhaps one that is ahead of its time. When it comes to aligning business and IT functions, maybe instead of spending the money on software it should be spent on improving the skills of managers. The software should come last, to help manage the good processes that are already in place. Don't forget that business and technical managers will have to work with the said solution, so it might be better if they understand one another first.
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