Times are tough in IT these days. While technology flourishes, budgets are being cut. IT leadership is asked to deliver more, deliver it faster, while keeping everyone’s data safe and, oh yeah, keeping that old legacy software running, too. Yes, CxOs will say that’s what you are paid for, and they are right.
Of course, it would be nicer if everyone spoke the same language and had the same goals. An IT leader focused on his 5-year plan may be a visionary, but if the company struggles to make payroll, perhaps there is some urgency in results. Conversely, the executive team that is so focused on next month’s EBITDA and trying to cut their way to prosperity is no recipe for long-term success, either.
Balance, my friends, is the key. Look for fat and waste, then aggressively cut it from your organization. But do it like a brain surgeon, not like the big bad in an 80s slasher flick. Cut too deep, and you have no room for error. Cut too shallow, and you are carrying dead weight. Obvious, right? Then why do so many organizations struggle with this in IT?
I hypothesize a lack of communication between tech and businesspeople causes it. We don’t always speak the same language. While techies get criticized for using jargon to an extreme, explaining technology OR business without jargon is often challenging. We, as technologists, use words like scrum, hypervisor, multi-cloud, and such. They have terms like time to market, inventory turns, net profit, and gross profit. That doesn’t even touch the acronym war – EBIDTA vs DDOS, ROI vs ADAC/ADUC, and I could go on and on. But that’s not the worst.
The worst part is the differing perspectives and blind spots. Techies hold themselves aloof and apart from “the business,” as if they weren’t all paid by the same company. Businesspeople consider techies a cost that is a needed evil, not usually as an asset to help the company excel. This ‘us vs them’ friction wastes time, energy, and resources that could be better spent on something that actually generates profit.
Business leaders who really understand the similarities and celebrate the differences are the strong leaders who make both sides feel heard and valued.
All of this sounds very good on paper, but ok, smart guy, how do we do this? The problem with this question is that no single answer fits all organizations. There certainly is no step-by-step process or procedure that will unite the organization and have everyone join arms and sing together. If you find one, please let me know.
While a large part of that ideal is philosophical, there are some practical things that we can do, like cutting instead of building. Most of these things start with questioning, “Why?”
“This process takes 6 hours to complete”. Why? Or “We spend 20% of our IT budget on network connections”. Why?
The answers usually are “We’ve always done it that way” or something about a decision made long ago by someone no longer working here.
Ok, so it made sense then. Does it make sense now? That’s how you find waste. Find a faster, cleaner, cheaper way to achieve the same goal.
Outsourcing is a bit of a dirty word in some circles, and yes, it usually means people lose jobs. That part is sad at first glance. On the other hand, maybe the displaced were stuck in a rut and had no opportunity to grow in that position. Forcing their hand is maybe the best sort of tough love you can give them.
From a business standpoint, your best people can be freed from doing menial tasks to allow them to do things that help the company innovate and move ahead. Jeffery Snover said that if a process or thing does not differentiate you from the competition, pay someone else to do it.
For example, no one ever said to a company, “I love how your email server works; I want to buy a million widgets from you.” No, but if Widgets LLC’s email was down, they may lose sales. So, hire a company that is really good at email services rather than hiring and maintaining a team of employees who may or may not be really good at it. Write the check and move on.
Let’s sum it up: Cut waste, but don’t cut into the lean meat. Outsource when it makes sense. Always ask, “Why?”
