Selling Magic

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. -- Arthur C. Clarke

There is frequently a tension that builds between the Information Technology (IT) Department and the rest of the business (ROB) as a company grows. Today, in most businesses,  IT is essential to the businesses without being the business. And while there are other critical 'supporting' business functions, like HR and accounting, the ROB can understand these functions at some basic level, IT usually is harder to understand. For example, trying to explain Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) to a non-IT person is a challenge  because the outcome for that user is essentially the same thing they have now. And worse yet, if it works, the user will barely notice it.   This stuff looks like magic to ROB. We could just as well tell them them we need half-a-million dollars for magic pixie dust that will keep the desktops running, because that's what it sounds like to them anyway.* So, why is knowing this about the ROB important anyway? Because if IT wants to be able to serve the ROB in the manner it should, IT needs to learn how to communicate its needs properly to the ROB.

There are only three benefits the ROB cares about, making money, saving money, and mitigating risk, and in most cases they are prioritized in that order. Any proposal should be based on those items. Don't waste time trying explain the technology in detail, you can always do that off-line. Each of these benefits are concrete, and can be expressed with numbers. Make sure you back can back the numbers up with credible facts and sources. Once you have your numbers you can show the ROI for the proposal. Keep in mind however, that sometimes, the ROB can get a better ROI from something else, and they will choose to spend the money on that project.

*I am not implying in any way that the ROB is stupid, they just have not spent years and years immersed in IT. I think that what my auto mechanic does my as well be magic because I have not invested the time necessary to understand it. 

Problem Solved: Selling Technology

Perfection

."..best is the enemy of the good." -- La Bégueule by Voltaire

You will never achieve perfection so pick a point where it's good enough and act.  If you don't, you will never get anything accomplished.  Perfection resembles its cousin procrastination.




Problem Solved: Perfection

Improvement

To Improve a process you must measure it , to measure it  you must repeat it, to repeat it you must have procedures. -- Unknown

To break it down:

1. You cannot know if  you are improving unless you have some quantifiable way of measuring change.
2. You cannot measure your change unless you can repeat the process to see the effect of the change.
3. You cannot repeat a process if you don't have procedures to ensure that you do it the same way each time. Without procedures there is no way to know what changed, and what effect it had on the process.

If you know where this quote comes from please comment, I don't believe that I have the insight to come up with it on my own.


Problem Solved: Process Improvement

What's My Line

My Blog has a tagline "Identify,Improvise,Adapt,Overcome,Enhance". In addition to the  "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome" Marine tie-in (Marines like all of our armed forces are cool), I constructed it because its a good framework for  problem solving.

Identify. Make sure you know what problem you are solving. If your house is dark, Its best to know if the power is out, or the light switch is off, or a light bulb is blown, before you work on a solution. Make sure you do some troubleshooting to ensure that you are working on the right issue.

Improvise. Take stock of your available resources. Frequently some of your resources will be intellectual (people who know stuff). In the dark house example, it might mean looking for batteries and flashlights, or calling your spouse to find out where the candles and matches are.

Adapt. Make a plan to use your resources to solve your problem. You can use the flashlight to read. You can light the kitchen with candlelight.

Overcome. Implement the plan. Make dinner by candle light, Read the mail with the light from a flashlight.

Enhance. Review the situation. What did you learn? What you could do better? For instance in my example, you may want to have an agreed upon location with your spouse for candles and matches. Possibly you need to set a reminder to check battery inventory monthly. You may want to buy a generator if the power goes out often.



Problem Solved: Solving Problems


Related: Fixing my fence, the ITIL way

Top 5 Reasons why I would have done what Ms. Mayer did at Yahoo!

I don't have any particular interest in Yahoo! other then having an account in the past, nor do I know or have any connection the Ms. Mayer. I, however, feel the desire to provide some context to her decision to cancel the company's remote working program since she is in my dream job (saving a failing business), and this type of tempest-in-a-teapot creates great blog fodder.

Top 5 Reasons why I would have done what Ms. Mayer did at Yahoo!

5. Remote workers were not particularly productive.
4. Management was incapable of properly supervising remote workers.
3. Processes, procedures, and infrastructure were not in place to properly manage remote workers.
2. Company culture was complacent and resistant to change and needed to be shaken up.
1. I, as the CEO, needed to flex my muscles, so to speak, to 'motivate' employees to change.

Also, keep in mind that Yahoo! is in a somewhat dire situation and drastic actions may be necessary to fix it.


Problem Solved: Fixing a failing business.

When to change

I  recently wrote a post on why an organization cannot rely solely on continuous improvement to ensure growth. While the article was long on theory it was short on practical advice. In order to rectify that oversight, I've made a list of some situations that might indicate its time for a radical change rather than business as usual.

It may be time to shake it up when: 

1. Technology Changes.. It could be the technology you are using, selling, or your customers are using
2. Market changes. Massive reduction or massive growth
3. Resource Issues. Not enough space, not enough employees
4. Macroeconomic Issues. Recession or  expansion of the economy
5. Regulatory Issues. Something is illegal that used to be legal or vice-versa
6. Competitive Issues. Lots of new competitors
7. Stagnant Growth. You are not growing very much or at all
8. Comfort. Everyone just seems a bit too comfortable and complacent

Hope this gives you food for thought.

When Continuous Improvement Doesn't

Business today is all about some type of  Continuous Improvement (CI) process. We hear about it all the time -- Six Sigma, Lean, Agile,ITIL. Primarily based on the Demming Cycle, CI processes have been shown to significantly improve quality, and can be credited with many significant business success. (Toyota  before 1999 is the poster child for CI.)  The problem, however, with CI is the 'I' -- improvement.

When you improve something you you take something that exists, and you make it better, but you have to respect the law of diminishing returns.  For example, if you have 5% marketshare, it's possible to double your marketshare over some amount of time, but if you have 80% marketshare its impossible to double it. (While I used marketshare as an example here, there are physical limits to all processes that apply in the same way.)  In other words, at some point you won't be able to significantly improve a process/business/product, and in order to grow you are going to have to change. 

Implementing a CI process is a change, but having one does not absolve you having to change again. Frequently I see business with CI processes that begin to believe their own propaganda about quality, and improvement, and think that the CI is the change. (Toyota of the 2000s is an example of this). Small companies suffer from this as well, typically as a result of growth. The old systems, organization structures, and process that worked once, no matter how they are improved, cannot meet the new realities. But, in order to preserve 'the culture of CI' that is currently in place nothing is  really changed.

Change is no fun, but if you don't want to end up on the decline end of the business life cycle you have to do it. But remember change, that will extend you growth curve, is big, risky, destructive, and somewhat painful. While I don't suggest you do changes like this regularly, you do have to monitor your business, and when you see the signs of diminishing returns you need to act.