Career Talk JDR

Archive for the ‘Business’ Category

When clients hire me to train their staff in “soft skills,” they often ask me to teach “communications skills.”   They want their people to be able to create and give presentations, write coherently, speak courteously to help desk clients or identify business requirements by effectively interviewing end-users.

When I am hired to do Change Management for an IT Project, clients ask me to create a Communications Plan.  That plan includes key stakeholders and the message or key points we want to communicate to each person or group.

I am an organization development (OD) consultant who specializes in helping IT organizations.  Why IT organizations?  Because my undergrad degree is in Computer Science and I spent 15 years at IBM as a systems engineer – gathering requirements, implementing systems, designing networks, managing projects and doing the things IT people do.  I understand IT people because I am one.

I went back to school for a Masters in Organizational Psychology once I figured out that I knew a lot about computers, but practically nothing about people – and that people-skills and human behavior figured prominently in the success of my IT projects.

Today, companies have employees both on and offsite, which brings the challenge of managing teams they can’t always see.  Virtual teams are potentially cost effective, providing that the company has the right structure, leadership, motivation and, most importantly, communication in place.  This is where technology can really pay off by substituting for in-person communications.  Organizations have a lot to choose from: email, text, conference call, video conferencing, Live Meeting, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.; but too many variables lead to a lack of coherency and make tracking difficult.  The bottom line is that the manager needs to know what team members are doing, and that it aligns with the vision and mission statement for that project.  In my experience, weekly (or sometimes daily) phone calls with all of the team members together make a huge difference in the success of a project.

Leading technical employees while inspiring commitment and engagement without the guarantees of job security, raises or promotions in the near term, may seem like a daunting prospect.  However, great leaders accomplish this all the time.

Keeping technical people energized and focused can be challenging, even in the best of times; right now it’s imperative to have great leadership, which I believe stems largely from constant and honest communication.  Typically, technical people tend to be very dedicated, hardworking individuals who frequently work crazy hours to achieve objectives.  If you get employees to remember why they joined your organization, reinvigorate their minds, and make them feel good about your business, human nature will inspire them to feel proud of the work they do.  Reaffirmation of the larger vision is always relevant, but is often not communicated frequently.  Now is definitely the time for management to be leaders.

Today, there is a large focus on the environment that has crossed over into business, with major companies around the world participating in new efforts to decrease waste and extra power usage.  Here at JDR, located in the International Paper Towers, we have started participating ourselves, with recycling receptacles for cans, plastic and paper throughout the offices here.  We also have worked to create an almost paperless recruiting process.

During a recession, it is inevitable that companies start looking to cut costs.  Oftentimes, when senior executives begin to get nervous, IT investments end up on the cutting board.  This economic anxiety has resulted in what we currently see, with mass layoffs within many organizations and major business changes.  However, few departments have the impact on the business that technology can foster.  So, before cutting your IT staff, consider the alternatives to reduce costs and better align the business for future growth.

Most employers and hiring officials spend a good portion of their time and resources in the hiring process.  The time invested and costs of sourcing top candidates for key positions are significant.  Companies and managers go to great lengths to try to entice the best professionals to come on board their organization, instead of the competition.  Oftentimes, candidates are flown in, wined and dined and offered a multitude of other perks, just to draw them in.

CIO Perspective: Business Transformation, and the Role of Strategic CIO Leadership

Making Transformation Happen

Because we are in the business of providing products and services that make incredible service experiences happen, we are in a fortunate position to assist our forward-thinking customers in achieving their CIO-sponsored, IT-powered business and cultural transformations. Likewise, as with our customers, we leverage these same technologies to achieve our own transformational business goals and improve services to our employees, partners, and customers.

CIO Perspective: Business Transformation, and the Role of Strategic CIO Leadership

CIO Strategies Influence Our Business and Our Customers

The Alcatel-Lucent family of companies possesses a unique set of strengths where strategic CIO leadership may contribute to business transformations in multiple ways:

CIO Leadership internally – (AT CLIENT COMPANY) within, and across our greater family of Alcatel-Lucent companies, to lead collaborative transformations enabling creative innovation of better products and services for our employees, partners, and customers.

CIO Perspective: Business Transformation, and the Role of Strategic CIO Leadership

Strategic CIO-Sponsored Investments Make Service Transformations Possible