Unleashing the Power of IT

DAN ROBERTS is President and CEO of Ouellette & Associates, an IT-specific consulting and professional development firm known globally for developing the “human side” of the IT equation. Roberts is a keynote speaker and panel moderator at corporate and industry events and has published numerous articles on topics relating to transforming IT cultures. Roberts is co-author of Confessions of a Successful CIO, a book that captures the secret sauce of 10 industry leading, “bet-the-farm” CIOs.OUELLETTE & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING, INC. has worked with more than 3,000 IT and shared service organizations since its founding in 1984. The firm works closely with CIOs and IT leadership teams to build the culture and assess and develop the “Core” skills that are necessary for success in today’s increasingly complex, always changing, need-for-speed business environment. To learn more, visit www.ouellette-online.com.

• Foreword IXPreface XIIIAcknowledgments XVIIAbout The Contributing Authors XIXChapter 1 Creating Your Twenty-First-Century Workforce and Culture 1Core Skills for Success 2Assess Your Core Competencies 3Who Will Benefit Most? 4Getting the Most out of This Book 5Chapter 2 Transforming Your IT Team 7How to Make This Transition: Learn to Think Differently 10Five Critical Success Factors That Enable IT Organizational Excellence 14Conclusion 21Chapter 3 Driving Change with Intent 23Defining Terms 24The Components of Change 25Achieving Commitment Is Essential for Sustaining Change 25Change Takes a Community 28Clarity Precedes Activity 31Messaging the Change 34Conclusion 36Chapter 4 Building a Client-Focused IT Culture 39What Good Service Looks Like 41Service Skills for a New Mind-Set 43Strategies for Developing a Service Mentality 50Conclusion 53Chapter 5 Evolving into the Role of Consultant 55What Is the Consultant’s Role? 57Why Do I Need to Become More Consultative? 59Learning to Change Hats: The Four Roles of IT 60How Do I Become a Consultant? 61How Difficult Can This Be? 67Conclusion 68Chapter 6 Negotiating: Getting What You Want without Damaging the Relationship 71Position versus Interest Negotiations 72Three Steps and Three Key Factors 74Applying the Key Factors to the Second Step: Information Exchange 80The Final Step: Now Comes the Bargaining 81Conclusion 82Chapter 7 Sharpening Your Political Savvy 85Picturing Yourself as a Political Player 86IT and Politics: Historically Strange Bedfellows 87A Five-Step Process for Developing Political Awareness 89Developing Political Skills 92Conclusion 96Chapter 8 Managing Projects: The Science and the Art 99The Building Blocks of Project Management 101Structuring Projects for Success 104Developing Plans That Work 105Managing to Successful Completion 107The Four Tenets of the Project Manager’s Mind-Set 110Conclusion 114Chapter 9 Changing Your Requirements-Gathering Mind-Set 117The What, Not the How 119The Importance of the Interview 121Communicating through Pictures 124Writing a Solid Requirements Document 126Conclusion 127Chapter 10 Managing the Vendor Relationship 129Both Sides of the Coin 130Preparing for a New Role 131Getting a Fresh Start 133The Seven Phases of Managing Vendor Partnerships 135Conclusion 145Chapter 11 Marketing IT’s Value 147Market to the IT Department 149Build Partnerships 151Differentiate Yourself 152Establish Credibility 153Create Product and Service Awareness 154Develop a Formal Plan 155Determine Your Success 156Conclusion 157Chapter 12 Creating the Social Organization 159The Social Business Framework 161Conclusion 170Chapter 13 O&A Clients in Action: Stories from the Trenches 173St. Luke’s Health System: Transformation through a Newly Consultative IT Function 174Marriott: Success Enhanced through a Transformed IT-BusinessRelationship 178Bowdoin College: Trust in IT Creates a Culture of Change 182Conclusion 186Chapter 14 Moving IT up the Maturity Curve: IT Talent Management 187Gaining a Core Competency Mind-Set 188Moving up the IT Maturity Curve 189Talent Management 2.0 191A Look at the Best of the Best 193Conclusion 195Access Your Free Trial of It Skill Builder 197Bibliography 199Index 203