I have been working for Sprint for the last eight years in a financial role supporting marketing or sales functions. The last two years have been 50% financial, 50% programming, using SAS as a financial project manager. This exposure has brought to the surface a passion that I believe is a blend of developing business applications using IT and specially designing them with an end-user perspective in mind.

Having an MBA in finance, and a resumé that pretty much pins me down for a financial position, what can I do to begin attracting companies that can see the potential of my strong aptitude and desire to be considered for a job in IT? I would really enjoy a job that would combine both worlds, but provides the technical training that my current boss expects.

I am in the middle of having the SAS Institute help me develop a Web-based Executive Information System (EIS) for my branch managers to show their monthly financial sales reports. I have not told my boss of this side p roject, afraid that he will kill it before it even takes off, although my branch managers are very much for it. What is your advice?

Eric

Dear Eric,

If you develop, or are part of the development effort that results in a Web-based executive information system, you are very marketable. Coupled with your MBA, you should be able to sell yourself to many companies. Don't exclude your current employer from consideration. They may be very willing to move you into the area of your choice.

I am a little uncomfortable with you trying to do a project without letting your boss in on it. Is he such an ogre that a project wanted by the branch managers would be killed-- and if so, why? Is it possible for you to consider bringing your boss in on your desires, discuss your concern about the lack of training, and see if you can get his support for your objectives?

I was wondering how you avoid getting everyone in your company mad at you for what you say about them (even though the names have been changed). Do they not know that it's you?

By the way, I really enjoy your column. I'm in no way similar to most of the people who read this magazine--I work in advertising. And besides checking out what the advertisers are doing, your column is about the only fun in the entire thing! Anyway, I was just curious. Thanks!

Julie Axelrod

Dear Julie,

I really cracked up reading your letter. Thanks for your comments and putting a smile on my face. Actually, I don't worry a bit about getting everyone in my company mad at me. You see, the vast majority of the other executives in my company don't read InformationWeek, and even if they did, they probably would think that I was talking about someone else. Besides, many of them are nice people (as you can tell from how I describe them); it's just that the jerks are so much more interesting to write about, and even they have some redeeming qualities at times. Finally, since there are more than a few multibillion dollar international corporations, I think my anonymity is safe.

As to not spending time with the rest of InformationWeek, in addition to my column you might want to peruse Front End as a way to start getting interested in a fine publication. I find it well-written, of general interest-- and fun, to boot.

Since your columns address communication skills as the most important skill in your hiring decision, I really wonder what it would be like to work for your company as the CIO; particularly in light of your low regard for a balance of technical skill, people skills, and finally, communication skills.

I have seen a number of CIOs fired for a variety of reasons . Very few, if any, were due to a lack of communications skills. The job today in most large companies, in my humble opinion, is more political surviving in a "shark-feeding" pool that places little regard on either technical skills or communication skills, and more on survival skills. Having worked at a number of high tech companies over the last 20 years, the lack of technical skills is considerably harder to address and solve than weak communication skills. Since most folks aspiring to the CIO job are pretty lightweight technically anyway, your lack of emphasis on this point is not too surprising. I wonder about your background and technical skill level.

Bill

Dear Bill,

I admit to believing that the communications proficiency part of a CIO's job is harder than the technical part, at least it is for me. I would question, however, your statement that few CIOs get fired over communications skills. The " political" issues that you talk about are, I think, far more frequently a result of a lack of communication abilities than any nefarious plot on the part of colleagues to sink your ship. I have a high regard for a balanced set of technical, people, and communication skills; I suspect you and I differ on what constitutes "balanced".

I, too, am a victim of the syndrome Cindy called "the less people understand about what's involved in doing something, the easier they think it is to accomplish." For the last seven years, I have trained myself in that most difficult of IT tasksÑrequirements analysis: helping an organization or workgroup figure out what they really do, how they could dramatically reduce their non-value-added knowledge work with new processes and structures, and what information technology (and other) tools they need to make these new processes and structures work.

This is what business a lignment, strategic use of IT, business process reengineering, and many other "flavor-of- the-month, sounds-good-but-no-one-knows-how-to-make-it- happen" movements are really all about.

Now that my own organization has demonstrated its inability to leverage this kind of work to produce substantial change and has stopped even trying, I've decided that that hill is too steep to climb (to use your words) and started looking for other employment. Based on the "habit of not assigning much value to those things at which they themselves are not good," most organizations seem to assume that these skills come along for free with a good technologist, so they're all busy hiring network administrators and Java coders and trusting them to do the requirements analysis. The problem with that is that the requirements analysis has to come before you make any architectural or technical commitments.

I could apply my requirements analysis skills to any number of decision support, meeting management, or organ izational development areas. But it seems a shame to squander the technical knowledge, ability to talk to both techies and business people, and understanding of the psycho-history of systems by not continuing to work in the IT field, especially when this is the field with the greatest promise to dramatically improve organizations and the most dismal record of delivering on that promise.

Do you have any suggestions of who is looking for this kind of help, what to call myself on my resumé, or how to find that "one person who will listen"?

Ned

Dear Ned,

I'd call a person with the type of skills you mention a consultant. Talk to some of the consulting firms and try to sell yourself as one of them. You will have to have high interpersonal skills and you may have to go to one of their training schools to learn their methodology, but if you can qualify and you do not mind the travel and pressure, you may find the career switch both financially and emotionally rewarding.

How do you deal with the difficult people in upper management who have the opinion that the only thing that computers are good for is to be utilized as toys?

Thanks,
Scott

Dear Scott:

Find something dear to their hearts for which computers can be used. High-level executives of a certain age love retirement programs. It also doesn't hurt to show them the various stock portfolio pages on the Internet. For the younger executives, convincing them that computers are toys that will make their strenuous days more enjoyable should be enough to make them fervent supporters of all your expenditures. Just make sure that they get continuously supplied with all the latest machines and peripherals. Lightweight portables and color printers al ong with an occasional scanner will do wonders for increasing their compassion for your organization.

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