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January 19, 1999

Your letters to my print column and this E-mail forum ask some serious questions about managing information technology in today's world. Since today's world is essentially absurd, my serious responses may sometimes sound a little whimsical, and my occasional whimsical ones, serious. In any case, if you want to participate, write to me at lovelace@home.com. I'll respond to those letters that I can. I reserve the right to edit for size and content. Just sign your E-mail the way you want it to appear online.

Dear Herb:
I'm an IS person for a good-sized company whose IS function is falling apart very quickly. Today, my right-hand man threw in the towel after seven years. I once had a staff of three for a building of 200; now, I am reduced to a staff of one--myself.

When I took the position a little over a year ago, it seemed a little funny that there were so few IS people for an organization this size but I was told that a reorganization had just taken place.

Part of the problem is that the national IS director is based in the Midwest, while the business office is on the West Coast. The IS director seems to have a background in IS, but doesn't show it often.

The organization is a real mess: no policies for anything IS-related, no standards for PCs, servers, software, etc., and worst of all--multiple E-mail platforms! What's amazing to me is that no one in upper management seems to care. They complain when things don't work, and when I tell them why, I get "that's just a typical IS excuse."

When I first got the job I thought that the company's "big name" would mean that they had their act together. However, it's just the opposite. I'm thinking of jumping ship into the sea of opportunity once more ... Any thoughts?

Chris

Dear Chris:
Do not jump into the sea of opportunity. Instead, walk carefully to the nearest lifeboat, get in, and row away from this place as quickly as you can. If you have explained the problems to the IS director and nothing has improved, if you have talked to upper management and have gotten no help, then it is time to stop beating your head against the brick wall. Believe me, the pain in your skull from the frustration you are feeling will lessen when you stop slamming your cranium against the local masonry.

Start looking at the advertisements for a new position. When you find one, tender your resignation with a polite, "leaving for a better opportunity," and make sure you avoid expressing your anger at how you have been treated or even giving them some advice as to what is wrong with their organization. It is best to leave on good terms, and given that no one is paying attention to your complaints anyway, there is no reason to believe that they will as you depart. In any case, it should make no difference to you whether they do or not.

Dear Herb:
I have been watching the press reports about Microsoft's legal and image troubles, along with the advent of Linux and open source software, and it seems there is a strange double standard in place. I am hoping you could frame the issue and make some sense of it all.

Microsoft simultaneously has a reputation for the finest software around, along with a reputation for poorly written, buggy and badly supported software (depending on whom you ask). But, regardless, today they are considered the "safe" choice in most business models. They are truly the company we love to hate.

The new alternative to Microsoft seems to be more of a concept than a company. It is the idea of using source code, such as Linux, which is widely available and has a cost that is low or free. In addition, support is free, and on the Internet. Quality and support are both universally rated high, but some don't think the level of ease of use is ready for prime-time implementations. There are good office applications available, but certainly there is a smaller selection of suppliers.

But a striking comment about Linux made by one CIO who I saw quoted was "If I can't sue them, I won't buy from them," a sentiment I find confusing. Have the people at the levels where these decisions are made read anybody's software license agreement? There is absolutely no basis to sue a software developer available, as if anyone in their right mind would try to go after Microsoft's legal machine, even if they had a great case.

How would you evaluate and select a platform, or any other software product?

E.J.

Dear E.J.:
I read the same quote that you did from the guy who said that if he couldn't sue them, he wouldn't buy from them. I thought it was glib and shallow, and hopefully a misquote. If you go into a deal with being able to sue as a prime criterion, you either have been weaned in a household of lawyers or don't know very much about negotiations. The last thing either side wants to do is have to resort to lawyers and courts interpreting the terms in a contract to settle a dispute. It is the last recourse, although a very powerful one, in a business dealing.

Evaluating and selecting platforms or software is difficult. It requires the prognostication skills of a talented soothsayer and the luck of a successful slot machine player. I always try to understand exactly what problem I am trying to solve with the new system or hardware. This task is much more complex than anyone ever assumes. Sure, a new system may lower the error rates on filling customer orders, but the real problem may be that as new people have been hired, they have not been trained properly on the old system. I cannot begin to tell you the number of meetings I have been in where problem definition takes about 10 minutes for a project that will wind up costing several million dollars.

Once I am sure I understand the real issue, I make a list of "make or break" criteria for solving that problem. Potential solutions are tested against that short list. When it comes to the final evaluation, one of the things I include is the likelihood of support being available to me over the useful life of the product I am buying. Under no circumstances, however, do I simply buy from the "safe" vendor by rote. If I made my decisions that way, I could be replaced by a chart listing the size and financial stability of the major vendors.

Dear Herb:
I quit a great job last January both to relocate to my dream location and to sharpen my skills in a particular technology area. The new company promised me that I'd work with a specific set of tools, using a specific technology. Now that I'm here, the work has been very different. Yes, I'm still living where I want, but the job is less fulfilling than I had hoped.

I'm thinking of approaching my management about this. My dilemma is that they're paying me really well and there aren't a lot of choices for new employers in this area. Should I speak up or keep quiet and make the best of it? How can I let them know my disappointment, encourage them to correct the problem, and remain the good guy?

Regards,

John

Dear John:
If you like the area where you live, are well-paid, and new jobs are hard to find, then it is time to proceed with caution or you could make a disappointing situation a disastrous one.

No good manager is ever upset when a member of the staff asks for information, so long as it is done in a pleasant and nonconfrontational manner. In fact, most of us welcome the opportunity to help people understand their role in the organization. It is, after all, one of the things we get paid to do.

Meet with your boss and discuss what you thought you heard during the interview process. Get her view on the potential for you to be working soon on that new technology. Stress your willingness to be part of the team, but also your desire to understand what is keeping you from contributing in this specific area. The answer you get could be anything from a change in company plans to an early evaluation of your own performance that you may be lacking some skills. At the end of the meeting, thank her for taking the time to explain the situation to you and make your future plans based on what you hear.

Dear Herb:
Thought I'd drop you a line to let you know that I am one of your die-hard fans. Each time I see my InformationWeek magazine, the first article I look for and read is yours. I even file them, reviewing them on days when I need to entertain myself or just simply to keep my spirits up. You are really funny and full of wit and I bet Cindy has a lot of fun with you.

I am an MIS manager of a really small shop (just myself and a consultant programmer overseeing this custom-coded package that we did 12 years ago for a steel service center with about 60 users in four sites), enjoying her job but always wanting to learn more--and who knows, daring to do more in the future. Thank you for the time you take to share your thoughts with us mortals.

Ruby

Dear Ruby:
I appreciate your very gracious letter. It is gratifying to know that you even file the columns. I am wondering, though, whether your company has any policy about employees keeping subversive material in their desks.

Cindy claims she finds our life together "interesting" and even comments that on occasion she thinks I am amusing. She says she would have more fun, though, if I worked fewer hours; but, personally, I think that the fact that we have less time together than either of us would like somehow keeps the spark going in the relationship.

Dear Herb:
Just wanted you to know how much I appreciate your "Secret CIO" column. (I just read "The Indomitable Moderator.") I never skip it.

You should be awarded an honorary degree in organizational behavior. You describe all of us in our organizational settings, not without some weariness, always with humor.

Paul B.

Dear Paul B.:
Thanks for your kind letter. Actually, I think an honorary degree in organizational behavior would be inappropriate. In most of my tenure as a CIO, it has seemed to me that I would have been better served with training in dysfunctional psychology and precivilized cultures.

Herbert W. Lovelace is CIO at a multibillion-dollar international company. Herb practices his day job under an alias and has changed the names of colleagues to protect the guilty.

View past issues of "Ask The Secret CIO"