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March 16, 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:
Your CIO quiz (So You Want To Be A CIO) and subsequent comments about what it takes to be a CIO have sent me and my wannabe hopes right down to Hades. I understand that schmoozing is a necessary evil--but is it an essential one ?

I consider myself as Machiavelli's nightmare. I'm utterly inept at politics. I am of the opinion that eventually a good skill set and track record, a gob of luck, and a bit of street smarts is enough. But I'm afraid that as in all other things the truth might lie in an opposite direction to my line of thought.

I would appreciate a comment.

A Confused One

Dear Confused:
I know that my response may cause you to sink further into the depths of mental purgatory, but childhood installed inhibitions about lying force me to be blunt. What you call schmoozing is referred to as communication and the art of building rapport in the fancy management books. It isn't politics; it's developing good working relationships.

It has been my experience that in order for people to trust us, they have to feel comfortable with us. The required level of comfort comes from understanding us as people and being able to call us on the phone or drop into our office with the knowledge that we are sincere in our desire to help them and, further, that we have the skills to do so. If we don't take the time to develop relationships that go beyond what we do as technicians, then people will be as eager to deal with us as they are to see a doctor or dentist who never smiles or engages in small talk with his patients. All other things being anywhere near equal, it's the person with the engaging personality and the caring attitude that gets ahead.

Dear Herb:
I am the information systems manager for a small company in a small industry. I have recently been faced with a rather trying situation. The company owners are shouting for a brand new software program to operate their business. They feel the present system cannot meet their needs and allow for the competitive edge they need to maintain in this industry.

I have worked here for five years and am unable to get them to spend a dime on custom programming or even minor changes that could make an entire department happy. Where most people are budgeting 4% of sales to technological advancement, we have budgeted 0.03% and that was a fight! I promise you that their problem is not that the system cannot meet their needs, because it can and more; it is their lack of support for training and utilization of the system. This has been an incredible drain on me for the last two years.

I feel a conversion of this magnitude will be huge waste of resources, especially with the year 2000 issues at hand, and will not fix whatever problems they feel they are having. How would you advise me to handle this?

Desperately Seeking Zantac

Dear Desperately:
I've been in similar situations and let me share with you the rationalization for how I proceeded.

First of all, you have an obligation one last time to make a concerted effort to explain why the company would be better off fixing what they have rather than install a new system. Talk about what you can do with the maintenance money and the risks involved with making a massive software change now. Don't be surprised or hurt if some people view you as protecting your system or assuming that you are afraid of the new technology. Instead, suggest that if management would like an independent assessment, you would welcome someone from the outside to review your numbers and concepts. Doing so should go a long way to convincing folks that you are sincere.

After you have made your case and lost (as you probably will) start to prepare the cost estimates for the new system and include in them sufficient resources for proper training and maintenance. If you've done an accurate job, management will most likely be appalled at the projected expense and think that you are sandbagging the estimates in order to kill the new project. Once again suggest an independent outsider to verify your estimates. Try, however, to avoid using a firm that would be willing to implement the new system for you. They will have incentive to low-ball the numbers in order to get the bid, from whence they will charge a fortune for the inevitable changes to specifications.

At that point, you have done your best. Assuming that you aren't considered to be part of the problem along with the old system, hunker down and do whatever the maximum leaders have decided. If that's too painful, then blow them off and get a new job where you don't have to decide how to allocate your hard-earned salary among Zantac, Tagament, Prilosec, or Pepcid.

Dear Herb:
I enjoy the columns. I was wondering if you have ever encountered or heard of the following situation:

I'm an IT veteran specializing in data warehousing (for the last six years). I have published articles in the International Data Warehouse Association's quarterly newsletter and spoke last year at the Data Warehouse Institute's annual leadership conference.

As a consultant, I'm finding that I'm being interviewed for jobs by contractors and database administrators "pretending" to be data warehouse experts. These so-called experts then inform the decision maker (the person who actually makes the call as to whether I would get hired) that I'm not desirable so that their own cover isn't blown.

Frustrated.

Dear Frustrated:
I have run into situations where people are afraid to hire individuals who are more talented than they are. It's unfortunate and certainly isn't desirable from their employer's standpoint. But it's hard for me to understand how you can be so certain of the reason that the people making the final hiring decisions are rejecting you. Are you getting feedback from them that you're not qualified technically? Are they telling you something else?

It would probably be useful for you to call a few of these decision makers and ask them for some comments as to why you were not hired. Explain that you're seeking some candid input in order to make yourself more marketable and would be very appreciative if they would be open with you. Listen to what they have to say. You may learn a lot.

Dear Herb:
I have had the pleasure of reading several of your "Secret CIO" articles. Your humor and candor are appreciated.

Perhaps you could offer your views on networking, as in people, not computers. I am an MIS director who is attempting to meet with my peers to share experiences rather than being forced to recreate the wheel with each new project.

My attempts have been futile and I find myself in the middle of a sales presentation more times than not. I am convinced there is a better way.

Would you share The Networking Secret?

Sincerely,

PR

Dear PR:
It sounds as if you are trying to do networking at vendor meetings. That's OK as far as it goes--but it doesn't go very far. At these affairs, recognize that the most you will be able to do is meet people, not really share very much information. Circulate, talk a little to a person, and trade business cards. In a few days, call the more interesting people you've met and try to set up a time to get together for lunch (remember, you did the inviting, you pick up the check).

While your network will grow in this manner, it really isn't the most effective way to meet people of similar professional interests. Find out if there is a local chapter of an organization, such as Society for Information Management, that specializes in information technology. Attending one meeting will give you more contacts than sitting through a dozen vendor presentations.

In addition to the face-to-face gatherings where so many of us get our information, consider checking the Internet for the forums that have been set up by many publications, professional organizations, and vendors where people can share information on various topics.

Dear Herb:
I read your article, "The Joys Of Travel," and it sounds as if we take many of the exact same trips, drink the same drink, work on the same projects, meet with the same people, eat at the same restaurants and go to the same parties ...

You could have mentioned how well-trained the frequent traveler is on the technical aspects of the opening and closing of seat belts and that one of our long-term goals is to be able to answer that perennial question of the check-in clerk with a "YES! I am so important I had someone pack my bag for me!!!"

I enjoy your writing ..... and it reads like you do, too.

Jonathan E.

Dear Jonathan:
I got a chuckle out of your letter. It would be priceless to see the expression on the airline representative's face upon hearing you or I give you answer to the luggage question. On the other hand, the expression on our face when they hauled us over to a security agent to rip apart our luggage would probably be pretty amusing to them.

I know I've been traveling too much when I start repeating the little speech about the seat belts in unison with the flight attendant. Normally, however, the odd look that I get from said flight attendant is enough to snap me back to reality--at least until we land and I am off to my meeting.

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"