InformationWeek
Defining The Business Value Of Technology
July 6, 2000
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've read numerous articles about the migration of MBA's to Internet startups. While the "It's where the money's at" credo is certainly applicable, I believe there's another reason for the move from the corporate world to Silicon Valley/Alley:
I was a Webmaster/project manager at a large retail conglomerate until a few months ago. My job was to head up an Intranet initiative and other projects that popped up, all of which was great experience. Once these projects were completed, I started toying with the idea of setting up our own Web site, then gradually ramping up to E-commerce. This idea was met with great enthusiasm by my director and also piqued the interest of senior management.
Then someone suggested we create a steering committee of a dozen people with grandiose ideas rather than practical ones. The project slowed to a crawl as overblown project management documentation and presentations (remember IBM's infamous foils?) became more important than the project itself. The stake was driven into the initiative when corporate found out what we were doing and put it down like a sick colt. What started out as my greatest challenge became my greatest setback. I soon left the company and joined an Internet startup for less pay, more hours, and significant risk. Why would I do so when I would never want for a job? Why roll the dice?
The moral of the story is this: Internet startups offer things that XYZ Co. can never offeręgreater challenges and, therefore, greater opportunities (including equity) and elimination of time-wasting decisionmakers and obstacles. What executive-to-be wouldn't dig it?
Regards,
Fashionista-Techie-Turned-Startup-Fan
Dear F-T-T-S-F:
Alas, ye shall know the Truth; and the Truth shall make ye miserable.
You raise a subject that seems to be a universal problem in mature companies (maybe that's why their growth becomes mature). I, too, believe that money isn't the prime reason most people are eager to move into the dot-com economy. It's the spirit of adventure, the lure of riches, but most of all, the opportunity to have the freedom to build and create without the humbling mediocrity of corporate bureaucracy. By the way, I feel perfectly comfortable dissing the engines of corporate bureaucracies, having put in many years as an active cog in several different versions of them. It's important, however, for us to remember that many decent people devote a lot of effort trying to improve the way large organizations work, it's just that the larger the organization, the harder it is to make meaningful change, quickly.
When I wrote about Bruce Madison leaving us for a new job "Competing With A Dot-Com" you might remember that I could not in good conscience try to persuade him to stay. It wasn't that our particular version of stifling overhead is any worse than anyone else's, it's just the nature of the beast in many large companiesępeople tend to get promoted for not making mistakes. In "Law Of Corporate Failure" I argued that a company is doomed to failure if it punishes people more for their errors than it rewards them for their successes. Why should anyone take the risk of pushing an innovative idea in such an environment?
In your case, you didn't even have to fail; it was simply enough to try to do something different. The result was that you became disenchanted with your employer and left. Your reaction isn'tt unusual. I can tell you from conversations with many people in the industry that the freedom to create and the opportunity to take rational risks are why so many CIOs have been changing jobs recently (Where Have All The CIOs Gone?).
By the way, you should not be surprised with what happens in large steering committee meetings. The greater the number of people involved, the worse the results. For a full exposition of the subject, I suggest you look way back at "If It Isn't Vital, Let's Talk" which reports the results of some original research I did on the subject of the inability of people to discuss the important subjects instead of the trivial ones. Actually, I don't know how original the research was, the thoughts just came to me one day while I was being bored out of my gourd at a review board meeting such as the one you describe.
Herb:First of all, I enjoy reading your articles. Frankness is definitely a rarity in our industry (perhaps in any industry). My question for you is related to application service providers and security. I have a background in computer security and IT, and I've recently been mulling over the possibility of outsourcing my company's IT functions to an ASP that a friend of mine is starting. However, after several dialogues with him, it became very apparent to me that there hasn't been very much discussion about how the models employed to protect "typical" networks will be evolved to deal with the myriad of changes that will occur if a company goes through with migrating to an ASP.
So, my question is whether you could provide any insight on security as it relates to ASPsęsince no doubt you've had conversations with vendors regarding the viability of ASP solutions. Since I work for a small company I doubt that we're getting the same "push" from the market that you are.
Thanks in advance.
Lee P
Dear Lee:
Most of the application service providers with whom I have spoken are
very concerned with security. Whether it's because they've been in
IT for a long time or because they're anticipating the fears of the
CIOs with whom they talk, it's almost always the third issue they want
to discuss, after service-level quality and speed of implementation.
If a client's data is compromised, it could wreck the ASP's business,
so you'll find that a competent ASP is going to be as worried
as any CIO about security and privacy. The key word is "competent."
Anyone to whom company data is entrusted has to pass all the tests that
would be asked of a complete stranger. Which brings me to the question
of whether it's wise for you to limit your set of potential outsourcing
vendors to the ASP that a friend is starting. Aside from the
question of favoritism vs. the best interests of your company, there's no reason for you to assume that your well-founded concern about
security isn't shared by other ASPs. To
quote the old Smokey Robinson-Berry Gordy song, "You gotta shop
around."
Dear Mr. Lovelace:
Can you tell me which job in IT pays the best? I'm a freshman in college working on a B.S. in computers. I'm having trouble deciding where to direct my career. I can find some pay scales on the Web, but I know you've been in this business a while, so I'd like your input. I'm torn between programming, network administration, and database management. Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks, Brian B.
Dear Brian:
If you really want to make money in IT, you should consider starting a
business from your college dorm room. It worked wonders for Michael
Dell.
You may not be happy if you focus your career in IT on the basis of where you can make the most money. You'll
find that money isn't a very good substitute for job satisfaction over
the long haul. Further, people normally do best in the vocation where
they have the most interest, so it makes sense to concentrate on that
one. However, to answer your question, of the three positions you
mention, network administration would pay the most money, in general.
Keep in mind, though, that when you graduate in three years, that
situation may have changed.
Dear Herb:
I'm struggling with metrics to measure the value of individual contributors to an operations group. Traditional measurements don't seem to work. Further, they don't necessarily drive the right behavior. For example, if I measure the number of trouble tickets John Doe clears, it may cause him to put a low priority on doing preventive maintenance.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Dave
Dear Dave:
If I knew the answer to your question, I'd be impressed with my own ability. Unfortunately, the most I can do is give you some ways of approaching the problem.
The most essential thing to remember is The Law Of Unintended Consequences. Measuring the number of trouble tickets that are cleared, only to find out that problems increase because of inattention to preventive maintenance is an example of that law. Multiple other examples can be found throughout industry, but the most fertile ground is governmental legislation. Pass a law to do one thing and invariably three things occur that you didn't consider, necessitating three new laws, which in turn, cause you to pass ...
What seems to work best is to take the time to discuss with the staff the goals of the group and to agree on them. It's important that these goals are stated in terms meaningful to the community served by the organization. Then, determine what factors contribute to reaching a goal. If availability of the desktop system is most valuable, then a balance of cleared trouble tickets, preventive maintenance, user training, and scheduled replacement of machines may result as the appropriate metrics. The components will vary, but the objective remains the improvement of availability of the desktop system.
It isn't an easy process, but it does result in meaningful performance measurements. Another benefit is that service generally improves because you'll find the right mixture for using your available resources most effectively.
NOTE TO READERS: As I've mentioned, I am planning to put my InformationWeek columns together into a book with some additional commentary around the events and people about whom I write. If any reader would like to be notified of such an event, please drop me an E-mail and I'll build a mailing list to let you know about it. Just use the word BOOK as the subject line.
Herbert W. Lovelace shares his experiences (changing most names, including his own, to protect the guilty) as CIO of a multibillion-dollar international company. Send him E-mail at lovelace@home.com.
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NOTE TO READERS: As I've mentioned, I am planning to put my InformationWeek columns together into a book with a little bit of additional commentary around the events and people about whom I write. If any reader would like to be notified of such an event, please drop me an E-mail. Just use the word BOOK as the subject line.
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