There’s a number of first-time readers joining the group, so I want to preface today’s post by saying it’s a bit of frivolity – it’s Saturday, after all.  (Click here for all articles, and scroll for those that may interest you).

But as to today’s post:  I had an interesting, totally unexpected, situation while discussing needs with a client on the phone the other day.  I was in my home office discussing the theme of a needed white paper, the nature of the intended audience, and so on.  Our mobile call began to break up, and so I asked my client to hold for a moment while I transferred outside.

I took my laptop and phone to my deck, and sat down at an outdoor table.  It’s one of those with an umbrella in the middle.  I cranked the umbrella open, sat down, and resumed my conversation with the client while typing notes.

Suddenly, a bat flew into my face, abruptly turning and flying past my head.  It had been overnighting under the closed umbrella in the folds.  I had abruptly opened its “bed,” and rudely disturbed its rest…

Amazingly, I resisted the temptation to blurt, “Yikes!  A bat just flew into my face!” – or worse.  I remained focused, continuing to converse, make and take suggestions, and type notes.  Meanwhile, the bat wasn’t about to give up – it kept flying back under its roost – landing on the spokes of the umbrella, or hanging off the cloth, and then flying back out, about, and back in.  For some reason, its preferred path remained in the vicinity of my face and head.  Soon, a complicating factor arose (don’t they always?)…

My cat Rex jumped up on the table and began batting and leaping at the flying bat… inches from my laptop, but more importantly, near my morning-lifeline:  My coffee.

Did I lose focus?  No.  I remained calm, level-headed, and contributed and captured for the day’s deliverable (but did protect my coffee).  Eventually, the bat flew off.  Rex turned his attention to other pursuits, and the client and I wrapped the call.  The client was none-the-wiser for what had just transpired, although it doesn’t really matter (he may read about the episode here, I imagine).

But the unusual confluence of events reminded me about something very important:  It served as a reminder to “expect the unexpected” – to get out of your comfortable box, to survey your environment with some imaginative views:  Employ some “What If?”s and “What Would We Do?”s.  It doesn’t have to be a big consumption of time, but get off the beaten path of the day-to-day and near-term project focus and be certain you’re on a responsible forward edge for evolving threats and challenges.

It doesn’t have to be a consideration for possible bat infestation (unless it’s concerning

co-workers’ belfries), but remember this:  No organization ever went into a project expecting overruns.  No one plays for a breach.  No one wants to hobble business with poor-fit solutions.

And yet…

Things happen all the time. 

Interweave business and technology:  It’s a culture that yields immediate benefits, spreading an “umbrella” of protection and influence over the environment.  You won’t have many unexpected moments and situations.  But – when you do, be sure to have an agility in place:  People who remain calm while having the reflexes to act quickly, with appropriate knowledge, with appropriate ability, with appropriate scale and placement of effort – within sanctioned authority.  Define these things, hire according to spec, hammer out plans in match not only to actuals, but also to the ”bats” of contingencies.

Craft an efficient, effective, business-technology weave – and maintain it.

As to my bats (there are now three), I rather like them.  They probably just like the view:

NP:  Who’s Got Rhythm, Gerry Mulligan/Ben Webster, jazz24.org

[Note:  When referring to “Business” here, with a capital “B,” we’re referring to business people and associated business leadership.  When employing a small “b,” we mean “the business” such as business practice…]

Frequently, in the course of my travels and counsel, I hear from Business:  Our IT team just doesn’t get it.  We discuss and deliver requirements in good faith, but it’s still a struggle getting what we want and need in order to conduct sound business.  IT constantly asks for more money, and even so, we don’t see a direct correlation to better fits with the dispense of more dollars…

As frequently, I hear the IT side:  Business makes unreasonable demands, they “don’t get it,” they ask the impossible.  The impossible includes demands for robust solutions and supports on miniscule budgets (in IT’s estimation), demands for programs that support the most hapless users, programs that make business “mistake proof” (here, even I must say – this is not possible, of course), and naturally there’s always that most venerable of complaints:  They want everything immediately.

Something’s got to give, and you know what I say?  I say it’s… IT.  Why?  IT is a service endeavor.  IT wouldn’t have anything to do without a business to support.  Even a tech company has a business element, and a technical, IT, element.

But also, in a world with no perfect parity, something’s got to give in – and again, that’s IT.  But that doesn’t mean that IT is a doormat.  A good IT leader, and associated department, knows how to manage Business – and “the” business of getting things done and into service. 

It is IT’s job to figure out what Business wants and certainly what Business needs – by listening, communicating, digging – by engaging.  If IT comes away from the table without all requirements, exposure of needs, and understanding of Business expectations, then IT has to go back in and get these things.  Sometimes it can be difficult, and it’s going to require tact and patience.  However, for best success, you have to smash ambiguity.  Smash it with a velvet hammer, though.  As difficult as it may be to pin Business down, it will be far more painful in the long run if you don’t.

Only a qualified understanding of business will allow IT to partner on the alignment of support to business.  Remember that, in addition to IT’s place at the planning and execution tables, IT can and must actively survey business.  Ask Business what it wants!  The simple survey will yield needs from the bottom of the organization on up.  Depending on your organization’s size, you will decide whether to issue a survey on a regularized basis, or to do a survey based on other triggers.  It’s always wise to survey the organization prior to large-scale change.  It’s also good to survey where the organization is in terms of level of comfort with present business tools, and to assess training needs.  IT can then sit down with supervisors and business managers to help plan strategies and best progressions. 

Realize that if you’ve established credibility, and achieved sanction in the past, you stand your best chances for success.  If you’re in a challenging business environment, and you feel there’s a gap in understanding on Business’ part, with possible negative outcomes to the organization, then concentrate on “doing what you can do.”  Communicate concerns to the appropriate level.  Be decent throughout:  It’s your reputation – your own personal and professional #1 asset – maintain it. 

Therefore, be certain to go through channels, and don’t skip levels of authority.  At any level where there’s a major sticking point, advise the necessary parties that you’d like to involve the next higher authority.  Communication is key.

If you, as an IT person, hit a wall with a concern, then your duty is to carefully go on record with your view of potential negative outcomes.  You’ve done what you can.  The point here is that IT must tactfully come back to the table, again and yes again, in the good faith, fully informed, and engagement-ready posture that is imperative in a professional IT team.  Today, there are security liabilities that simply make “going along to get along” an unwise practice in delivering the necessary business returns.

The exception would be knowledge of illegal or bad-faith business activities – those issues have discreet channels for resolution, beginning with your internal Human Resources team. 

For now, IT must recognize their point position in aligning business and technology for secure, effective, business outcomes.

“Business success” really means “profitable endeavors.”

Even a non/not-for-profit organization has to deliver products and services that generate value and revenue.  So, anything you do – your business – requires efficient work and deliveries.

Business goals have to meet marketplace demands.  You have to develop something that people want:  Otherwise it doesn’t matter how effectively you try to deliver.  Absent delivery of something meaningful to market, it won’t matter now efficiently you produce it; it doesn’t matter how carefully you try to pump ROI by shortening TtV and by driving down TCO.

These days there is very rapid technological change.  Customer expectations are very high – new, innovative, products are hitting the market all the time.  Further, existing products are improved quickly, and “last year’s model” becomes antiquated and unattractive rather fast.

Phones, computers, cars, the speed at which we self-check out of a grocery store – ever more comprehensive services, ever-quicker deliveries and payouts; moving on to the next area of life and business.

The same holds true for your place of employ. 

Vendors are shortening product lifecycles by, partly, simultaneously delivering new products to market.  Don’t be fooled into buying too far ahead, or into something you don’t particularly need.  Faster printers on the market?  Great.  But – are your present printers fast enough?  Has anyone complained?  Better to assess their remaining, anticipated, useful life.  Also, perhaps some areas can retain slower printers… some printing is rather leisurely – someone gets around to picking up the output eventually…

Make sure you’re procuring, and investing in, the right business assets – at the right time.  Make the basis for upgrades or new purchases in accordance with a holistic view of budgets and business objectives.  Something interesting I observed at a company recently:  When they upgrade their workstation and laptop populations, they do it as a complete, 100%, replacement of the old computers. 

However, I did things a bit differently:  I rolled existing computers down into positions that didn’t need the fastest, latest, greatest…  you can establish a heirarchy. 

I guess that goes against the grain of treating everyone “the same” – but, some people have offices, some have cubicles, and… in my world, some have faster computers than others.

You can project up to the maximum challenge of huge enterprise endeavors.   Manage projects according to this principle:  Look for the right timings, the right products, the right scale of rollout vs. limits, and above all – be certain the solution serves.  In other words, be certain you’re investing in the right stuff, and make better decisions on where to apply limited financial resources and that allied potential.

Serve business – serve successful business.

NP:  The Cannonball Adderly Quintet in San Francisco – original 1959 Riverside LP.

As my father said:  From some, you learn what to do; from others, what not to do.

Oh oh – it seems someone is having trouble managing a project, and it’s a big one.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is presently getting by in a 30-year old outdated facility, known as the National Computer Center (NCC) in Woodlawn, MD.  Some of its support infrastructure, such as the UPS, is so old that there are no longer replacement parts available for maintenance.

Nearly $500 million in stimulus funding has been dedicated to building a new data center.  As often happens, the project is a year behind schedule and the lag appears that it will get worse.  Meanwhile, the old facility is filled with problems.  This is no mundane “data center” – it is a facility that delivers annual payments of $700 billion to 56+ million Americans.

Fortunately, the General Services Administration (GSA) has found a location for the new home of a new state-of-the-art data center.  It’s rather interesting to note that a significant part of the delay in prepping this new site is a concern over cost of electric power:  government auditors “expressed concern” that not enough consideration was given to this cost. 

I’m a little confused:  Power is power (a kilowatt hour is empirical, no?), a data center is a data center (a proper project knows the size, scope, and power demands… no?  Um, well, I guess, “no”), and the project is supposed to manage according to schedule and reality – right?  That’s what a project does – that its whole purpose.  Otherwise we wouldn’t waste our time shuffling all these schedules, resources and people.

I’m kinda guessing that the new site might be a bit removed from ready-access to efficient, affordable, power:  Maybe they need relay stations, or boosters, or who knows what – but this would seem to be a failure of proper survey for where they are – what they really need, and where they’re going and thus resultant trouble in the middle:  Getting there.

Kelly Croft, Deputy Commissioner for Systems at the SSA, provided some telling Congressional testimony this past February 11^th.  She cited the “dire need” for the new data center:  “Without a long-term replacement, the NCC will deteriorate to the point that a major failure to the building systems could jeopardize our ability to handle our increasing workloads without interruption.”  Further:  “Despite all of our best efforts to preserve the NCC for as long as necessary, there is always the potential that a critical facility infrastructure system could suddenly fail.”

Risks and incidents are further illuminated by Croft’s recent testimony:

-        There is No True Dedicated Power:  “Employee office spaces in other areas of the building share the same power lines and HVAC system as the data center. This design problem means that a potentially isolated issue in an area outside the data center, such as a minor receptacle overload at someone’s workstation, could temporarily shut down some power to the data center and HVAC system.”

-        There is an Aging Custom UPS System:  “The UPS is not an off-the-shelf product; it was designed specifically for the building. While we have extended our service contract with the UPS maintenance vendor over the years, the vendor recently advised us that it could not guarantee repairs in the near future. The necessary parts are simply no longer available. If the UPS failed, we would have to bypass the system and deliver unconditioned power to the data center equipment, which could quite potentially damage the equipment. Replacing the UPS would require significant downtime at the NCC.

-        Critical Cabling Problems: “Tangled cables can block the under-floor airflow that cools our servers, and we cannot work on the cables safely without shutting down the affected systems. Similarly, troubleshooting problems is difficult when we cannot isolate cable pairs easily to determine whether problems exist in the cables or in the IT equipment. There is also an elevated risk of data corruption, because electro-magnetic interference from the electrical wires that are located too close to the telecommunication wires can distort data transmission.”

-        Leaking Water in the Data Center:  “Last year, our facilities staff noticed water on the floor of one of the large battery rooms in the NCC. They quickly traced the source to a leaking water pipe in the room. Any water in close proximity to high-voltage batteries presents a serious hazard to the building and its personnel. In order to fix the leak, plumbers needed to expose the pipe and cut off the water supply. Unfortunately, without redundant systems, cutting off the water supply to the pipe also required cutting off the water supply to the large air handling equipment that is responsible for cooling our computing space. Since the air handling equipment had to be turned off, we had to actually shut down a portion of our national computing operations while making the repairs.”

Here in the Weave, I hope it’s obvious that there had to have been a failure in an ongoing survey of Where We Are (where they were) for the SSA.  Always understand where you are, thus knowing where you need to go, and thus knowing how to get there – sanctioned and known projects, with assigned budget, resources, responsibilities, and sized expectations – all done on time, in time.

Knowing where you are – the status of systems, their longevity, their safety and security, their update, their schedule for replacement – is a critical factor in any organization’s surety.  You must lead change, not mount it in a burst when critical infrastructure is failing:  finding that water is not only near critical power sources, but leaking to boot; upon discovery that cables are tangled and unlabeled – what happened to “wire management” here?  And so on…

On this day:  On February 27^th,1967 Pink Floyd released their 1st single “Arnold Layne”

Discovery of new possibilities is paramount. New collaborations involving departments and personnel is a possibility. Use creativity to examine new products, new thinking, new disciplines – and embrace prudent change in delivering the venerable “business solution.”

Examine the entire expanse of the organization and its concerns when considering how technology might solve business’ challenges. Examine the economy’s impact to the organization, and adjust as possible and where necessary long-range technology initiatives and plans. Include too hiring, staffing, training & development, and capital budgets as well as projects.

The savvy IT leader will seek, and motivate others to seek, cost efficiencies. Leverage all resources that can be leveraged.

Be willing to listen to fresh ideas and encourage all to contribute.

August 31^st: On this day in 1895, the first pro football game was held (Quarterback John Brallier was paid $10 and won, 12-0)

It’s important in these days of fiscal conservancy for IT leaders to participate in large decisions – that is, “business” decisions.  Particularly with the downturn in the economy, there is fresh opportunity for the IT leader to partner with senior business counterparts, to shine in examining business directions and goals, and in matching right-sized, cost-effective and successful ideas and solutions in support of robust and better business.

It helps if the IT department itself is firing on all cylinders, of course.  The IT leader must be fully successful in that realm, in partnering with the senior executive class elsewhere… in addition to boards and outside partners or authorities.

Aside from the obvious necessities of systemic requirements:  uptimes, performance, recoveries, solutions, etc., there is the necessary standardization (and therefore efficiency) of roles in IT (with appropriate overlap and backup), a ready handling of politics (oh yes), and the dealing with changing expectations for IT – often demands by business that are extreme and even unreasonable.  Perhaps handling the “unreasonable” with dispatch is key to ultimate success.

Once IT is successfully incorporated into the “business decision” realm, it is seen less as a pure cost center (and an ever growing one, at that), and more as part of the forward momentum, the drive, of solutions.  That is to say, solutions for better, and more profitable, business.

For the IT leader, and any person working in IT, consider your language when engaging your business counterparts:  Speak to them in their language, to their level of understanding.  When stretching their comprehension and knowledge, do it without breakage – and monitor that they’re “getting it.”

Build trust, show results, and bring ideas to the table for better business that exceeds the envelope of pure IT – be sure to illuminate the whole view – and be sure to understand it yourself! 

Stand, and deliver.

August 31^st:  On this day in 1887, Thomas A. Edison patents the Kinetoscope (which produces moving pictures)

IT and Business folks:  Whether you’re a C-Level executive, or positioned at, say, a HelpDesk, or you’re a network manager, account executive, etc., you can help with something very important these days given the economic climate.

You can help to make budgets more efficient. 

Today, efforts to reduce cost in the face of difficult economic times cannot be handled with temporary cuts, or episodes of suspended or revolving service – at least not entirely.  Further, once you’ve eliminated the obvious budget “fluff” and other “nice to haves”… we find that we really get down to the skinny.  We have to put on our thinking caps… we have to get truly imaginative.

Let’s also mention:  The smart organization provides incentives and (usually cash) awards to those who help to make the organization more efficient and cost-effective.

In scrubbing for savings and efficiencies, look to similar organizations to see what they’ve done.  Also, participate wherever possible in strategic groups, inside and out, that not only can help to create your future – but to create that future as economically and as powerfully as possible.

Keep these traits firmly fixed in mind when reviewing expenditures against that which must be done:  Quality, effectiveness and efficiency… and necessity.  Ever run across something that runs great, is perfectly sized (in terms of optimization and reliability), and does a great job of production… of something… that no one is using??  Or that gets produced elsewhere, in a discreet, tandem system?  Or that comes from one area, and with minor re-purposing, could serve other areas?

I’ve seen that plenty – and likely so have you.  Regardless, watch for redundancies and wasted efforts and resources.  So –

1.    Survey for reusable frameworks and solutions that can be repurposed, or whose deliveries and services can be widened, for other areas.

2.   Look for strategic partners and constituent groups who can partner with you in leveraging ideas, resources, and solutions to the common good of the whole – granting economies of scale.

3.   IT leaders:  Lead discussions in “business language” in seeking negotiation, acquiescence, collaboration, and potential compromise between business units and departments in capitalizing on best leverage of resources and best returns.

4.   All should be looking to understand as wide an enterprise context as possible in seeking to capture best quality, efficiency and effectiveness; within practicable limits (that is, in view of your authority, available time, etc. – don’t enter a zone of diminishing return).

5.   Watch for opportunities to educate external controlling or influencing bodies, such as boards and governing agencies.  Seek their help, or at least their understandings, regarding your efforts for budget efficiencies, thereby thwarting inadvertent harming circumstances that can damage your efforts of spending control.

6.   Ensure “right sourcing” of core services, procurements of product, etc.  If there is something you haven’t shopped in awhile, shop around!

Also keep in mind that, for some areas, there are likely new directions to go in reaching destinations of “new normals.”  New normals that are more effective and efficient.  These will differ according to your organization’s mission, size, and related suite of products, services, and other resources that enable the conduct of your organization’s business.  Again, look to like-organizations for ideas, and churn through the list above.

Effective budgets are always in fashion, but now more than ever there is real opportunity to shine in this area.  I hope you score some great ideas, and… I hope your organization is savvy enough to provide meaningful rewards.

August 28^th:  On this day in 1922, WEAF in New York City airs the first  radio commercial (Queensboro Realty – $100 for 10 minutes).

These days an organization cannot afford “hidden” assets.  Who would want to be unaware of, and thus under-utilize, an asset?  Yet many organizations fail to leverage assets that essentially hide in plain sight.  In these days of austerity, particularly for small and medium sized business, an organization’s best efforts take on a whole new meaning – an unqualified meaning:  It is no longer acceptable to take a position that “we’re doing the best we can, given the circumstances.”

We have to do our best (individually and collectively), in reaching the organization’s best – and further, we must constantly exceed “the best” by defining that best ever upward and hitting new heights.  A steep challenge – and yet an ongoing goal that must be attained – and one with attendant rewards.

We must change and bias circumstances to favor everything we do in achieving objectives – with the maximization of all resources:  fiscal, human, tangible, outside services, and so on.  A few posts ago, I spoke of doing more with less – that is most certainly possible and surely desirable.  However, once the organization has eliminated waste, possibly even reducing expenditures to the point of impinging on some legitimate supports, it becomes necessary to look at what’s left.  Within that comes the concept of doing more with more.

Doing More with More

We need to achieve success on an ever-expanding basis, in the circumstances of a business-technology change continuum.  As but one example, let’s consider people.  When we consider people, we have in each individual a considerable set of circumstances – and the potential for many optimizations.  For any manager, we owe it to people to help them actualize and optimize their contribution to the organization.  For any person, manager included, we desire to work smarter, making greater contribution, in forwarding the organization… and ourselves.

PEOPLE

Just as we expose and leverage content contained in various systems of storage, we must expose and leverage knowledge as contained in people.  This is what various forums present:  From Users’ Groups to programmers’ meetings, manager’s enclaves, work retreats, etc. – opportunities to expose and leverage collective knowledge and talent in managing the present and future.  There is always more knowledge and talent to be leveraged, and it involves every person at every level.

There are those individuals who know how to do things that others do not, or who know how to do things better than others.  Things that are common requirements for all staff, or things that all staff can use. Because individuals have strengths and weaknesses, we should strive to propagate strengths in overcoming weaknesses.  After all, it’s not like transferring water from one bucket to another:  we don’t lose strength in one individual who imparts knowledge or training to someone who gains those things. Further, the imparting individual can gain training skills, communication skills, and other collaborative skills. The receiver gains the new knowledge and abilities. Of course the organization gains by having a more knowledgeable, able, staff. This is a win-win-win for all involved.

In the coming days we’ll explore additional doing more with more ideas.

July 24th: On this day in 1965 Bob Dylan releases “Like a Rolling Stone.”

In today’s austere, cost-cutting environment, businesses must take care:  Cutting back too much can hamper business.  Sometimes, what may be a good idea is taken to extremes, and the returns not only diminish, they have the opposite effect and begin to cost the organization money.

I was speaking with a medical surveyor a few days ago.  He and his colleagues survey physician office laboratories all over the U.S. – many doctors have their own labs right at their offices; they must be accredited in order to meet Federal and State regulations.  This particular medical surveyor’s organization has a proprietary program that collects and assesses information in ascertaining:  Whether lab equipment is properly calibrated; if medicine is appropriately stocked, stored and accounted for; if lab personnel are current and have appropriate credentials, and a whole host of other things. 

Formerly, the program collecting all of this info was hosted on a typical laptop with robust processing power, large screen, and a nice sized keyboard.  Input screens for various aspects of the survey were largely available with no, or minimal, scrolling. 

Somewhere along the line, the business-half of their business-technology weave decided to cut costs:  Mini-PCs were procured, eventually replacing all larger-size laptops.  They have an 8.9” display, but the wide-screen aspect ratio is such that an extreme amount of scrolling is now necessary to perform the surveys.  Also, and I can attest to this, the keyboard is nothing like my larger laptop – I don’t know if the keys are slightly smaller, or if the action was just unfamiliar to me, but I couldn’t type with the same speed and accuracy – and I’m an extremely good typist.  In reducing the size of the mini-PC, some of the keys are not oriented in the typical places as on a standard laptop keyboard – that was something I didn’t like.  Even worse, the pad for the cursor was very small – and the cursor frequently jumped all over the screen.

Informally, the surveyor estimated that his productivity was impacted by as much as 25%.  He doesn’t survey as many labs in a given week, and he feels his schedule (flying to various states and doing a circuit of labs) has been negatively affected.  His fellow surveyors report similar results.

I suggested to him that the cost savings of a mini-PC vis-à-vis standard laptops may be outweighed by more flights, dispatch of more surveyors, and a whole host of associated costs in maintaining the necessary schedule of labs for survey in a given period.  In fact, and in response to this, he mentioned a turn-over and shortage of surveyors, and a gap due to the necessary training period for new hires of surveyors.

What’s necessary here is an empirical study for the impacts – but I can tell you this:  mini-PCs must have their place.  People do buy them and presumably they survive in the market to someone’s benefit.  But perhaps their small profile, their small “real estate” footprint, and their light weight, is better suited for “returns” in cramped quarters, for example.  Bending their use to more general usage may not provide the intended return – it may provide a so-called negative return:  Errors, frustration, and reduced productivity.

Water is good for you, and necessary to life; but drink too much of it and you die of water intoxication.  Everything has a point of diminishing return:  When making “improvements” – exercise common sense and… measure for true returns on investment. 

July 12^th 2010:  On this day in 1864, George Washington Carver was born.