Unleashing the Power of IT

Foreword ix Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii CHAPTER 1 Creating Your Twenty-First Century Workforce and Culture 1 Core Skills for Success 3 A Consistent Terminology 4 Who Will Benefit Most 5 Leveraging This Book 6 CHAPTER 2 Transforming Your IT Team 9 How to Make This Transition: Learn to Think Differently 13 Five Critical Success Factors that Enable IT Organizational Excellence 19 Conclusion: High-Performance Reality 28 CHAPTER 3 Building a Client-Focused IT Culture 31 What Good Service Looks Like 33 Service Skills and Mindsets 38 Strategies for Developing a Service Mentality 46 Conclusion 51 CHAPTER 4 Evolving into the Role of Consultant 55 What Exactly Is a Consultant's Role, Anyway? 58 Why Do I Need to Become More Consultative? 60 Learning to Change Hats: The Four Roles of IT 62 So, How Do I Become a Consultant? 64 How Difficult Can This Be? 72 Conclusion 74 CHAPTER 5 Negotiating: Getting What You Want without Damaging the Relationship 77 Position versus Interest Negotiations 79 Three Key Factors; Three-Step Process 82 Applying the Key Factors to the Second Step: Information Exchange 89 The Final Step: Now Comes the Bargaining 91 Conclusion: Effective Negotiators Are Made, Not Born 92 Notes 94 CHAPTER 6 Managing Projects: The Science and the Art 97 The Building Blocks of Project Management 100 Structuring Projects for Success 104 Developing Plans that Work 105 Managing to Successful Completion 108 The Four Tenets of the Project Manager's Mindset 112 Conclusion: Thinking like a Project Manager 118 CHAPTER 7 Changing Your Requirements-Gathering Mindset 121 The What, Not the How 124 The Importance of the Interview 127 Communicating through Pictures 131 Writing a Solid Requirements Document 134 Conclusion 136 CHAPTER 8 Sharpening Your Political Savvy 139 Picturing Yourself as a Political Player 141 IT and Politics: Historically Strange Bedfellows 142 A Five-Step Process for Developing Political Awareness 145 Developing Political Skills 150 Conclusion 156 CHAPTER 9 Marketing IT's Value 159 Marketing to the IT Department 162 Build Partnerships 165 Differentiate Yourself 166 Establish Credibility 168 Create Product and Service Awareness 169 Develop a Formal Plan 172 Determining Success 172 Conclusion 174 CHAPTER 10 Managing the Vendor Relationship 177 Both Sides of the Coin 178 Preparing for a New Role 180 Getting a Fresh Start 182 Seven Phases of Managing Vendor Partnerships 185 Conclusion 200 CHAPTER 11 Driving Change with Intent 203 Defining Terms 205 The Components of Change 205 Achieving Commitment Is Essential for Sustaining Change 206 Change Takes a Community 211 Clarity Precedes Activity 214 Messaging the Change 217 Conclusion 220 CHAPTER 12 Putting the Book into Action: Stories from the Trenches 223 A Newly Consultative IT Function Helps Drive St. Luke's Health System Transformation 224 At Marriott, a Transformed IT-Business Relationship Is the Underpinning for Hospitality Giant's Success 231 At Bowdoin College, Trust in IT Created a Culture of Change within a Haven of Liberal Arts 236 Conclusion 242 A Call to Action: Create Your Road Map for IT Transformation 243 Bibliography 245 About the Contributors 253 About O&A 257 Index 259