THE IT-BUSINESS DISCONNECT: IT MANAGER WORK BEHAVIOR -- A KEY CONTRIBUTOR

by Mike Sisco, ITBMC

Hundreds of articles have been written about an industry-wide problem that I like to call the "IT-business disconnect," or the gap that exists between business and IT. It's an issue that consistently receives a lot of press because it costs companies around the world billions of dollars in lost productivity annually.

Most surveys show that this disconnect is a top concern of CIOs and company executives because it has such a significant impact on the success of a company. You would think that with so much attention, the issue would be decreasing, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

Another worry of CIOs and company executives is being able to complete projects successfully. Again, with the attention this receives, the focus we now have on project management with Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, and the amount of material available to help you manage a project successfully, you would think the failure rate of IT projects would be decreasing. Yet, year after year, the failure rate of IT projects hovers around 70% or more, according to industry statistics.

It simply doesn't make sense that we know a problem exists and we have all types of programs, training, and focus to resolve such issues, yet we don't see an improvement. Consider that an entire industry and technical discipline identified as project management has evolved from this 70% failure problem.

The IT-business disconnect and the failure rate of IT projects have more in common than just the fact that they are well-known IT problems that don't seem to be improving. One of the problems with the articles that discuss the IT-business alignment or disconnect issue is that most point to the need for the IT manager and CIO to become more business-oriented or to communicate better. I would be the first to agree with these points, but the underlying issue is that these factors are actually symptoms, not the root cause, of the problem.

In this Executive Report, I hope to shed new light on why IT organizations have such difficulty in syncing up with their business clients. The disconnect problem is more about "who we are" and our work-behavior tendencies, rather than simply a lack of business knowledge and good communication.

The report begins with the global challenge presented by the IT-business alignment problem and works down to the behavior that exists in most IT managers as we develop some of the root causes to this problem. We briefly review what you often hear in an IT assessment, which can illustrate this disconnect. After discussing the impact of this disconnect, we look at a major contributor to the disconnect -- the IT manager's work behavior. Once we establish a foundation for the typical work-behavior tendencies of IT managers, we take a look at 11 key traits of successful IT managers and explain why many of these traits are so difficult for us to attain due to "who we are."

THE IT-BUSINESS ALIGNMENT CHALLENGE

Most sources suggest that more than 50% of all companies around the world have a disconnect between their IT organization and business to some extent. In my own experience, having conducted more than 40 IT due diligence projects involving company acquisitions and dozens of IT assessments in companies, I have seen the gap to exist in more than 70% of companies, so the 50% level certainly seems legitimate.

One of the major challenges in the situations where I discovered this gap between the IT organization and the business was that the IT management team did not realize the disconnect existed. In most cases, IT managers think their IT organization is working very hard on the appropriate issues to support the company, when in fact it is not. On the business side, company executives and operational department managers of the company feel the pain, but they can't articulate the issue.

The fact is that business people and technology people are very different and literally speak different languages. Business people do not understand all the acronyms we throw out, nor do they care to. Sometimes, I think we technical folks don't even understand all the acronyms we use. It's a certainty that if an acronym doesn't exist for something yet, it soon will because we have a propensity in IT to label or coin a phrase for everything.

When we discuss things such as CRM, ERP, ITIL, PMP, switches, routers, and the like, most business people's eyes start to glaze over, and they begin to feel real pain as we delve into the detail. They see us as "technologists" and not as business managers, like they see themselves. As long as this exists, there will be a "gap."

To address any challenge, we need to first understand two things: (1) what it is and (2) why it occurs. When we know these two things, we can begin working on solving the problem.

What Is the IT-Business Disconnect?

Simply put, an IT-business disconnect occurs when the IT organization's focus and efforts are out of sync with what the company needs IT to focus on.

You would think this would be easy to identify and fix. In reality, it is; but most IT managers are at a disadvantage in this area because they aren't aware that they need to determine if the issue exists, and even if they were aware of it, they would not necessarily know how to fix the problem.

Why Does the IT-Business Disconnect Occur?

The disconnect occurs because business managers and technology managers are very different in many ways. These differences create a natural tendency for a gap to exist between them -- but there is more to the story.

Let's break it down by looking at business managers versus IT managers.

The business manager's role in the disconnect includes the following:

• A focus on the business, not technology

• Not considering technology a core competency

• Not understanding IT

• Tending to be sales or operationally oriented, not technically oriented

• Inability to really help the IT manager or want to get involved

• Preferring not to have an IT department cost

• Needing you to "net it out"

• Wanting business discussions and solutions

The business managers have normally worked in the operational aspects of the company so they know a lot about the true business of the company. They focus on business issues like increasing profitability, improving productivity, differentiating the company to be more competitive, and so on.

IT managers, on the other hand, tend to focus on different areas. The IT manager's role in the disconnect includes the following:

• A focus on technology, not the business

• Not communicating well and tending to be introverted

• Tending to be detail-oriented

• Focusing on what they know

• Tending to be reactive versus proactive

• Preferring to be left alone so they can do their job

We don't learn a lot about the business as we develop our technology career -- we learn about technology. Most companies do not spend time developing their IT employees' communication, planning, and people skills. A big reason for this is that technology and technology people are considered to be different. To a certain extent we are, but the issue is that the business doesn't understand us nor do they want to spend the time to understand us or "our technology."

The bottom line is that we speak a different language, and we view things from a different perspective; so whether we like it or not, the odds of a gap existing between IT and the business are fairly high in any company.

Let's take a closer look at the IT manager to better understand his or her role in the disconnect.

The Challenge for IT Managers

The path to becoming an IT manager is typically through the technology ranks, not through the business side. When one of the best technology resources is promoted to his or her first-time management position, it's a much bigger challenge than most realize, and too many of us are not prepared for the job. The following are some of the biggest obstacles IT managers face:

• It is a difficult transition from technology expert to manager. Our entire career thus far has predominantly consisted of getting things done ourselves and working with technology, not people. All of a sudden, it's no longer important what we can do; it's all about getting things done through our team. This is a huge difference, and, as you'll see later, is hard for most of us to overcome because we like doing things ourselves.

• Technology professionals are more challenging to manage. As people, they are not any more difficult to manage, but when they are the expert and know more about the technology that's constantly changing than you as their manager knows, some technology professionals can be real challenges to manage. IT people are bright, opinionated, and knowledgeable about their work, and most aren't afraid to tell you about it.

On the business side, the expert regarding a process or operational aspect is often the manager. In IT, the manager is usually not the expert, so you have to rely more heavily on your technical experts.

• We aren't taught to communicate effectively. Some companies do a great job in this area, but most do not. We work in IT, so we tend to leave most of the communication responsibilities to project managers or the IT managers. As a systems administrator, I may communicate a lot within our IT organization -- my immediate network with which I'm probably very comfortable -- but not a lot outside it with the business client.

So, developing skills that help us manage a client's expectations and communicate effectively with the client is normally not part of an IT manager's preparation. It should be, but only the larger companies have the resources to provide this training for their future IT managers. The fact is, operational people do not know how to help develop the skills of an IT manager or where to look for resources that can.

• We are technicians, not business people. This is a good thing while we are technology experts, but as managers our lack of business knowledge and terminology creates a natural barrier between our technology organization and the business.

• We are more comfortable doing things ourselves. Most high-detail people -- a trait that exists in about 90% of IT people, as you will learn later -- like to complete tasks and do them correctly. In order to control the outcome of these issues, we tend to want to do the job ourselves. We are just more comfortable that way. Being detail-oriented was a great asset for us while working directly with the technology, and it probably helped us get promoted; but being detail-oriented can actually hamper a manager's success.

• There's no one to help develop IT management skills. Senior management of your company can't help the IT manager. Department managers can't help you. Even if they wanted to, they really can't. So what happens is that when an IT manager runs into a problem that he or she has never faced before, this person often has to work through it alone by trial and error. When this occurs, things can break, and we all know the impact breakage has on business clients -- it creates or widens the gap.

Let's take an example. In a large retail chain that has 100 retail stores, each store operation has a manager who is responsible for the performance of that store. If one of these store managers starts to get in trouble and needs help, there are dozens of operational managers who can come to his or her rescue because there is a lot of talent in the organization who understands retail operations and what it takes to run a successful retail store.

Now let's take the CIO of this retail chain. If he or she starts having problems or needs help, where does the CIO go? There is typically no one in the enterprise who can help him or her manage technology resources better. The talent is simply not in the company, so you have to go outside for help.

Some might think that this is a lot of theory, but I can assure you that it isn't. Since 1990, I've worked with hundreds of IT managers as a CIO and have been directly involved in more than 40 company acquisitions. In conducting technical due diligence, or IT assessments, more than 70% of the IT organizations were found to be out of sync with their company and spending thousands of dollars in areas that provided no value to their company.

When I read a report that suggests more than 50% of all companies experience a disconnect between business and their IT department, I think it's probably a conservative estimate. It's therefore important to provide insight at this point as to what you typically hear when conducting an IT assessment.

WHAT YOU HEAR IN AN IT ASSESSMENT

As mentioned earlier, I've conducted dozens of IT assessments, many of which were part of acquiring another company. It is interesting how similar the circumstances are in all of these assessments even though the details of each situation are very different.

There are three groups you want to talk to in a full IT assessment:

1. Senior managers

2. Department managers

3. IT managers and key employees

Senior Managers

The executives of the company sense the problem, but they can't define or articulate it. You often hear them say things such as:

• "We don't understand why we spend so much money in IT."

• "IT doesn't appear to be very responsive."

• "We're not always sure what IT is working on and why."

The essence of their comments is that they don't really know if they have a problem. They feel something is wrong, but they can't put their finger on it.

Department Managers

Managers who are responsible for the operational and support components of the company (your clients) are much closer to the issue. They either will tell you that IT support is great, or they will be unhappy. I've never seen it be "middle of the road." Here is what you will usually hear from department managers:

• "IT isn't responsive, and our requests get lost."

• "They don't focus on our real priorities."

• "It takes too long to get our problems solved."

• "When they fix one thing, they usually break something else."

If this group is unhappy, you will hear it loud and clear most of the time, but not all the time. Sometimes clients refrain from complaining about IT support because they have reconciled their mindset that this is just the way it is or they are afraid complaining will only make matters worse.

IT Managers and Key Employees

On the other hand, I almost always hear the same thing from the third group of people in the company. The IT department says things such as:

• "We work hard and focus on the important issues."

• "Our customers do not understand us nor appreciate what we do."

• "Our clients do not do what they should to use technology effectively."

• "We don't have the funds to do the job right."

My sense is that all three groups are correct to some extent. It is clear when you hear these comments that there is a gap between what the business thinks it should be getting from its IT department and what IT is actually delivering.

THE DISCONNECT IMPACT

The impact of this IT-business disconnect is enormous in many ways.

First, companies are losing billions of dollars in profitability and productivity when their IT organizations are not working on the appropriate business priorities and needs.

We all know that most IT organizations have more to do than what they have the capacity to do. Therefore, any focus that's out of sync with what the business really needs is a considerable loss for the company. The IT organization provides significant leverage for most companies, so focused effort that provides tangible business value is an asset that cannot be wasted.

Second, department managers (the clients) get very frustrated when IT isn't working on their priorities and is not responsive to their technology support needs. The fact is, the IT organization's priorities have to be those of the clients it is supporting. Our clients essentially want the technology to work and don't want any surprises. In too many companies, it simply doesn't work that way.

Third, when we are out of sync with our business partners, our IT organization suffers. IT employees are seen as liabilities as opposed to assets when we do things that are inconsistent with true business needs and issues.

Finally, managing an IT organization that is disconnected with the business hampers your career. There is tremendous growth opportunity as an IT manager, but most of the promotions go to people who earn trust and credibility with the business managers. Keeping IT aligned with business needs and issues helps you earn the trust you need from your "partners."

IT MANAGER WORK BEHAVIOR -- A KEY CONTRIBUTOR TO THE DISCONNECT

In 1990, I joined a company and began using a tool that measures work behavior. There are many tools available that evaluate personality and work behavior, including Personalysis and Myers Briggs.

The tool I'm most familiar with is Praendex's Predictive Index, or PI (www.piworldwide.com). Initially, I was skeptical of this type of tool, but after using it for eight years at this one company, I better understand the value of what tools like PI can do for you. I was fortunate to use PI extensively as we acquired more than 35 companies. In every new company situation, we would collect PI surveys from all the new IT employees so we could evaluate each individual's work-behavior tendencies.

I have more stories than I can count that help reinforce the accuracy of the tool and the benefits it provided me in my CIO role, but that's not the purpose of this report. What's important here is shedding light on the work-behavior profile of the majority of IT managers and employees and discussing the relevance this has in regard to the gap between IT and business.

In 2003, I began teaching a five-day IT Manager Institute (www.mde.net/institute), which prepares managers for an IT Business Manager Certification (ITBMC). Since the very first class, we have been evaluating the work behavior of the IT managers, CIOs, and others that go through the program.

The similarities I discovered in IT manager work behavior from both these situations -- using the PI and teaching the course -- are astounding.

It doesn't matter if you are in a large or small company, if you are from Africa or California, if you have many years of management experience or none at all, or even the industry or position you hold in IT. If you are an IT employee, your work-behavior profile is likely to be similar to the one I'm about to describe.

It appears that technology attracts a certain type of person. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Let's first discuss this common work-behavior profile and then consider the traits required to become a successful manager. When we put these two pieces together, I think you will see, as I do, a big reason why "who we are" contributes to the IT-business disconnect.

KEY IT MANAGER WORK-BEHAVIOR TENDENCIES

In my evaluation of IT manager work behavior, I've worked with hundreds of IT managers and reviewed their PI profiles. The similarities practically jump off the page as you look at them.

To begin, let's work through a simple exercise. The objective is to identify the traits you want in an IT manager by looking at certain work-behavior characteristics.

In Tables 1-4, I present two lists of words and phrases on either side of a vertical line. After reading the words, which are traits, your job is to select which group -- the one to the right or left of the line -- better describes the traits you want in an IT manager. We will go through this scenario with four sets of traits, and each time you will pick the side that you believe describes your ideal IT manager.

To track your results, take out a blank sheet of paper and draw a vertical line about four inches long. I'll provide additional instructions later.

Do you have your line drawn and your thinking cap on? If so, let's get started.

Take a look at Table 1. Which group of words best describes what you think an IT manager should be like -- the list on the left or the list on the right?

After you make your selection, take the paper with the vertical line you drew on it and place a dot either to the right or left of the line to correspond to the group you just selected from the two lists in Table 1 (e.g., if you selected the group of traits on the right, place your dot to the right of the line). We have three more dots to plot below this one so place it near the top of the line but to the left or right as indicated. This is Point A.

Now look at Table 2. Which group of words describes what you think an IT manager should be like?

Again, select the group that best fits and plot a dot on your sheet of paper to the left or right side of the vertical line, corresponding to the group you chose. Place the dot below Point A. This is Point B.

Move on to Table 3. Which group of words describes what you think an IT manager should be like?

Follow the same steps as above and plot a dot on your sheet of paper to the left or right side of the vertical line and below Point B. This is Point C.

Finally, take a look at Table 4. Which group of words describes what you think an IT manager should be like?

Select the group that best applies and again plot a dot on your sheet of paper to the left or right side of the vertical line and below Point C. This is Point D.

As you looked at the list of traits in Tables 1-4, there may have been words on both sides of the line that you would want in an IT manager. But you had to select the side that fit best overall or that had one specific word or phrase that truly stood out as a requirement for what you consider to be a solid IT manager.

When finished, you should have the four points plotted on your graph. Once you have all the points plotted, draw a straight line from Point A to Point B, another line from Point B to Point C, and another from Point C to Point D.

Does your graph look like one of the two graphs shown in Figure 1?

This is an exercise I walk my IT Manager Institute students through during the first morning of every class. The results are always the same, and I suspect that with very little variation, they will be the same for you as well.

Now let's talk through your selections.

With little exception, most people pick the words and phrases on the right-hand side of Table 1. There are a couple of giveaways in this group, such as "technically oriented" and "decision maker." The left side has some admirable traits too, like "agreeable" and "unassuming," but almost all people pick the group of words on the right side.

Point B in Table 2 is the point in which we see more diversity than any of the others. In my exercises, about half of the people pick the left side, and half pick the right side. In some cases, people probably pick the right side over the left because they don't want their IT manager to be "pessimistic." So whichever side you chose for Point B, you would be agreeing with about half of the people who walk through this exercise.

For Point C in Table 3, if you picked the left side, you are consistent with the vast majority of people who have done this exercise. Key phrases such as "high sense of urgency," "drive to get things done," and "quick" seem to be the compelling reasons for this choice. Plus you don't want an IT manager who has a "low sense of urgency" as listed on the right side.

Finally, we have Point D in Table 4. Almost everyone picks the right side when they do this exercise. "Knowledgeable about job," "careful," and "accurate" are certainly traits you like to see in an IT manager, whereas "stubborn" and "lacks follow-up" on the left side are traits you don't want in your IT manager.

Thus, the vast majority of IT managers who walk through this exercise end up creating a graph similar to one of the two shown in Figure 1.

These two examples represent more than 80% of the IT manager PI charts I've seen. When using the tool in my corporate CIO role, I was amazed as we acquired new companies at how similar the IT manager and IT employee PIs looked. For a while, I thought it might simply be an anomaly, but the consistency kept showing up.

If you are in an IT organization, the odds are very high that one of these two graphs is your work-behavior profile, regardless of whether you are in a management position or a technical position. When you think about the fact that most IT managers come from the technical pools of companies, it actually makes sense.

What this means is that most of us in IT have similar work-behavior tendencies. So if you understand what makes yourself tick, there is a good chance it will help you understand the behavior of others around you.

That's exactly what PI did for me in a CIO role. It helped me understand my own behavior as well as other IT managers and IT employees. It still helps me today when working with people in all types of life.

The next question you might ask is, "What do the graphs mean?"

For a point of reference, we will call a dot that is plotted to the right of the vertical line a High A, B, C, or D, and dots plotted to the left of the line as Low A, B, C, or D. (There is no significance to the words "high" or "low"; they are only for reference.)

Both charts in Figure 1 have the same placement for Points A, C, and D; only Point B is different in the two graphs. So we have a High A, Low or High B, Low C, and High D. Do you follow me?

Remember, these two graphs represent the vast majority of IT managers and technical employees, so let's break it down into simple terms.

• High A people are self-starters who want to make decisions and are technically oriented, independent, authoritative, and have analytical minds. Sound like good traits for an IT manager, don't they? I think so, and more than 80% of all the IT managers I've worked with are High As.

• Low B people are thinkers who are reserved, serious, introverted, shy, and self-conscious. While about half of the people who perform this exercise choose the group of words to the right of the vertical line in Table 2 (a High B), more than 70% of us in the technology organization are actually Low Bs. That means most of us can be pessimistic and cynical about things, especially when we don't understand why something is taking place around us (more on our Low Bs in a bit).

• Low C people have a high sense of urgency, are quick, fast learners, ambitious, and have a lot of drive to get things done -- again, positive traits for an IT manager to have. More than 80% of the managers I've seen are Low Cs.

• High D people are detail-oriented, careful, accurate, sensitive to criticism, won't delegate details easily, and can be negative about new things. A huge majority -- about 90% -- of the IT managers I've seen are High Ds.

What I've given you is only the tip of the iceberg relative to what is in the Predictive Index tool, but I needed to walk you through the exercise to establish a foundation for "who we are." There is no good or bad about anyone's work-behavior profile, and anyone can "change their spots," as you might say. For example, if I'm not a high-detail person (a High D), I can actually work in a more detailed fashion if necessary to be successful in a job. So people who don't really know me may think I'm a very detail-oriented person when I'm actually not.

The same is true with Point B. Low Bs are more introverted, and as I mentioned, more than 70% of IT managers are Low Bs. A Low B may be introverted or shy around a new group of people but may be the life of the party in his or her immediate network of friends and fellow workers. You've heard the phrase, "You can't judge a book by its cover"? Well, in regards to PI, it can be very true; what you see in a person may not be who the person truly is. People may have their "game face" on when they are at work.

I'm a perfect case in point.

My natural work behavior is shown in Figure 2. I'm a High A, Low B, Low C, High D. Yet somehow I understand the need to make changes in my work behavior to be successful in an IT management role, so I unconsciously modify my work behavior. This change pushes my B across the line to become a High B and my D across the line to become a Low D. This is graphically represented in Figure 3.

Let me explain. My Low B in Figure 2 says I'm more introverted and shy than extroverted and socially oriented. I wish I were more socially oriented, but I'm not. My wife is, and I wish I were more like her, but I'll simply never be extroverted. However, I know that to succeed as a CIO, I have to communicate much more than I might care to, and I have to communicate to all levels of people in all types of settings from board meetings to staff meetings to individual performance review meetings. To do this, I push my social behavior (Point B) way up from where it would normally be as you see in Figure 3.

I also realize subconsciously and consciously that I can't be as detailed as I might like to be about all things and that I have to depend upon others to be the experts in the technology as opposed to me doing that. The result in my work behavior is that I pull my D, the part that measures my preference for detail, accuracy, and control, way down to the left side of the midline.

I actually move two of my behavior points across the line. To be more specific, I modify my behavior from an authoritative management style (Figure 2) to a persuasive management style (Figure 3). Now I did this many years before I understood or was even exposed to PI. I learned that you get a higher-quality result from employees when they understand what we are doing, why we are doing it, and what's in it for them. It takes much more energy for me to operate this way, but it has become my usual management style. Under pressure and stress, however, my profile snaps back into my authoritative management style (Figure 2).

The point here is that we can all adjust our work behavior, if required, to be successful. The thing to realize is that when you make a change, it can wear you out as it takes a lot of energy to be something you really aren't.

Let me give another example. As I said earlier, my normal behavior is to be introverted. When people attend my class or see me at work as a CIO, they don't realize I'm introverted. This is because I don't act like it; I shift my behavior at work to be the person everyone needs to see for me to be successful. In staff meetings or in front of a class, I need to be outgoing and personable, so that's what I am. At the end of the day, however, I'm very tired -- I've had to exert a lot more energy to operate differently from the person I actually am.

From what I have seen, well over 70% of us who are IT managers have High A, Low B, Low C, High D work-behavior points on their PI chart. There are certainly variations to how strong some points are for each individual, but you would be surprised how many of us test out with this profile.

A typical IT manager who fits this profile wants to operate in the following way: "Let's do it, let's do it now, do it my way, and I'm not particularly interested in communicating my reasons or justifying why." This is an authoritative manager.

In contrast, a manager with a High B certainly wants to communicate and persuade and not just order it done. This is a persuasive manager. Many of our clients who are department managers in our company also have one of these two management profiles.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

There is some very good news here, and there are also challenges. First, let me say that regardless of how your PI profile looks, there really isn't good or bad in it. It just says these are your work-behavior tendencies. As we have already seen, we can change our work behavior if we need to, and many people do so without even knowing it.

Let's take a closer look at the four key areas of a typical IT manager's work-behavior profile and evaluate the pros and cons as it relates to managing a technical support organization (see Table 5). Remember, these traits represent who most of us as IT managers are -- although it may not be how we perform on the job.

It's a very good thing that most of us are technically oriented; it certainly is helpful when managing technology resources to have a technical perspective. Most of us who become IT managers get there by working in a technology organization, honing our technical skills, and becoming very good at what we do. What ultimately happens is that a senior manager recognizes our strengths and thinks we are management material so we get promoted. The problem is that what got us to the top in our technology expertise is not what's going to help us succeed as an IT manager.

The skills necessary to excel as a programmer, systems administrator, business analyst, or other technology position are totally different from what we need in order to excel as an IT manager. Suddenly, what's important is what we can get accomplished through others rather than doing things ourselves.

Since we are self-starters (a trait of a High A work behavior), we will make the effort to learn what we need to do to be successful in our new management role. The problem, as I mentioned earlier, is that there is probably no one around who can help us or who knows how to develop our IT management skills. Some figure it out and go on to achieve great things, but far too many IT managers fail to reach true success in their new profession.

High A types are independent, and very strong High As can be arrogant. Independence can be a good thing, but it can also be a challenge when we need people to work in a team environment. Independent types also like to be in control, and as an IT manager, your success is based very much on the success of individuals on your team.

Moving from a technology position where you are pretty much completely in control of your success based upon how well you do the job, to a management position that's dependent on others doing their job is a huge cultural shock to many young managers. It was probably the hardest transition issue I dealt with as a young manager.

Low B work behavior means we are more introverted and shy. Here is the acid test to determine whether you are an introvert or not. You go home after a long day at the office, and your spouse suggests that you both get dressed up and go to a party where you will meet 20 other couples who you've never met before -- if you think this sounds great and you are eager to go, you are an extrovert, not an introvert.

If, on the other hand, your wish is that your spouse would just go ahead and shoot you to put you out of your misery, then you are an introvert like me. You might dress up and go along with your spouse just because it means so much to her or him, but deep down it's the last thing you want to do.

Introverts like peace and quiet; we like solitude. Have you seen the IT manager who likes to shut his office door so he can "get some work done"? He is very likely a Low B manager.

Introverts do not really like to communicate with people outside their immediate network. As a technology resource, it fits our profile really well. We can work all day on tasks or issues that deal with technology and may not have to talk to anyone. Think about it: system administrators and programmers are focusing on the technology, not live customers, most of the time.

You should already see that being introverted can present a challenge for an IT manager. To succeed in this job, we have to communicate with all types of people and be effective in our communication. Unfortunately, most of us are not prepared for this when we accept our first IT management job.

Low C work-behavior types have a high sense of urgency, and more than 80% of IT managers I've seen have this profile. An IT manager who has a high sense of urgency to fix a network problem that's causing systems to be unavailable to the users of the company is a very good thing. However, when things go wrong, the IT manager has to be a calming force as well. It's OK to be boiling on the inside, but we need to appear calm, focused, and on top of the issue when others observe our behavior during a crisis.

Having the drive to get things done is another very strong trait of a Low C person. That's exactly what we want in an IT manager.

High D people are detail-oriented. That's one of the reasons we were probably attracted to technology in the first place. The combination of technically oriented (High A) and detail-oriented (High D) is perfect for working in technology because it requires both of these traits.

Being detail-oriented is good, but it can also create a challenge for an IT manager. Once you become the manager, it's difficult to stay as detailed in the technologies as you were before your promotion. You have to let go of the detail and learn how to focus on client issues and priorities, developing your staff's capabilities, motivating staff, planning, and other things that are new skills that you must develop.

Performing at a high level as an IT manager is a full-time job. Very few people are capable of developing into strong managers and also able to continue to be an expert in the technology.

The key points to consider about work behavior are the following:

• Most IT managers have similar work behavior.

• Some of our work behavior contributes to our success as an IT manager.

• Some of our work behavior works against our success.

• You can change your work behavior.

• Understanding the dynamics of work behavior can help you succeed.

• What helps you succeed in technology does not always work for management.

All right, you now have a very high-level understanding of the work behavior that exists in the vast majority of IT managers. The next step in understanding why there is such a widespread IT-business disconnect is to take a look at what it takes to be successful in an IT manager role and how our work behavior actually works against our achieving success.

11 KEY TRAITS OF SUCCESSFUL IT MANAGERS

In my book IT Management - 101: Fundamentals to Achieve More [1], I wrote a chapter titled the "11 Key Traits of Successful IT Managers," based upon what I've discovered personally and what I've observed in others who are successful IT managers and CIOs during the past 30-plus years of working in technology.

In this section, I outline these 11 traits and discuss the challenges that are inherent in achieving success in each area because of "who we are" -- that is, our work-behavior tendencies. These challenges are major contributors to the IT-business disconnect, as you will see.

Achieving a level of success in anything requires you to know what to look for in terms of what will help you be successful. Leaders and strong managers are developed, not "born." Once you know what it takes to be successful, it is simply a matter of incorporating skills or traits in your day-to-day operational management style. Easier said than done certainly, but if we know what it takes and put forth the effort to develop the traits that lead to success, positive things happen.

It is also important to know what to look for in case you need to hire an IT manager or CIO. It's not all about technology, but too many executives fail to look for the traits that help distinguish a person as a strong manager.

Much of our challenge in becoming successful IT managers is that we have to change who we are. Our basic work-behavior tendencies literally block our way to success, and we must learn how to overcome them. In the sections that follow, I discuss the key success traits for an IT manager and follow it with a discussion about why an IT manager with the work-behavior tendencies described in this report may struggle to develop the traits in his or her management style.

Trait 1: Assess Needs

The first step in any new management responsibility is to assess what you need to support and how well equipped your team is to support those needs. Assessment is all about the business and not about trying to drive or promote technology initiatives.

A comprehensive assessment does not take long, and it sets you up for success. Failing to conduct an assessment will almost always lead to failure due to focusing your technology resources on inappropriate issues.

An IT assessment is the key to aligning your technology initiatives and projects with true business needs and priorities. An IT assessment should identify the following:

• A list of issues that have technology support implications

• An understanding of corporate and client/user needs

• The risks that exist

• Opportunities for leverage

• An understanding of your IT staff's capabilities and capacity to provide technology support

What you discover in an assessment should drive your priorities. Becoming an effective manager requires you to balance the use of resources. It doesn't matter whether you are an IT manager, the CIO, or the CEO, we all have to balance available resources to meet business needs.

Having the information from a comprehensive IT assessment helps you determine how you need to balance your resources and where to focus them to help your company the most.

Work-Behavior Challenges for Trait 1

Far too many IT managers take a new management role and simply start managing. Our high sense of urgency causes us to want to start making a difference quickly. That's a good thing, but before we start shooting at something, we need to be sure we know what we want to hit and take appropriate aim to hit the right target.

Most young managers don't realize that before they start executing, they need to assess the situation to determine what their organization should be focusing on. In addition, before you start committing things to clients, you better know what, as well as how much, your team can do.

One of the biggest contributors to an unhappy client is failing to manage expectations. When you don't know what they need and don't know what or how much your team can do, it is impossible to manage client expectations. When that happens, you are doomed for failure. An assessment will answer all of these questions.

Another issue is that because we are more introverted, we tend to be reluctant to go meet new people outside our immediate network. To conduct an assessment, you need to go ask managers who are using the technologies that you support about their business. In addition, because we are detail-oriented and don't want to appear foolish or dumb, we tend to steer away from asking questions that someone might think we should know the answer to already.

This combination of Low B (shy and introverted) and High D (detail-oriented and a need to be correct) works against us in a big way. High Ds are their own worst critics; and when you are concerned with being correct all the time in addition to being shy, it's a tough set of behavioral issues to overcome.

The other thing about high-detail people is that they tend to go by the book. If no one is around to show young managers how to conduct an effective IT assessment, they won't know how to go about it even if they do understand the need for it.

What this means is that many IT managers are focusing their teams on what they think they need to be focused on, yet they haven't gone through an appropriate technology assessment to determine what their focus and priorities should be. This is a major cause of many IT-business disconnects.

Another issue is that while our IT manager is a self-starter and is motivated to get things done, is conscientious, and is detail-oriented, he or she has been a technology employee for most of his or her career. Technology people focus on technology. That's great while you are working in the details of the technology, but when you become an IT manager, you must shift your focus from the technology to the business, and unfortunately many managers do not make this transition.

In the management role, it's all about the business. An IT assessment is actually a business assessment where you discover business issues and needs and simply translate those that have technology support implications into things that you need to address.

IT managers have a difficult time making the shift from focusing on the technology to an appropriate focus on the business and how to provide tangible value to the business. In general, tangible value to a company means:

• Improving profits

• Improving productivity

• Differentiating the company

• Gaining a competitive advantage

Trait 2: Vision

People tend to follow managers who have a sense of direction and know where they want to go. It's important for us to pick out specific targets and focus on specific objectives.

Managers who create a vision of where they want to go tend to achieve more. If you have assessed your situation, you now have the opportunity to develop a strategy, or vision, of what your IT initiatives should be, and you are much more likely to create a strategy that will be aligned with company needs.

Establishing a strategy exhibits maturity and a sense of taking charge and proactively leading your organization toward objectives that provide value for your company.

Work-Behavior Challenges for Trait 2

Most managers are reactors; actually, most people are reactors, not just IT managers. In IT, it is very easy to be reactive, but that's dangerous if you allow yourself to get caught in such a predicament.

Building a strategy, or vision, takes time and effort. If you do not carve out the time to work on a strategy, it simply will never get done. Plus new IT managers tend to avoid this skill because they have very little knowledge about how to develop a strategy or why they need it.

Building a strategy and going over it with senior management is one of the keys to keeping IT aligned with the business. Before you focus your resources on IT projects and initiatives, it makes sense to validate your assumptions and recommendations to ensure you are on the right track.

Because of our shyness and Low B tendencies, we tend to avoid these types of meetings unless our manager tells us to develop a strategy for our team and prepare to present it. If we've never developed a strategy before, it can be extremely difficult for us to accomplish because we don't want to be wrong or look foolish.

Trait 3: Planning

Most IT managers fail to plan because it is easier to react to day-to-day situations than to plan. Planning makes you proactive, helps you become predictable, and sets you apart from most of your counterparts.

Plans define what you will do, who will do it, when it will take place, and how it's all going to happen. Managers who plan, communicate the plan, and then do what they say they will do, build tremendous following from peers, senior managers, and employees.

Work-Behavior Challenges for Trait 3

Again, it's just easier to allow your day to fill up with activities and to react to them in a technology support environment than it is to take the time to plan. Most companies spend very little effort teaching their technical employees how to plan effectively. Here again, our high-detail tendency kicks in because we don't want to be wrong, so we avoid what we don't know.

Now, the interesting thing is that we are fast learners, but we tend to want to learn about things that interest us. Planning, communicating effectively, and possibly even learning about the business may not be all that appealing to many IT managers. I think that when many IT managers move up the ladder and find themselves in this role, they aren't all that excited about what an IT management job is all about.

We have all seen people in jobs who don't perform well simply because their heart isn't into what it takes to be successful in the job.

Trait 4: Build Strong Teams

Look at any successful sports team, and you will find a manager who is able to build a capable team that works together. Teamwork is essential for sustained success.

Winning is contagious, and successful managers know that individual attitude is a key component far more important than pure technical savvy. Successful managers are "selfish" when hiring new team members. They look for individuals who are not only technically capable but have the attitude and desire to achieve. More importantly, they look for individuals who can work for the team and not just themselves.

Strong managers get more from their people than other managers do because they know how to develop a winning attitude among all team members. Successful managers nurture those who need the help and step up to problem employees who aren't performing. The team and those being supported by the team take notice when an IT manager does things to support them.

Work-Behavior Challenges for Trait 4

Teamwork is not something that comes naturally to most IT managers. Our independent nature and our desire to take the lead in most things and be the decision maker often hamper us in working effectively in a team environment.

Our preference is to just make everything happen on our own, but we quickly discover that's not possible. Still, we are inclined to focus on what we think is best and what comes naturally to us. Carry this over to supporting your client. When we continue to be independent, working on the things we believe our clients need but not having done an assessment to truly know what we should be working on, there is a high probability we are working on some wrong issues. At a minimum, we probably have the wrong priorities compared to what the client thinks our priorities should be.

Trait 5: Focus Resources

Successful managers are able to focus individuals, teams, and the entire organization on what's important for the success of the company. Prioritizing and focusing on issues that provide value to the company and are consistent with company needs is the critical part of keeping IT aligned with the business.

A strong manager listens to his or her client closely and looks for opportunities. The words may describe problems, but successful IT managers know that there are opportunities in every problem situation.

IT managers who can listen to a client, senior manager, or employee and translate the conversation into technology issues will be able to focus resources on important issues and keep IT aligned with business needs.

Work-Behavior Challenges for Trait 5

The key challenge here is that it is difficult for an IT manager to place the appropriate focus on his or her business client if an IT assessment has not been accomplished or when a strategy has not been created and then validated to be appropriate for the business by senior management.

Our hesitancy to initiate effort in areas we are not familiar with and our low desire to communicate outside our circle creates a significant challenge for us to be able to identify the appropriate issues that need to be worked on and to obtain agreement and commitment from senior management.

In my case, because of my introverted tendencies, conducting a due diligence in a company we were going to acquire was a tremendous effort initially. However, after developing a process to follow and the tools I needed to do the work, it became easier. What helped the most was gaining a few acquisition experiences so I had a methodology and became comfortable that I knew what I was doing. This is a major point for a Low B/High D personality like me and most IT managers out there. The biggest obstacle in doing the work was always trying to overcome my shyness or introverted tendencies with new people. Over time, these issues actually fade away because you are so familiar with what has to be done and you are in control because you know exactly what to do and how to go about it.

Another issue that's difficult for first-time managers is being able to break away from the detail. We have noted several times that most IT managers are high-detail people. That's a good thing, to a point. It's also a challenge. The toughest issue many young managers tell me they deal with is being able to let go of the technology -- that is, letting go of the detail.

When you are an expert in an area, you have a passion for the subject matter. Letting go of something you feel very comfortable with and knowledgeable about is difficult. This means that in many cases, the young IT manager continues to do some of the technology work after his or her promotion to management. This makes sense to an extent. After all, the manager may be the sharpest person in the company about that particular technology. In a small company, the manager may have to operate as both technology expert and manager.

However, over time, the manager has to focus more and more on the management aspects as opposed to the technology. Managing technology resources effectively is a full-time job. When you don't put your time and energy into assessing business issues, communicating with clients and employees, planning, focusing resources, and developing and motivating your staff, you will be less effective than you should be.

My sense is that companies need their IT manager's full attention to be on managing and focusing the IT operation, not on trying to play both parts -- manager and technology expert.

Trait 6: Develop a Client Service Culture

Great client service doesn't happen all by itself. To succeed as an IT manager, you have to first know who your client is and then truly understand the client's needs and issues that relate to technology.

Successful IT managers approach client service with the mindset "the client is always right." Granted, the client may actually be factually wrong or out of line about a situation, but strong managers know that it is the IT organization that has to manage the client's expectations, teach the client how to work effectively with IT, and so on.

IT is the facilitator, and the client should be the driver of setting priorities for the IT organization to work on. In many circumstances, we may have to lead the client by the hand and even significantly influence the client to help drive the priorities.

Successful IT managers know that they can accomplish much more and create great relationships when the clients think they are in control of their destiny than when IT is setting priorities and pushing them at the client.

Strong managers not only coach employees on proper techniques that foster a great client service culture, they implement processes and lead by example to reinforce what it means to be responsive to client needs.

Early in my career, I thought of a client complaint or problem as just that -- a problem. Often, I even worried that it reflected on me much more than it did. Over time and by gaining experience in dealing with client problems, I learned that a client problem is simply an opportunity in disguise. I didn't reach this point until I developed an ability to listen to the client without taking it personally and understood the process by which to turn a negative situation into a positive one.

High-detail people tend to take negative feedback personally and have difficulty in dealing with negative clients. This is especially true with newer managers who are facing the fire for the first time. When in the technology ranks, our project manager or IT manager tends to handle these issues so it may be our first taste of the "real client world."

Since we aren't prepared to deal with the client as effectively as is required, too often we mishandle the issue or don't communicate well enough, and it creates a gap between our client and our IT organization.

Work-Behavior Challenges for Trait 6

Great client service that leads to solid client relationships requires excellent communication skills and doing things with which we are not always comfortable. High A people, like most IT managers, are take-charge "let's get it done" type of people. When something is identified that needs to be done, our independent nature kicks in, and we just want to get the problem resolved so we can move on to the next issue.

The challenge is that when we don't communicate well, we often decide that we know what the client needs -- without bothering to discuss it with the client or gain the client's agreement and approval. A client raises a problem, we analyze the issue and determine a solution that makes sense, and, in many cases, we start implementing the solution.

This is another big cause of the IT-business disconnect. It's one of the reasons why so many department managers (clients) suggest that their IT department is not working on their priorities and why so many of the IT organizations explain proudly that they are working hard and are focused on their client's priorities.

The bottom line here is that unless we validate our strategies and initiatives with the client and gain agreement that it's the right thing for us to be doing, there is a high probability we will work on the wrong priorities. We simply cannot allow our thoughts in IT to become, "We know what's best for the client." It has to be a collaborative effort, and to get there, we have to communicate more effectively and make the effort to understand the client's business needs and issues.

Trait 7: Manage Projects Effectively

The cornerstone of any IT manager's credibility is being able to deliver projects successfully. The sad thing is that every study you read about suggests there is a 70% or higher failure rate of IT projects. With such a high failure rate, there is no wonder why delivering projects successfully ranks near the top of CIO and company concerns every year.

An IT manager's success in delivering projects that meet the needs of the client and are delivered on time and within budget establishes his or her track record, which defines the credibility of the manager in terms of reliability and capability. To achieve success in an IT manager role, you must establish credibility. Delivering projects successfully is how to build credibility for your IT organization.

Delivering projects successfully and predictably enhances client relations and develops supporters throughout the company and client base for the IT manager's organization.

Work-Behavior Challenges for Trait 7

One of the main reasons there is such a high failure rate in IT projects goes back to this communication and planning issue. With our high sense of urgency (Low C) ,we are eager to get the job done. Too often, a project is identified that the company wants to get done, and before we know it, we are "off to the races" to get it completed.

Any time you start executing a project without taking the proper time to define its objectives -- that is, exactly what you must deliver to achieve success -- and obtain agreement from the project sponsor, your odds of success are minimal. That's exactly what happens so much of the time.

IT people are detail-oriented self-starters with a high sense of urgency, and so they start implementing a project before defining the objective, deliverables, and scope of the project. Small company managers often do not even develop a project plan because they don't use a project management methodology.

It takes time and requires communication skills to define the objectives and to quantify the deliverables on the front end. If we don't, we will almost always miss the client's expectations in some manner -- be it time frame, budget, or the actual deliverables.

Trait 8: Implement Change Management Processes

Change management processes help the IT organization manage expectations and succeed. The organization's ability to manage client expectations on what and when things will get done and to provide a smooth process in delivering technology support is a key part of succeeding in an IT manager role.

Change management processes help you:

• Quantify and track need

• Justify projects

• Prioritize work

• Communicate status

• Outline project development procedures

• Define quality assurance procedures

• Define recovery and escalation steps

Work-Behavior Challenges for Trait 8

If the IT manager is aware of the need for change management processes and is familiar with them, he or she will normally do well in developing the process and implementing it within his or her team. The challenge is in selling it in order to implement the new process with the client.

Change is difficult for most people, and clients and IT staff both fit in this category. The communication part is the challenge; what most IT managers do is develop the new process in a vacuum-- that is, with just IT people providing input.

To be most effective, the client should be a participant. One of the reasons we don't ask the client to get involved is because it's harder to get the project completed when the client doesn't always agree with us. So we develop the change management process to work the way we think is needed for the success of our organization, but, when delivering the process, we can actually alienate our clients if they feel IT is forcing a change upon their organization.

Trait 9: Lead and Motivate Staff

Leaders are developed, not born. Astute managers know the value of having a focused and motivated staff -- these people can do extraordinary things.

An IT manager has to earn respect; it does not come automatically with title, position, longevity, or even popularity. Managers earn respect by focusing on important issues of the company, producing positive results, and treating others with respect.

Successful IT managers realize that it is much more than money that motivates people. They take full advantage of training and education to develop employees because they understand the importance of such an investment in building the team as well as the strong motivating factor professional development has with technology resources.

Employees and clients follow managers who they respect. Focus, planning, and a successful track record all contribute to the manager's ability to lead and motivate others.

Work-Behavior Challenges for Trait 9

We are actually much more comfortable looking out for ourselves than leading others because of our introverted tendency. Over time, it goes away, and we become very comfortable in managing others and getting things done through others, but it's usually an internal struggle for us to get there.

The big challenge here is in not knowing what to do or how to go about leading and motivating staff. Our High D profile says we need a book or a process to follow. If we have it, we have the ability to learn quickly, albeit many of us can come across somewhat "stiff" until we become comfortable leading others since we are not socially oriented by nature.

Another challenge with being high-detail is that we want things to be done a certain way. For young managers who have been the technology expert of an area they now manage, that can transcend into micromanaging the staff. Being independent and high-detail people themselves, most staff members see this as their manager not thinking they are doing the job well. High-detail people are very sensitive to criticism, and they begin to withdraw from the IT manager and question his or her capability

Trait 10: Measure Performance

Successful IT managers measure the performance of their organization in order to determine what's happening and to evaluate whether progress is being made.

Information identifies where you need to focus attention for improving support. Strong IT managers track and measure data to help them evaluate:

• Quality

• Productivity

• ROI

Effective IT managers track only the data that is needed to understand the business, to evaluate trends to determine whether improvements are being achieved, or to help them solve a problem. They do not track data just to be tracking it.

Work-Behavior Challenges for Trait 10

The key to this is knowing what to measure and then doing something with it. If new managers are not familiar with developing metrics to help them understand and/or improve their IT operation, they may not know where to start. If that's the case, the managers may not ask anyone for help since they don't want to come across as not knowing how to do their job. If the manager has no one around to help, he or she may be at a loss about where to start and what to focus on.

When we don't measure our operations, we have no data that tells us how we are doing; and we need this information if we are to improve our support effectiveness. In addition, having the numbers and being able to communicate them to your client adds credibility, especially when the measurements are pertinent to support issues that have an impact on their business, which they understand.

This is another component that helps in building client relations. Clients and senior management need to see that their IT organization is focused on issues that provide tangible business value to the company. Maintaining a project initiatives portfolio that tracks project management successes and benefits, help desk measurements that show reductions in support calls due to preventive actions that have taken place, and similar measurements helps build credibility for the IT organization and shows that you are focused on issues that matter to the business and not just technology.

Trait 11: Communicate Effectively

The trait that pulls it all together is being able to communicate effectively to the different groups of people that an IT manager encounters. There are four primary groups an IT manager must communicate effectively with, and they all have different needs:

1. Senior management

2. Clients and users

3. Employees

4. Vendors

Effective communication requires an IT manager to communicate proactively and to find ways of facilitating dialogue with each group that keeps the group updated on the progress and activities of the IT organization. Examples include staff meetings, project status meetings, newsletters, intranet updates, strategy sessions, and any forum that helps the manager keep the four groups "in the light" and "out of the dark."

Communicating effectively is the trait that can distinguish an IT manager and boost one's career. It is a trait that is difficult for many who find themselves in a management role but have a background and experience that did not require them to communicate extensively. One can learn to communicate well, and it is an investment every IT manager should make to enhance his or her success.

Work-Behavior Challenges for Trait 11

This is a big one, even more so because we tend to be introverted. As an IT manager, we have to break through this lack of desire to communicate with our client.

When I join a company as a new CIO, I know that this introverted issue exists, so I establish processes and objectives that force me to communicate. The following is a list of things I put into place within the first month to help me break through this barrier and to force myself to communicate. If I'm lucky, many of these already exist, but in a small to midsize company, they often don't. They are:

• IT assessment in the first two weeks, which forces me to visit my clients and learn about their business

• Strategic planning session with senior management immediately after my assessment (this first session tends to focus on a 30- to 90-day tactical plan to address immediate issues, and I begin developing a more strategic plan as I learn more about the business)

• Monthly IT staff meetings

• Project management methodology; project kickoff and status meetings

• Programming backlog steering committee

• Key metrics and monthly client status meetings to review technology support status and progress

• Employee performance planning and review sessions

• Monthly IT report that goes to clients, senior management, and IT employees

• Help desk call-tracking process with a live person to speak to

• New IT employee orientation process

• IT team meetings as necessary

• Annual IT review of accomplishments against objectives and plans

Even after managing technology resources for more than 20 years, I still have to put these initiatives in place or I'll find myself not communicating to the level necessary to be effective. I simply won't get around to it. Everyone needs to hear about what's going on, and they won't hear about it unless the IT manager tells them about it.

We have to find ways to help us communicate. An example of this is that when I set up a monthly status meeting with a key client that is a heavy user of technology, let's say the accounting department, it forces me to prepare for the meeting and to communicate what we are doing to support the accounting department. It also gives me an opportunity to gauge how we are doing in the department manager's eyes. If these meetings aren't scheduled, most IT managers will simply wait until a meeting is requested. When that happens, it's probably too late, and it puts you in a defensive position.

Proactive communication is essential for our success and to ensure we always have our ears to the ground to detect potential gaps between IT and client organizations. It's much easier to head them off when you discover a gap developing early.

SUMMARY

IT manager work-behavior tendencies are a major contributor to the cause of widespread disconnects between business and IT organizations. There are natural differences between how business managers and IT people view things. These normal differences create somewhat of a gap in most cases, so unless the IT organization is actively focused on the client and business issues, a tangible disconnect is going to occur.

Background and experience don't fully prepare IT managers for this job, and they are at a significant disadvantage when they become an IT manager for the first time. Communication and business knowledge skills are normally weak, and even the desire to communicate with clients and people outside the IT area is low. If the IT manager does not do something to force proactive communication with his or her client and make the effort to learn about the client's business needs and issues, the IT organization's focus has a high probability of being out of sync with what the company really needs from IT.

Given time and coaching, most new IT managers have the motivation and the drive to do a great job; unfortunately, far too many do not have access to the processes and tools that can help them manage technology resources effectively. What this means to our industry is that too many IT managers and CIOs end up focusing on issues that seem important from a technology perspective but really aren't from a business standpoint, which is one of the reasons the disconnect continues to exist among companies worldwide.

REFERENCE

1. Sisco, Mike. IT Management -101: Fundamentals to Achieve More. Infinity Publishing, August 2002.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mike Sisco is the founder of MDE Enterprises, Inc., an IT management training and development company. He has more than 20 years of IT management experience, and he introduced one of the first certifications for IT managers, the IT Business Manager Certification (ITBMC). The ITBMC program focuses on the business aspects of managing technology resources. MDE's IT Manager Institute is taught around the world in supporting MDE's mission: "to provide practical insight and tools that help IT managers of the world achieve more success." For more information, take a look at www.mde.net.