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For one department at the corporate office of Longs Drug Stores in Walnut Creek, Calif., the idea seemed simple enough: Buy a two-tier client/server Novell network, install it and let it run. That would have worked fine, except Longs relies on a thin-client model and uses Windows NT for naming. Chatty IPX packages being issued to the WAN didn't hold much appeal for Brian Kilcourse, senior vice president and chief information officer.  Kilcourse would have preferred to work with the department on alternatives, but was a victim of timing. "We didn't find out about the plan until the network was almost installed," he says.
This story isn't new to any network executive. And at least Kilcourse found out before the implementation. But since companies depend on their networks for their livelihoods, the network must be protected. Getting on a business manager's team during the early stage of planning is critical.
But business managers often view IT as a post-implementation support department. Yet success lies in establishing and maintaining good relationships. Here are five tips to help you accomplish that.
1. Show your business senseConsider this the groundwork for long-lasting relationships. In today's bottom-line times, business managers will be most responsive if you intimately know your company's business. "That's the first point to gaining acceptance with other managers: Understand the company's business first, rather than being preoccupied with the technology," says Johannes Zeigler of Synesis, a strategic management services firm in Palo Alto. Kilcourse agrees. "We ask our IT managers to spend time in the users' areas, and in stores and warehouses," he says. "You really get to know the issues that way." But it's not enough to know it; you also have to view yourself foremost as a manager, Zeigler says. "In many cases, network executives do their staff's job, playing the role of the technician or the engineer and even doing implementations," he says. "Then they're not sought out by other departments because people think of them as being specialists, and not managers to go to for advice." By focusing more on their jobs as managers, not only will other managers take note, but network executives will also find that they have freed up time that can be spent with other business managers, Zeigler adds. 2. Check your attitude at the door Sure it's frustrating to find out a department has deployed a nonstandard system. But how you handle the situation will determine if departments approach you for early buy-in the next time. "You can take two different approaches," says Ken Brame, senior vice president and CIO at Service Merchandise in Brentwood, Tenn. "You can be viewed as, 'Here are all the reasons you can't do what you want to do.' Or you can be viewed as, 'We want to accomplish what you want to accomplish, and here's maybe some alternative technology that can do that.' " If department heads still insist on doing things their way, Brame whips out the cost/benefit analyses. He tells them that support costs will be significantly higher if they go off on their own, then gives them that option. The caveat is they must cover these higher costs. Kilcourse says Long's IT staff never says no to departments. "We let the business manager understand the implications and make those decisions." By focusing on education, you're letting others know you are a partner who is there to help. The more you help - even after the fact - the more you can prove your value and improve your relationships. "We've been able to demonstrate successfully to department managers that they're better off to have us involved," Kilcourse notes. Once business managers know that, they'll be calling you routinely for new projects - and earlier. 3. Form a committee (really!) For some companies, particularly larger ones, using an IT project steering committee provides a way to stay tuned in. At Toronto-based Apotex, Canada's largest drug manufacturer, a 14-member senior executive IS steering committee meets monthly to prioritize and approve requests, says Michael Davidson, CIO. Any project that will take longer than 30 days in duration must pass through this committee. As a result, network-threatening surprises are minimized, Davidson says. Similarly, Service Merchandise has an executive committee that meets bi-monthly. Because all hardware and software must be approved before purchase, the committee can keep tabs on projects that could affect the network. Other members of the committee are senior vice presidents from departments such as marketing and warehousing. This gives Brame exposure and valuable face time. "Fortunately, part of being on the executive committee is interacting with people on a regular basis," he says. Brame also has his managers meet with an assigned business manager. This has helped develop what Brame terms "close working relationships" between his staff and business managers. "When we started, we had to be proactive about it," he says. "But once you have mutual respect, as many calls come this way as go out." 4. Communicate creatively Sometimes creativity is needed to snag face time with managers. That could include the drastic action of loaning out your own employees for free. That's what one executive of a medical device manufacturer did when he recognized IT was out of touch with its manufacturing distribution center, says Tom Oser, an executive with the global electronic commerce consulting team of Ernst & Young in New York. "He took a half dozen of his people and placed them in the operational business units," Oser says. "He lent them on order of six months at a time, and they all had rotations through the business units." Because the employees were assigned to jobs by business unit vice presidents, the units could use the employees in any way they saw fit. "All of sudden, IT became a real presence. It went miles in cutting the distance between them," Oser says. If it's not possible to loan out employees at no charge, both from a budgetary or organizational standpoint, try volunteering some consulting services for specific projects instead. This works well in less formal companies that may resist the structure of a steering committee. John Gambriel chose this tactic when the U.S. Department of Agriculture's procurement department began implementing a new procurement system. "I offered up my services as a technical consultant, and I'm helping it forge relationships with the technical engineers here," says Gambriel, program manager for telecom and infrastructure. "Then I know from both sides of the equation what's going on." Beyond that, Gambriel suggests trying to maintain an advisory relationship with upper management. "Keep the channels open and let them know you are available to help and advise," he says. "Otherwise, they don't realize the expertise is available." 5. Take advantage of e-commerce The high visibility of e-commerce translates into high visibility for network executives within the company. CIOs and CEOs have had their wake-up calls; they realize that the network now has a direct effect on the revenue stream, says Jorge Garcia, director of Arthur Andersen's national network solutions practice in Atlanta. Network executives can use their e-commerce experience to their advantage in forging relationships, pointing out that they must be included in planning all IT-related projects - even those that department managers deem trivial. The reason: All managers must work together to protect the network - and the revenue. As Zeigler puts it: "E-commerce is an ideal example of technology that directly translates into the business," and proves how technology affects the bottom line. That can be used "to draw more attention to networking," he adds. E-commerce is also something all departments can relate to because it's revenue-generating. That can put you on the same playing field with business managers in other departments. And that can go a long way toward them viewing you as a peer, rather than as an after-the-fact support organization. At Longs Drug Stores, e-commerce has meant electronic data interchange throughout most of the '90s. But e-commerce and the Internet is changing IT's function in the company in subtle but fundamental ways, Kilcourse says. "How to add value with content through digitally based services crosses over in a big way to business. It's fundamentally an IT issue," he says. "We are not driving the issue, but we're certainly up there with the rest of the departments. And we are providing the vision with what's happening." With some strategic effort, that vision will be increasingly relied upon by management throughout your company. Better still, you will reap the rewards as the network is protected - and senior management sees your vision reflected in the bottom line. Askren is a freelance writer in Evanston, Ill. Related links
Synesis' Web site
Bonding with co-workers - is it worth it?
Check out our Management Strategies archive
Ask Flo
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