Follow up

On the heels of change....following up from the last post so to speak.

I'll share some of my thoughts and/or priorities for my work the next several months as it relates to quite a number of my past Blogs. I currently have on my white board in my office a list of at least 17 points of interest that I want to look more closely at within our group. My intent to try to flush out areas we can improve Productivity and Efficiency. I'll be asking numerous questions of staff and challenging all of you to be creative in our problem solving.

My questions and interests are based currently upon five areas (criteria) for evaluation:
1) Costs
2) Time/Labor
3) Value/ROI (to MDC)
4) Productivity
5) Efficiency

My first intent here is to "Seek First to Understand." I want to know more about the HOW of what we are doing, then move in the WHY's, then into what if's....during these discussions, I believe we can identify opportunities for improvements. The seventeen areas I'm interested in at first are: Patching, AntiVirus, Altiris, Ordering Process, Drop Ship, WAN, Technologies, Telework, Maintenance, Active Directory, FCS's, Development, Customers, Email Admin, Staffing, TelCom, Research/Development. Yes, some may overlap, but each major area has some specific info I'm looking to evaluate.

One critique all groups in the IT Section are often criticized for is our response times...to whatever our output may be. I will be looking for ways to improve that response time by staying on budget and being on time. I'm interested in this group becoming less REACTIVE and more PROACTIVE...anywhere we can. Obviously we cannot do that everywhere, but I honestly feel we can do much better...with the right planning, right processes, etc.

Perhaps the goal for us could be summed up in two words: "Re-invent IT" I want us to be much more dynamic/agile in who we are and what we do for Conservation. We need to be more nimble....quicker to react and to provide relevant solutions. I'm looking to automate any processes that we can. I want to streamline work flow where ever possible. I want us to fully investigate and utilize full features of existing software and/or hardware. I want each of us to be better at Prioritizing work....we need to see and understand the big picture of MDC. .....all of us.

I want staff to be more creative in problem solving. Give more thought as to how we can bring technology to bear for Conservation....how can we move Conservation forward from a technology perspective. I want staff to be an active component and contributor to improving all we do. If you are looking for Management to provide ALL the answers, you probably aren't the type of person I think is going to help us make the necessary improvements. Most of you are front-line, in the trenches type of people....you know your job better than anyone....HOW can we change it to make you more efficient? How can it be changed to free up some of your time for other projects? Are you doing the right things at the right time? What else do you need to do your job better?

Many more questions will be asked and I'm anxiously looking forward to hearing from each of you. I can't wait to hear the innovation, the thought processes, the excitement from each of you on how we can be a better IT group. It's oft been said, "Change is inevitable"...indeed it is, so why not be a driver of the change and help direct it towards our success.....rather than wait in the wings and have to accept something less than desirable...

I look forward to visiting with all of you and hearing your thoughts. No doubt more change is coming....

TAFN

The Face of Change

What do those words mean to you? Are they merely words that have no meaning to you? Or do these words mean something significant to you….do they describe you? Do you consider yourself to be “the face of change” or an obstacle to it?

Personally I view change as good…when change is initiated with the intent to move forward, make progress, improve something then it is indeed a good thing. All too often I hear people voicing opposition to change….to ANY change whether it be for better or for worse. Too often change is viewed as a four letter word…in that it is something to be avoided or to have disdain for…

Well, in case you haven’t figured it out yet…Change is inevitable. The very nature of life itself is part of change. I ran across an article the other day and found a few interesting points in it. Portions rang true and made sense. One of the quotes in particular caused me to think: “In the face of change, the competent are helpless.” Hmmmmm, is this true and what does it mean? I’ll let you decide that for yourself.

The fact is that Information Technology type staffers have always faced change. I’ve heard some of our very own use similar words and at times it seems we wear it as a type of badge that is held up to others to profess that, “well, our jobs are always changing; therefore we accept change and can deal effectively with it…” We seem to be proud that our work is in a constant state of evolution and that is why many IT’ers like the work. I’ve heard those comments from more than one.

Well, we now have an opportunity to stand and show this Agency that we believe what we’ve stated in the past. I believe we are currently at a crossroads… from an organizational standpoint. We have three staff positions open currently and decisions need to be made on several fronts. Considerations MUST be given to: Next Gen Goals, financial, short AND long term goals, technology growth/changes, skill sets needed today AND tomorrow and areas which need improvement. ALL are thoughts that need to be considered in determining how our organizational structure should look and function.

It can be difficult to “vision” technology because of its rapid change, but we must consider where technology will be in the next few years and begin to position ourselves towards implementing that technology efficiently and effectively. I can profess to you today that the IT Management Team is committed towards trying to meet those challenges.

It is my hope that when you wake up each day and look in the mirror that you see a “face of change” reflected back to you. We need employees who are committed towards embracing positive changes and working diligently to assist in accomplishing them; whether it is through sharing their ideas or in their actions.

I am optimistic about our current position in the fact that we can make some changes today that will improve Conservation in the future. All of us should be willing to step up to the challenge...to be that “face of change!”

TAFN

"Confront the Brutal Facts..."

As Jim Collins tells us in one of his 8 steps/concepts in going from a "good to great" company....it is imperative that organizations confront the facts and deal with them. One of those facts that face us is is well defined in this quote that I ran across recently:

" Technology professionals simply do not have the time and money to waste on reinventing the wheel." (Ron Haberkorn NOREX Founder & President )

All too often I think we as technology professionals waste valuable time trying to figure out the solutions to issues that have already been figured out. We provide more value when we solve issues by applying known solutions and focusing our efforts towards solving issues that do not have existing solutions for them.

Our value as IT employees is in providing technology solutions period...Frankly we DON'T gain any "bonus points" when the solution to the problem is devised in-house. We just need to provide solutions to technology issues...nobody really cares if it's our idea or whether we learned how to fix the issue from somewhere else. They just care about us getting it fixed or in providing a solution that helps them with the issue.

The takeaway? Don't be afraid to check with other resources to see if the issue you are working on has been dealt with before. If it has...you're in luck, problem solved. If not, you've only invested a very small amount of time and you can then focus you entire efforts towards devising a solution on your own.

If I have my choice over the one who THINKS they have all the answers versus the one who can FIND me all the answers.....I'll opt for the one who knows where to get answers any day....

TAFN