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

"Good" Isn't Good Enough

For those of you who know a little about me, one of my all time favorite reads was the book by Jim Collins titled “Good to Great.” The book is recognized in almost every corner of the globe for its views on Leadership and it even displayed on pedestals in some companies "trophy"cases. The book has had that profound an effect on some! The content of the book certainly impacted me too. The book is essentially a description of research of some very successful companies and what commonalities they shared along the way from being a "good" company to becoming a "Great" company.

One particular aspect of the research that hit home with me and seemed to be the very building block was the “First Who, then What” concept. What does this mean?...a quote from the JimCollins.com web site describes it best…and I quote: “The main point of this concept is not just about assembling the right team—that’s nothing new. The main point is to first get the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) before you figure out where to drive it. The second key point is the degree of sheer rigor needed with regard to people decisions in order to take a company from good to great.” Hmmm sounds like the ability to make decisions, even if they are difficult ones...doing what's right for the future of the Organization... It's not about doing what's popular, but more so about doing what is ...right.

It seems so simple, so basic, so…..common sense like, and yet it is quite obviously so utterly difficult that few ever achieve it fully. What makes this so difficult either to grasp or to implement? I tend to believe it all boils down to the commitment and belief of the individual. Are they willing to put the end result (goal) ahead of themselves…for the “good of the cause?” Are you willing to make unpopular decisions, even if they are the right ones to make? Most say they would…few actually demonstrate it. But, those that do demonstrate it (live it); can and do achieve something extraordinary. The essence of Good to Great…. If achieving greatness were easy…wouldn’t everyone be there by now?

The good-to-great leaders understood three simple truths. First, if you begin with “who,” rather than “what,” you can more easily adapt to a changing world. If people join the bus primarily because of where it is going, what happens if you get ten miles down the road and you need to change direction? You’ve got a problem. But if people are on the bus because of who else is on the bus, then it’s much easier to change direction: “Hey, I got on this bus because of who else is on it; if we need to change direction to be more successful, fine with me.” Second, if you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. The right people don’t need to be tightly managed or fired up; they will be self-motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and to be part of creating something great. Third, if you have the wrong people, it doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction; you still won’t have a great company. Great vision without great people is irrelevant. (JimCollins.com)

Where are we on this trek? I would ask each of you to help with that answer…. Are we Great? What are you doing to help us reach upwards towards that end? Are you considering the Agency goals ahead of your personal ones? In your daily work, are you focused on the goal that will move Conservation forward? Do you belong on the Conservation bus…are you making every possible effort to move Conservation forward…are you thinking outside the box….are you challenging yourself to be an important part of this work….?

I believe in order for Conservation to continue to be successful, we all must do our part to help. No resting, waiting for others, hoping someone will tell us to do the right thing…we need thinkers, we need action people, we need to be proactive…..We need to move Conservation forward by providing technology value that is affordable, relevant, and adds value. We need to be helping add that value to Conservation. THOSE are the people who belong on this bus….

[If you’re interested this short mp3 provides an example of The Right People.]
TAFN