Previously, I’ve written about the value proposition of Information Technology.
There is no question that judicious investment in your systems will provide a more robust, safer, more secure, more durable environment to house the data that compose your business.
(Stupid joke break: The teacher says to little Jimmy, “Jimmy, use the word ‘judicious’ in a sentence.” Jimmy says “I like matzoh ball soup, gefilte fish, kreplach, and all those other judicious.”)
Seriously, though, the operative term we need to keep in mind is “judicious investment.” In this post and some subsequent ones, I’ll talk about what that means.
The first point here is that it is wrong to spend money simply to spend money. That sounds pretty straightforward, but it is a philosophy that often goes unheeded.
I refer sometimes to “In-Flight Magazine Syndrome” – in which the CEO of the company, in the course of a business trip, reads an article in the in-flight magazine – written by a journalist whose claim to fame is writing for an in-flight magazine – about the latest technological tour-de-force. “This article,” reports the CEO, “states unequivocally that Blintz Souffle Computing is the most important paradigm shift in technology to come down the pike in two decades! We must put every effort into implementing Blintz Souffle Computing in our company!” (Note the obligatory use of the phrase “paradigm shift”.)
Such pronouncements, in some organizations, are met with a flurry of activity to make the CEO’s words a reality. Very huge sums of money are hurled hither and yon to bring Blintz Souffle Computing (or its successor equivalent piece of nonsense) to the company. Much of that money winds up with overpriced consultants who are only interested in lining their pockets while the client is fed the Kool-aid of techno-sense-whatsoever. And by the time the company comes to its senses and realizes that Blintz Souffle Computing will not save the world, thank you very much, there will be a huge amount of reluctance to get the heck out of Dodge and get rid of the solution (this is the paradox of the dollar auction). More money gets spent trying to make this mess work, and sometimes, if there is some justice in the world, it costs the CEO his or her job.
No, the CEO needs to get the big smack-down from the CIO (Chief Information Officer) and told in no uncertain terms – early and often and with great force – that this technology must not be attempted at this company.
In the CIO’s next job – having been summarily discharged by the previous CEO for stating the truth without any tact – he will make sure that better decisions get made about technology. The CEO still must be dissuaded from the aforementioned “In-Flight Magazie Syndrome” but there must be something posited to fill the void and counteract the disappointment the CEO will feel.
What is the best weapon the CIO has in fighting for rational, appropriate technology investment? Well, the truth, of course!
And what is the truth?
The truth is that this is a business. And what, class, is the purpose of a business?
To make money. Universally, unequivocally, irrespective of any highfalutin stuff about mission or cause or public good. In the absence of money, none of that matters.
Any piece of technology that the company invests in must support the purpose of the business.
It is not about making employees feel good – unless that makes them more likely to make more money.
It is not about customer service – except that good customer service makes more money.
It is not about building a solid technological foundation to run the business – except as a means to make more money.
(News flash: Horse Dead, Beating to Continue)
Now that we understand each other, let’s talk about what should happen when we think about updating, upgrading, replacing, or otherwise changing our technology. (Hint: The answer is “support the business” – the rest is commentary, for which I hope you will return.)
We can divide this discussion into two categories – things we do that are new and impactful; and things we do that make existing technology more impactful.
Stay tuned, because we’ll be digging into these subjects in our next posts.
