How is the information technology department viewed in your organization? Too expensive, too slow, always say no, better to outsource? If any of these sound familiar then it might be time to take some lessons from The Real Business of IT: How CIOs Create and Communicate Value. Overall the book is excellent — clearly presented with plenty of real examples to illustrate the various points. I found it tough to keep my attention focused on the book, not because is was boring, but because the ideas rang so true I found myself thinking through how I might employ them in my own workplace.
I’ll only touch on a couple of ideas from the book. The first section touches on value traps — commonly held ideas that are not only wrong, but hold the It organization back from real effectiveness. For instance the notion that IT’s purpose is to deliver quality technology. Technology is not an end in itself, but rather a means to a more effective organization. IT needs to deliver solutions, not just a service. Another value trap goes along the lines of “follow our rules or we can’t guarantee it will work.” Engineers like certainty, but business leaders are often happy to settle for close enough if it gets the job done. And they will find ways to end-run IT regulations that are seen as obstructing progress and see IT as a barrier rather than enabler of progress. What IT does need to do is measure and benchmark its projects in terms of business effectiveness, and communicate that information throughout the business. The big trick is to stop thinking like a service unit and become integral the process of creating new value for the organization. Improving IT is not so much about making the IT department better, but utilizing IT to make the entire organization better. As the authors conclude:
” A small but growing group of CIOs has figured out how to show value and deliver increasing value in terms that are utterly convincing to their enterprises.”
And the lessons described in the book look to be a pretty effective place to start.
The Real Business of IT: a real value to IT executives book review
The Real Business of IT is a clear and focused look at the issue of IT value and the approaches to capture, communicate and increase that value. This book is unique in several respects. It is a book written for CIOs largely based on the experience of CIOs.
The Real Business of IT: How CIOs Create and Communicate Value – Harvard Business Review
In The Real Business of IT, Richard Hunter and George Westerman reveal that the cost mind-set stems from IT leaders’ inability to communicate about the business value they create-so CIOs get stuck discussing budgets rather than their contributions to the organization.
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Randall Rode's online home for thoughts, notes, and experiments with a wide range of technology topics. Visit the about page for info on my recent projects and professional background. I welcome your comments!
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