…with the transition. IT managers who get on the transition team usually find themselves in the new company reorganisation. It's about becoming a team player and facilitating the process.
2) Insist on an IT due diligence before the buy. If you are already partnered with the business and are a core member of the leadership team, it would be wise for you to recommend a due diligence in the realm of IT. If not, this could come back to bite you. Make sure the stakeholders know what they're getting themselves into from an IT standpoint. The more data you can provide, the smoother the transition. Perception and expectations are key to maintaining a healthy respect from your organisation. Take strides to manage these well.
3) Get to know the new owners as soon as possible. The first thing on the agenda in a merger is who to keep and who to trade. The first thing I always recommend is to meet the new owners. Build a relationship with them and share your insights on how the company can be built better than ever with the new merger or acquisition. You'll want to do everything in your power to display your can-do winning attitude. By displaying your value and your attitude, you're certain to end up on the "keep" list.
4) If you're the buying company, go visit the other company's employees. Keep in mind that even if you're on the buying side, it's no guarantee you're on the keep list. Take the initiative and learn about the other company's culture, feelings and resources. This will help when it comes time to get your advice about reorganisation.
5) Facilitate, facilitate, facilitate! Again, volunteer to help in any way you can.
Trend five: Removing IT as a strategic role
Just a few years ago, not all business had extended IT capabilities. Business owners saw IT as strategic in order to give their businesses first mover advantage. Now that everyone has IT, businesses no longer see it as a differentiator. More and more businesses are seeing IT as a necessary evil or commodity rather than a strategy. So how can IT regain its once highly held strategic advantage?
1) Change the commodity mindset through cost-cutting and revenue-generating solutions. Remember that as an IT manager, you have to be solution oriented. So do what you do best and get to the whiteboard and ask: "How can IT facilitate revenue to the company?" For instance, how can IT facilitate the salespeople to make twice as many phone calls? (Predictive dialler and so on.) Search for all the low-hanging fruit in your organisation.
2) Get out of tactical mode and into strategic mode. Stop fighting fires. This is a symptom of being in a tactical versus strategic mode. Put together a strategy and execute it.
Remember, these trends are dangerous, but strategy, management, and leadership skills will break them down and diffuse their strength. Work on strengthening these three core strengths and you'll be on the upside of these trends for years to come.
Joey Smith is the President and chief information officer of Higherhill, Inc. Joey is also the only two-time finalist of the prestigious Georgia CIO of the Year Award and two-time winner of the Microsoft Project of the Year.
