I feel like I am having an affair. I've been faithful to IT throughout most of my 30-year career, starting as a programmer, then a CIO, and now as a leadership coach helping executives make sense out of technology. I did have a moment of weakness and left my CIO role to be CFO for four years - the job was easier, but alas, not nearly as interesting and I found myself back in arms of IT, nagging IT leaders to get it right. But I'm feeling restless again, understanding that the impact of IT is limited unless IT and the rest of the business starting acting as one. So, I've decided to step out again - this time by sharing the secrets of how IT works and helping you, the business leader, take control of IT. You see, I believe to gain control, you have to give it up, and it's my hope that the words I write don't burn my IT bridges but help bridge the gap that has existed for far too long.

And speaking of affairs....

Dealing with the typical IT department is like trying to date someone difficult. There’s the promise of something life changing, but the day-to-day realities are painful – always too little, too late, for too much. It would be great to take a vow of IT celibacy - but in today’s information intense, connected world, that’s the modern day equivalent of living on bread and water.

Some have tried to bypass IT and create relationships with vendors, consultants, and outsourcers, but over time, found that while the vendors words said, “partner,” they were really only interested in one thing -- taking your money. Others have tried to bully IT into giving them what they want, only to find that the smart folks in IT tied them up in knots with passive-aggressive-looking plays involving governance, architecture, and process. And since few organizations have any rational system for allocating scarce IT resources you have little leverage at your disposal.

There is no way out. You are stuck with figuring out how build productive relationships with IT.

We’ll be talking a lot more about overcoming the challenges of working with IT in coming posts, but here’s a good place to start: Step back and learn a little something about the people you’ll be working with – and what makes them tick.

For example:

1. IT types are incurable optimists - it’s love at first sight with new technology and pretty much any new idea. While their mouths say, “let’s take it slow,” their minds are living in a “happily ever after” future, which their technology solutions can fix all your problems.

2. IT doesn’t really understand your needs -- so don't expect them to. While IT has become smarter about the business, they never can know as much as you do and are dependent on your insights of how you use information and what you want to do with your processes. Unfortunately, as Drucker said, “The basic problem with the computer in business is not that computer technicians do not understand the managers' needs. It is that the managers do not take the time and trouble to think through their needs and to communicate them to the computer people…To expect the computer people to define the information needs of the managers is abdication.” This mismatch of knowledge results in the blind leading the blind and IT delivering far less than what their “business partners” hoped or expected.

3. In the process of planning the path to the new and improved future, IT often ignores the unpleasant realities of making change in today’s frenetic organizations – namely, business priorities are a moving target, the “best” resources are never available, and new processes are more important than new technologies. The result are project durations that exceed the organizational attention span, timelines that assume resources that will never be available, solutions that place more emphasis on introducing technologies than changing behaviors, and estimates that include the direct project costs but ignore the “post implementation” effort incurred by the business to refine processes and retrain or replace personnel.

4. There is a lack of a rational system to allocate scarce IT resources and since the price of IT is zero, demand is infinite. Considering this and the factors above, it’s no wonder that IT projects often exceed original time and budget estimates by 50%. Corner any IT person over a drink (not a difficult task, under any circumstances) and you will discover that they are over-scheduled and well aware of the optimistic assumptions reflected in their project plans. Problem is, you aren’t asking the tough “what if” questions and they, in the spirit of “IT-business alignment,” have no interest in being the messenger killed with the message.

Interested in developing productive relationships with IT? Stop acting like a customer and start acting like a business partner.

• Invite your IT contacts over and make them comfortable. Discuss technology and your business and, together, dream about the possibilities.
• Relieve some of the demand overload by picking your battles carefully and contributing leadership and resources to ensure the work gets done well.
• Focus on opportunities that benefit the external customer and bottom line.
• Once you have zeroed in on an opportunity and have secured resources, hold their feet on the ground by keeping projects focused on measurable outcomes and developing plans that deliver capability every 90 days.
• Ensure your people are computer literate and don’t whine about standards.

And through it all, take heart that it’s possible to develop a satisfying longterm relationship with IT. Although on the surface they seem difficult, they just want to settle down, have some fun, and do great work.

This is no small challenge but it can be achieved. I’ll be offering my specific thoughts on how to have your way with IT with my posts. And I hope you’ll jump in with your experiences ideas right away.