What Keeps Me Up at Night (And What I Can Do About It)

Introduction
The story is told of a monastery in Portugal, perched high on a 3,000 foot cliff and accessible only by a terrifying ride in a swaying basket. The basket is pulled with a single rope by several strong men, perspiring under the strain of the fully loaded basket. One American tourist who visited the site got nervous halfway up the cliff when he noticed that the rope was old and frayed. Hoping to relive his fear he yelled down to the monk in charge: "How often do you change the rope?" The monk in charge replied: "Whenever it breaks!"

Fear is an amazing sensation. In some, its presence can result in paralysis. In others, it is the impetus that results in spectacular success. It is something that must be minimized. It is also something that must be managed. For CIO’s, fear is that sensation that occurs at the end of a long day when one divorces themselves from the busyness of the job and contemplates those issues that are not in one’s complete control. It is those issues that keep a CIO up at night!

The purpose of this primer is to discuss six issues that require my consideration and study. These six issues cannot be ignored. These six issues must be managed. These six issues are in no particular order. They merely represent what I believe are the biggest issues keeping me up at night – and what I can do about them.

Issue #1 – Consumerization of IT
The consumerization of IT is a rather ambiguous phrase. Some describe the consumerization of IT as the penetration of employee-purchased mobile devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Android phones/tablets into the internal IT environment. Unfortunately, this oversimplifies what the trend really represents. Consumerization of IT isn’t only about employees bringing consumer devices into the internal IT environment (i.e., a bring your own device [BYOD] world). It’s also (and more importantly) about consumers – employees, customers, partners, and/or suppliers -- becoming the primary users of internal IT applications. And the number of these consumers is far greater than the company’s internal user base.

This proliferation of consumers becoming primary users of internal IT applications will be a difficult challenge for every IT organization. First, if you think your current internal users have a variety of devices, wait until you see what the rest of the world has! The notion of building an “approved device list” will be laughable. Second, application loads will become much more variable. Predicting loads based upon a known user population and common use patterns is simple. Predicting loads based upon an undefined set of user with unknown use patterns will be daunting. Third, application loads will likely be much higher. You will be subject to new consumer use profiles which will likely drive enormous traffic to your internal IT systems. Finally, your systems will need to be easy to use and the functionality will always have to work. In the old days of enterprise applications, users could grumble, but what options did they have? They were employees and employees could in essence be told: “Open up and swallow!” In the new consumerized world of IT, your users will include customers, suppliers, and providers. And these consumers will not be so lenient!

As difficult as these two challenges are, it is a something else related to the consumerization of IT that keeps me up at night. What keeps me up at night is the perceived expertise claimed by these new consumers. “I can go to Staples, buy a laptop, and have it operational in hours. Why does it take two days to get a laptop through the PC depot?” “Why do I have to have a passcode to connect to the WiFi at the office? I don’t have to have one at the house?” “Isn’t there an ‘app’ that will allow me to enter my time sheet information into Kronos using my cell phone?” “Why can’t I schedule a pickup much less view the status of goods that are in shipment via a web site?”

The users we serve perceive themselves to be as or more knowledgeable of technology as those in IT. Unfortunately, they do not understand how the proliferation of devices, users, interfaces, and applications greatly complicate the environment that IT must support. They do not understand that IT is responsible for meeting security, privacy, SOX, and PCI requirements. They do not understand that a web site can be operational in 48 hours but integrating it with other internal IT applications can take time (and require extensive user testing!). Their view of technology is simple. The reality is that it is not. Their perceived expertise – just enough knowledge to be dangerous – and the inability to understand the complexity of the technical infrastructure required to support and enable the functionality they request is the first thing that keeps me up at night.

What can I do about this? First, I must accept that this phenomenon will not go away any time soon. It is here to stay. Second, I need to understand what they are really asking for. Sheila Jordan (VP of Communications and Collaboration at Cisco) says it best: “The end users might be saying they want Facebook and they want Twitter, but that’s not necessarily exactly what they want. What they really want are the capabilities. They want the user-friendly features and functionalities of social media, but they want them integrated and tied into their business systems.” Third, I need to get ahead of the users. I need to partner with vendors to learn what will make up the next generation of tools and toys that consumers will want to use to access internal IT applications. Pursuing a pro-active strategy may enable me to evaluate and/or pilot those devices and capabilities to discern how they may be of value to my consumers. Fourth, I need to educate my internal consumers (i.e., employees) of the complexity that surrounds the tools and devices that they are requesting and using. Good luck! Finally, I need to be collaborative. I need to work with them and not against them.

In summary, the consumerization of IT is far more profound than slapping a pretty interface on a decade-old enterprise application. That's just lipstick on a pig. It's even more than enabling BYOD in your environment. It's all about recognizing that the boundary between your company and the rest of the world is getting blurry. Letting our consumers engage with our systems can transform our business relationships and our economics. We just need to be sure that we are ready for the real consumerization of IT and the perceived experts that this trend is birthing.

Issue #2 – Employee Retention
The second issue that keeps me up at night is employee retention. When it comes to customers, retention matters even more than acquisition. With customers, the usual figure is that repeat customers are five to ten times more profitable than newly acquired ones. Likewise, great employees are worth at least ten times what average ones are worth. [1] Given that there is a shortage of talent and given that the marketplace is actively seeking for talent, what can I do to retain this talent? Let me give you five practical things you can do to keep great employees.

1. Know Them [2]
First, know your employees. Lincoln revealed the cornerstone of his own personal leadership philosophy, an approach that would become part of a revolution in modern leadership thinking 100 years later when it was dubbed “Management By Walking Around” by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman in their 1982 book -- “In Search of Excellence.” It has been referred to by other names and phrases, such as: “roving leadership,” “being in touch,” or “getting out of the ivory tower.” Whatever the label, it’s simply the process of stepping out and interacting with people. It is simply the process of establishing human contact.

We need to know how our people will respond in any given situation. We need to know who will have a tendency to get the job done on his own, or who will be more likely to procrastinate and delay. We need to know who can be counted on in an emergency and who can’t. We need to know who are the brighter, more able, more committed people. We need to know who shares are strong sense of ethics and values.

The most important asset a business organization has is its employees. So why not spend some time and money striving to more thoroughly understand who are your really great employees?

2. Listen to Them [7]
In his book, “Leadership Gold”, John Maxwell tells the story:

“A couple of rednecks are out in the woods hunting when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls 911. He frantically tells the operator, “Bubba is dead! What can I do?” The operator, in a calm, soothing voice says, “Just take it easy. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is silence, and then a shot is heard. The guy’s voice comes back on the line and says, “Okay, now what?””

It is no accident that we have one mouth and two ears. Steven Covey writes: “When we listen with the intent to understand others, rather than with the intent to reply, we begin true communication and relationship building. Opportunities to then speak openly and be understood come much more naturally and easily.”

This is particularly an important point to know when it comes to great employees. Great employees really want to be listened to, respected, and understood. When leaders listen to them and use what they hear to make improvements that benefit the organization, then those great employees put their trust in those leaders. They want to work with those leaders. When leaders do the opposite – when they fail to listen – it damages the leader-great employee relationship. When great employees no longer believe that their leaders are listening to them, they start looking for someone who will.

3. Lead by Being Led
Third, lead by being led. As just stated, great employees want to be listened to. Great employees want their suggestions and recommendations considered and implemented. Our goal is to foster an environment in which our great employees sense little oversight and a large amount of freedom to “set the pace.” With great employees, we merely need to direct or point them in the proper path and allow them to lead us down that path. Rather than ordering or dictating, we need to refine our ability to direct others by implying, hinting, or suggesting.

One of the marks of true leadership genius is to create an environment that great employees relish to work in. Paraphrasing Lao Tzu: “A good leader is one who talks little, and yet, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, all his followers will say: ‘We did this ourselves.’” [3]

4. Don’t Send Your Ducks to Eagle School [7]
In his book, “Leadership Gold”, John Maxwell shares a lesson learned from Jim Rohn:

“The first rule of management is this: don’t send your ducks to eagle school. Why? Because it won’t work! Good people are found, not changed. They can change themselves, but you can’t change them. If you want good people, you have to find them. If you want motivated people, you have to find them, not motivate them…..Chalk it up to mysteries of the mind, and don’t waste your time trying to turn ducks into eagles. Hire people who already have the motivation and drive to be eagles and then just let them soar.”

This counsel very much applies to “retaining” great employees. Once you “know” who your great employees are, don’t try and turn your ducks into eagles. It just doesn’t work. Here’s why it doesn’t work:

o If you send ducks to eagle school, you will frustrate the ducks. Ducks are not supposed to be eagles – nor do they want to become eagles. Who they are is who they should be. Ducks have their strengths and should be appreciated for them. They’re excellent swimmers. They are capable of working together in an amazing display of teamwork and travel long distances together. Ask an eagle to swim or to migrate thousands of miles, and it’s going to be in trouble. Leadership is all about placing your great employees in the right place so they can be successful. As a leader, you need to know your great employees and let them work according to their strengths. As a leader, you should always challenge people to move out of their comfort zone, but never out of their strength zone. That is one reason you don’t send ducks to eagle school. Secondly…..
o If you send ducks to eagle school, you will frustrate the eagles. Eagles don’t want to hang around with ducks. They don’t want to live in a barnyard or swim in a pond. Their potential makes them impatient with those who cannot soar. People who are used to moving fast and flying high are easily frustrated by people who want to hold them back.

As a leader, your job is to help your ducks to become better ducks and your eagles to become better eagles – to put individuals in the right places and help them reach their potential. You shouldn’t ask someone to grow in areas where they have no natural talent.

5. Give Them the Credit/You Take the Blame [2]
Finally, if you want to retain great employees, give them the credit and you take the blame. As leaders, we’d like to think that when people leave, it has little to do with us. But the reality is that we are often the reason. Some sources estimate that as many as 65 percent of people leaving companies do so because of their managers. We may say that people quit their job or their company but the reality is that they usually quit their leaders. [7]

So what is one solution to retaining great employees? Always give credit where credit is due and, conversely, accept responsibility when things go wrong. When a great employee does a good job, praise, compliment, and reward the individual. On the other hand, be prepared to shoulder the responsibility when they make mistakes. Always let your great employees know that the honor will be all theirs if they succeed and the blame will be yours in they fail.

Abraham Lincoln practiced this laudatory style right up to the final days of his life. During his last public address, made to gathering of people outside the White House on the evening of April 11, 1865, he was filled with modesty for himself and praise for the soldiers who had won the union victory: “No part of the honor, for plan or execution, is mine”, he asserted. “To General Grant, his skillful officers, and brave men, all belongs.”

Likewise, the president readily accepted responsibility for the battles lost during the Civil War. He tried to let his generals know that if they failed, he too failed. Throughout the war Lincoln accepted public responsibility for battles lost or opportunities missed. In the days following the battle of Gettysburg, for example, the president was distressed Meade’s delay in pursing Lee before his army made it back across the Potomac River. Well after the battle, in an attempt to spur the general into an active confrontation with Lee, the president sent him a letter urging an immediate attack. “If you can now attack him on a field no worse than equal for us,” said Lincoln, “and will do so with all the skill and courage, which you, your officers, and men possess, the honor will be yours if you succeed, and the blame will be mine if you fail.”


Endnotes
[1] Adapted from “A Manifesto for 21st Century Information Technology” by Bob Lewis
[2] Adapted from “Lincoln on Leadership” by Donald T. Phillips
[3] Adapted from “It’s Your Ship” by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff
[4] Bits & Pieces, May 28, 1992, Page 5-6
[5] Adapted from “The Mark of a Leader” by Doug Keeley
[6] Adapted from “The Ten Rules of Good Followership” by Colonel Phillip S. Meilinger
[7] Adapted from “Leadership Gold” by John Maxwell