Boot Camps Oo-RAH!

Cheryl Croce Sr. Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

One of our instructors, Cindy Scheetz, enthusiastically told me about her participation in a fitness boot camp, which is a militaristic approach to physical fitness and exercise. She's a three-time veteran, and has improved with each session. She absolutely loves it. I asked Cindy about the program, and she gave me the contact information. I was intrigued after speaking with the instructor and founder, Dr. Aaron Oberst. I joined the Dr. Drill Instructor Program (DDIP) in Lansdale, Pennsylvania this May, and started on the first day of June. It is an eight week program, three days a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays), from 5:30am to 6:30am, rain or shine.

I've got two weeks under my proverbial belt, and I now understand why Cindy likes the program so much. There is so much positive energy and encouragement from the instructors, squad leaders and participants. I feel like I accomplish something new in each session. I will also tell you it's the hardest I've ever physically worked. There are days where it hurts to blink. As the saying goes, "No pain, no gain!"

There are a few lessons I've learned from the fitness boot camp that are applicable to our five-day Project Management (PM) Boot Camp:


* Leave your perceptions at the door: People who have been managing projects for years will think they know project management. Similarly, I thought I was exercising at my maximum potential by getting on an elliptical machine for 20 minutes three times a week. Exercise is exercise; project management is project management. While it is true I exert myself on the elliptical, and it is a form of exercise, I am learning from DDIP getting in shape is more than just moving your legs and arms on a machine. You have to use every attribute you have: mind, body and spirit. Boot Camps are designed to deconstruct your perceptions and show you what you should be doing. It engages and challenges. In the end, you will work better and smarter than you did previously.

* Discipline is essential: If you cut corners, you will find you are doing more harm than good. Dr. Drill stresses the importance of always having a water source with you. The second week of DDIP, I learned if you don't have a water source, two things will happen: Dr. Drill will make you do your maximum set of push-ups while you are at attention with the rest of your squad, and you get muscle cramps because you lose about 10% of water when you work out. Both suck. No one likes to be called out on mistakes, especially if they are easily avoided by following basic rules. Follow the basics, and you won't experience pain and suffering on projects. Do you really want to explain why your project is over-budget and not finished on time? I'm thinking no. There are reasons there are lessons about work breakdown structures and identifying and documenting risks!

* Motivation is infectious: There are roughly 100 participants in the fitness boot camp program. We are all at different skill levels, and we are all there for one reason: to improve ourselves. What is especially wonderful is that the veterans will encourage new recruits, and in turn new recruits motivate the veterans to do their best and set examples. With the PM Boot Camp, everyone is there to learn and to be better project managers.

* Keep on movin'! Don't stop, no: During one of our runs, Dr. Drill broke out into song. "Keep on movin'! Don't stop, noooo." He asked us to repeat this, even the singing part. The final lesson I'd like to share is once you leave boot camp, you don't leave what you've learned behind. Keep pushing yourself, your teams, and your organization forward in applying solid project management techniques to your projects.


Ready to leave your perceptions about project management behind? To be motivated? To learn something new and to apply it to the way you work? If you are interested in project management and our PM Boot Camp five-day instructor-led training courses, please go to the event calendar on our website.

Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

H1N1 Visualization

	Neal Leininger Senior Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

With all the Pandemic warnings, I thought it would be nice to provide a visualization of the actual data being collected : Here & Here

Beyond the pure hysteria that has been associated with this infection, I find it amazing how we are utilizing new and different tools to educate ourselves.



So as I typically do, I ask you to pose the following question to your peers :

What have we done to gain visibility to "process pandemics?"

It important to understand the metrics that are key performance indicators, but more importantly is distilling those metrics into meaningful dashboards that are useful and user friendly. Because at the end of the day, we need to act on that information to help reduce risk and enhance performance of our troubleshooting teams.


Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

Mom's Lessons on Customer Service

	Cheryl Croce Sr. Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

It’s Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 10. It’s a particularly special one, as my younger sister will be celebrating her very first Mother’s Day. Both my sister and my mom have taught me what it is to be a strong and caring person.

In particular, there are many things I have learned from my mom that apply to how I approach managing projects. Whether she realized it or not, she gave me my first lesson in customer service.




One year, when I was younger, my mom prepared a holiday dinner. She made home-made manicotti, lasagna, meatballs, all the side dishes you can imagine, and a full turkey. It was a feast you might see in a Norman Rockwell painting (well, if Norman Rockwell had been Italian). My family gathered at the table, eager to dig in and enjoy the food.

My grandfather – her father – sat down, tucked a napkin into his shirt, picked up his utensils and surveyed the food in front of him.

My mom took great pride in her feast. That changed when my grandfather furrowed his brow and said,

“What? No ham?”

While my mom was less than thrilled about what he said, my grandfather practically licked his plate clean. To this day, she’ll bring up this story whenever we sit down for a holiday dinner.

The following are customer service nuggets of knowledge I garnered from that incident:

* Low hanging fruits – those projects we view as seemingly non-essential - are sometimes the sweetest to our customers.
* Understanding what is important to the customer takes active listening, observation and, on occasion, patience.
* As much as we strive for perfection, there’s always one person who isn’t going to be happy. If there’s something missing, it’s not the end of the world, and it’s not personal. You learn from the feedback, and deliver the unexpected at the next opportunity.


For all the moms and moms-to-be out there, have a wonderful Mother’s Day!


Interested in learning more about Customer Service? Attend one of our Customer Service Stars classes. These one-day classes will be held on May 20, 2009 and June 4, 2009. Click here for more details.


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Hiring Process

Karl Christianson
President and CEO
Veris Marshwinds Partners


The turbulent economic conditions of the past few months have resulted, in many cases, in the reduction of staff. As conditions begin to improve, many of these open positions will be filled through the hiring of new employees.

The hiring process generally begins with the review of a resume supplied by either an agency or your own internal recruiting process. When reviewing a resume, there are many factors to consider. Your primary goal is to interview and hire the right employee, one that satisfies the needs of the open position. A simple method, which we employ when analyzing a resume, is to rate the candidate based on the following factors

Some of the selection criteria we utilize when reviewing a resume are listed below:

1. Does the candidate's resume reflect exceptional performance at prior jobs? This includes awards, recognition, etc. Are those achievements measurable?

2. Does the candidate display a history of job stability, little job hopping?

3. Why is the candidate seeking a new job? Is the reason justifiable?

4. How long has the candidate been on the job market, and where else has he/she interviewed?

5. How sophisticated are their presentation skills, which can be judged by their past positions and duties?

6. What types of companies have provided them with employment in the past? If your company is a large, sophisticated organization, and the applicant has always worked at smaller organizations, will that applicant have the experience and depth to successfully function in your firm?

The answers to the above questions should be positive and provide you with a feeling that the resume you are reviewing indicates a possible hire. The next step, and possibly the most important, is your initial interview, whether on the telephone or in-person. You should be able to conclude at the end of the initial meeting whether this applicant is the type of individual who is knowledgeable, affable, speaks well, has a pleasant appearance and, in summary, would be a great addition to your organization.

If all of the above factors are positive, you may consider that you have found a low risk applicant, and should move forward with your normal in depth screening procedure, which should include the checking of references. If all subsequent interviews and reference checks are positive, you have probably found a winner whom you should hire.
Good luck in filling your next open position.

New Security

	Neal Leininger Senior Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

With any grand event, comes those who will do what they must to survive.

In today's economical climate, that means there are more and more highly skilled workers being laid off, and in turn are using their skills for ill-will.

In this case, it was a laid off engineer who was cutting communication cables and trying to extort money from Comcast and Verizon.

Well the FBI has a trojan virus for that:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=Security&articleId=9131778&taxonomyId=17&pageNumber=1

It's been mentioned elsewhere that with the ongoing lay-offs, there will be an onslaught of cyber-crimes.

In the past, we've always said that the biggest security threat to an organization is their own employees. It's only a matter of time before someone is disgruntled by a promotion, or lack there-of; or maybe it's not something at work.... it may be skyrocketing debt that is forcing them to consider unseemly means of income.

So a few points:

- If you're currently unemployed, or feel that you may be soon; now is the perfect time to re-train and find some new skills, focus that fear and look at training.

- If you are a hiring manager, about to make the decision for a round of lay-offs; be aware that it may require some special planning beyond doing it on a Friday afternoon.

- If you are a security manager, now is the time to be proactive; if you don't have a continual improvement plan in place, seek consulting and/or training to get a concrete plan in place to manage your risk


Of course above all else, never forget the gifts we've been given. It is up to us to ensure they are used for good will.


...then again, I'm sure the FBI won't have any problems finding you....



Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

Focused Fear

	Neal Leininger Senior Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

I've written on our other blogs in the past about some of our more momentous airline incidents, well this story stuck me as very compelling :

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/14/plane.emergency/

A gentlemen who had some flight experience with single engine propeller planes was on a flight, and by sheer luck, noticed the pilot become unresponsive behind the wheel of a 10,000lb turbo propeller airplane :

"The only thing I knew how to do up there was talk on the radio," White told WINK. "I've only been up there (in the cockpit) one other time. I made it a point to ask the pilot -- not Joe, but another one -- 'How do I talk on the radio?' and they showed me what button to push."

While he spoke to the air controllers, they actually called someone who knew how to operate the airplane and were able to walk him through landing safely.


So why do I mention this article? I think a few points are very important.

1 - Being aware and curious of our surroundings, even though it may not be "your job" ; never stop asking those around you questions. Someday those little tid-bits of information will come in handy

2 - Trusting those with knowledge to guide you safely in an emergency; it's sometimes quite apparent when we are out of our realm, know that moment and embrace the fact that by trusting those around us, we can make it back to solid ground in one piece

3 - In those moments of peril, be personally or with a project, focus that fear. Sometimes it's the fear of failure, the fear of budget overuns, or the fear of personal impact; Focused Fear is an asset. Embrace it.


Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

Living All In

	Neal Leininger Senior Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

I hope everyone enjoyed the wonderful weather we had this weekend in Philly.

This time of year always makes me optimistic!

It just feels like we were meant to be here, doing what we love to do.

A great friend and mentor runs a Construction Knowledge website and blog, he posted a 'vonderful-good' article on one of the gentlemen from "Band of Brothers" ; you should check it out:

http://constructionknowledge.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/are-you-living-all-in/

My favorite quote is how :
"When Forrest was injured on his jump into Holland, he was waiting in a make-shift field hospitals for a doctor to move up to the front. When the doctor finally came to treat him, Forrest realized his family doctor from the little town of Fogelsville, PA was also going to be his doctor in Holland. He loved that wild coincidence."

I challenge everyone to approach this year with renewed vigor, it is time to put our defensive strategies aside, and go "All In."



Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

Post Implementation Review

	Neal Leininger Senior Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

We've talked about metrics, and the way they drive continual improvement plans, another crucial component of the improvement process is the Post Implementation Review.

This is where all the players assemble, and review, for better or worse; what went well and what went wrong.

In the world of ITSM this is triggered by the Change Manager, after a change has been documented and completed, the Change Manager ensures that a Post Implementation Review is completed.

Enclosed is a "mashup" of the US Airlines Hudson Crash, if you thought the accounts were harrowing, wait until you see what happened in realtime.

Crash Simulator

Credit to Gizmodo


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Butterflies

	Neal Leininger Senior Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

As we begin looking ahead to Springtime and the changes ahead, it's important that we plan for the future.

In previous posts I've mentioned that I enjoy Gardening, and it is the planning phase that will largely account for whether my garden is a success or a failure.

Although it's nice to sit outside and watch the butterflies, due diligence and proper planning are a neccessity.

Below is a clip from AIG that I feel points out the irony quite well.



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Shuttle Launch Perspective

	Neal Leininger Senior Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

In Project Management, perspective is everything.


When an event occurs, on the surface it may appear to be a "deal breaker" or something that will drastically change the quality of the product to be delivered.



It's at times like that, an overall perspective can turn that issue into an advantage.



Speaking of perspective, these folks decided they weren't content watching the space shuttle launch from the ground, so what does one do in this situation?



Jump out of an airplane and video tape it.

Never forget to look for other people's perspective too, sometimes it takes a truly radical independent consultant to help develop a fresh perspective!



Like Veris.





Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

Quest to Learn

	Neal Leininger Senior Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

I found an interesting article on new teaching techniques at the "Institute of Play" in New York

LINK

New York's Institute of Play has officially announced the foundation of Quest to Learn, a new school for "digital kids" that will be accepting its first 6th grade class this fall, which "uses the underlying design principles of games to create highly immersive, game-like learning experiences for students."

It's fascinating to watch the principles of "Play Learning" maturing with technology.

They're also hiring teachers : LINK

Many moons ago, I recall a space invaders game at my school for learning multiplication, addition, and subtraction. I remember how profound the idea was at the time.

Tell us, how do you learn best?

Is it in a classroom, or a virtual classroom with avatars?
Do you prefer flashcards, or a game that incorporates those facts/figures into a learning exercise?


Comment below or visit us on LinkedIn
you can also find me directly for feedback at : http://www.linkedin.com/in/neall



Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

Metrics

Neal Leininger Senior Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

You may have seen the posting last week about Google taking on Electricity monitoring: LINK

Personally I think it's a great idea, it takes away the ambiguity of how the utility companies are charging for services at a granular level, and enables transparency for the consumer.

It also spurs the discussion around metrics, without metrics how do you know any given service is performing as advertised, under-performing, or over-performing?

Granted, overcapacity is rarely an issue in the world of IT Service Management, but in practice it can be a goal for success.

There's the old adage of "If you don't measure it, it won't be done."

What are your thoughts around metrics? What are the Key Performance Indicators for your organization? How where they determined? How have they changed your day-to-day tasks?


Comment below or visit us on LinkedIn
you can also find me directly for feedback at : http://www.linkedin.com/in/neall



Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

New Obama Pick

	Neal Leininger Senior Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

Hard to believe we are almost through February already!

Today it was announced that Obama picked Google Vet Katie Jacobs to head up the "Citizens Participation" post.

LINK

I think we have the opportunity to do a lot of things right with this situation.

It also reminds me how important requirements gathering is for any project, how else will we know we've achieved the desired outcome?

Along that same line, there were several articles on how Google kills projects, also a topic from previous Blog posts found HERE

The article talks a little about the projects that Google is working on, but also how previous incarnations were killed due to lack of interest, or not living up to expectations. LINK

My favorite quote was : “Perfection closes off the process,” Mr. Jarvis said. “It makes you deaf. Google purposefully puts out imperfect and unfinished products and says: ‘Help us finish them. What do you think of them?’ ”

Like it or not, that's Project Management in a nut-shell, sure we talk about the triple constraint of "Time, Cost, Quality" ; but we all know in the real world it's about getting the product or project out the door so we can find the flaws and fix them, some flaws will never be discovered "in the lab."

Comment below or visit us on LinkedIn
you can also find me directly for feedback at : http://www.linkedin.com/in/neall



Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

Tactical Failure, Strategic Success

	Neal Leininger Senior Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

It has been written on numerous sites, the challenges of implementing ITIL, the "true" cost, and the "true" return on investment.

In our newsletter a few weeks ago, I mentioned how technology has shaped everyday events, like the "Miracle on the Hudson" of Flight 1549 with Captain Sullenberger at the helm. Not only was it the outcome that was amazing, but so were the "Lessons Learned" of what went right.

This is an example of how planning and paying the costs are not only a short term improvement, but in the long term, the cost of NOT DOING IT are far greater.

Without decades of safety engineering, and black box engineering, not only would they have lost many lives, but they wouldn't have known what went well or failed.

So it goes in IT, without proper processes and procedures, when disaster strikes, it may well still be a disaster, but through the toil and hardship of prior improvements, you will have the tools and wherewithall to recover and hopefully show the steady hand that Captain Sullenberger exhibited.

So in closing, never forget the price of not improving your craft, be it Flying a Jet, or Flying an IT Department.

Disaster will strike, and there will be tactical failures. Help your IT Service Management organization ensure a Strategic Success.

Below is an excerpt of the CBS Special with Katie Couric




Can you say "Mayday" with a calm voice to your CEO?




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Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

IT Governance: Bridging the gap between Gatekeeper & Innovator

Maryanne Pilson

Consultant

Veris Associates, Inc.

Today the race for Sarbanes Oxley compliance has all but reached the final lap. So does your organization continue to sponsor IT governance initiatives or has sponsorship hit the proverbial “wall” in the final lap?

One way to ensure funding for your next IT governance initiative is simply leveraging all IT governance components as intended. In doing so, IT governance becomes more than an operational expense; it becomes an asset. Over time your IT governance program is strategic to the future of your organization.

There are two distinct IT governance roles, both equally important, but not always apparent during the early phases of implementation.

For the sake of this article, I will give each role an assumed alias (Table 1) and will refer to each by alias through the remainder of the article.

Table 1

	Alias	IT Governance Role
1.	Gatekeeper (a.k.a. IT expense)	Objective:	“IT governance practices aim at ensuring that expectations for IT are met, IT's performance is measured, its resources are managed and its risks are mitigated.”
2.	Innovator (a.k.a. IT asset)	Purpose:	“To enable the enterprise by exploiting opportunities and maximizing benefits.”

In the early stages of implementation, it is easy to limit yourself as the Gatekeeper, focusing on identifying and mitigating risks. However, if you want to drive IT governance to new levels and continue making contributions - you must evolve!

As business needs are constantly changing, IT governance can lead the way as Innovator. IT governance controls and procedures need to be periodically reviewed to ensure they are still fit for purpose. You should have no problem obtaining IT governance sponsorship if you (the Innovator) take advantage of everyday opportunities to maximize benefits. An Innovator understands the benefit of being first in bringing new ideas and technologies into the organization and the Gatekeeper knows the consequences of implementing poor processes. By recognizing and promoting opportunities for improvement, the “Gatekeeper” transition to “Innovator” becomes effortless.

Listed below are common IT governance activities. We have traditional on the left and forward-looking on the right.

On the other hand, as we bridge the gap from Gatekeeper to Innovator, defining procedures is very much the same as developing solutions.

Gatekeeper		Innovator
Define procedures	vs.	Develop solutions

Let’s look at an example figure ¹, to help make the connection. This example is a proposed proof of concept (POC) for developing a new solution for recently defined procedures. The solution uses the concept of “reuse” by customizing an off-the-shelf web application. The objective is to improve productivity after it was decreased by Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) implementation. SOX resulted in too much time being spent on administrative tasks to create new user accounts, which took time away from core responsibilities.

Figure 1

In the example above, the current process objective was to ensure compliance with Sarbanes Oxley regulatory requirements for requesting new financial user accounts. The current process (defined and implemented by the Gatekeeper) met all requirements; however, it had a negative impact to productivity. Obviously, productivity was overlooked during the requirement phase. Manual processes are time consuming and without additional staff, your service levels will likely take a hit.

In this case, the pain was short lived. It was quickly recognized we had an opportunity to implement a process improvement/solution. In the example above, the new process would automate the user account request with minimal development effort, thus improving productivity by eliminating Helpdesk tickets and manual processing. Finally, the new process would be accomplished without compromising SOX compliance status and accessible via the web 24X7.

Later the following additional benefits were identified as result of the new process.

· Reduce end to end turn-around time by 30%

· Reduce the number of errors caused by missing or incorrect data given to the Helpdesk by 10%

· Reduce amount of manual effort spent on SOX quarterly reviews by 40%

As Gatekeeper and Innovator, you also motivate others to exploit opportunities and maximize benefits. If not, perhaps it is the next “gap” worthy of remediation!

Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

Incorporating IT Service Management: Digging In The Right Place

Cheryl Croce Sr. Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

As I pored through research on IT trends, the economic impact on those trends and the forecasts over the past few months, a line from the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark kept popping into my head:

“They’re digging in the wrong place!”

For those of you who have not seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, everyone in the movie is in a race to find the Well of Lost Souls, which houses the Lost Ark, which contains power that would be useful to any army. (Bear with me.) In order to so, they had to have the map to the Well of Lost Souls, which was inscribed on a medallion. The villains in the movie did not get the medallion; however one of their henchmen had the information burned on his hand from trying to grasp it in a fire-encapsulated building. The problem with the approach: he only had half of the information. The medallion had location information on both sides and, as a result, the baddies exhausted resources and man hours by digging in the wrong place.

It’s the same thing with the implementation of IT Service Management.

In today’s market, many IT organizations have embarked on the multiple-year investment it takes to implement IT Service Management so they may improve their quality of service to their business customers. Many of those IT teams focused solely on functions, processes and services.

While it increases the IT organization’s service delivery maturity, this approach is still missing an important component. The biggest oversight is the lack of organizational adoption of the compulsory cultural changes associated with executing the ITIL framework as part of IT Service Management.

How does an IT organization successfully incorporate IT Service Management practices into their way of working? How does it dig in the right place?

• Foster Cultural Awareness. When IT Service Management models are adopted, IT becomes a strategic asset during times of growth and economic downturns. IT Service Management is a culture, not a project. It is not only important for the IT organization to understand this, but it is also critical for the departments they serve (HR, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Purchasing) to know this, too.
  
• Talk is Good. While the ITIL framework provides a common IT language, understanding business-speak is equally important in securing the cultural adoption of IT Service Management. It is important for an IT organization to be well-versed in both IT Service Management processes and sound business management practices.
  
• Conversations are Better. By having conversations – be they round tables, strategy sessions, departmental meetings or social network discussions - IT organizations will have a better understanding of the Businesses they serve. They will drive their service strategies and service development, and will continually improve their existing functions, processes and services.
  
• Understand the Definition of ‘Value.’ An IT organization may have excellent subject matter experts, solid processes, standardized tools and defined measurements and metrics, but all of that means little to the customers they serve if it doesn’t demonstrate value to them. By doing so, IT will be able to capitalize, exploit and maintain their functions, processes and services to meet existing and forecasted business needs.
  
• Use a Lifecycle Approach. IT organizations further enhance its strategic value to its business customers by employing a Service Management lifecycle approach. In this manner, the IT organization embraces a business and IT alignment through the use of ITIL’s Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, and Service Operations best practices. In addition, ITIL’s Continual Service Improvement ensures IT isn’t resting on its laurels. It provides an IT team with the ability to create meaningful internal and customer-focused metrics and helps it provide purposeful and powerful reporting for management and executives.
  

IT Service Management is a discipline for the efficient and effective management of information technology systems, philosophically centered on the customer's perspective of IT's contribution to the business. It is a culture, not a project, and provides sustainability to IT’s relationship with the business. By digging in the right place - looking beyond tools, templates and technology and seeing the cultural and business impact IT Service Management will have -IT organizations will be able to function effectively and get arms around their current operations.

Copyright (c) Veris Associates, Inc. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Comments contents are the opinions of the person posting the comment (commenter) and not necessarily those or endorsed by Veris Associates, Inc. Veris Associates, Inc. reserves the right to remove any and all comments it wishes without any recourse of the commenter. Decision of Veris Associates, Inc. is final.

Building the IT Process Framework – Part 3 – Blending Culture Before It Curdles

Neal Leininger Project Management Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

As the Fall season approaches, we are all reminded of the never-ending changes that life brings. The cycle of life if you will. It also reminds me of the ways we adapt to change and embrace it in our daily lives.

The last few sessions we reviewed some PMO Pitfalls and Process Framework Highlights. In this article we will be discussing key strategies to introduce IT Service Management (ITSM) into your culture, and to ensure continual commitment and momentum.

As with change in any culture, it often is met with resistance. In my opinion, there are a number of ways to re-direct and harness that energy:

• Leading by Example
• Mentoring / Consultative Actions
• Employing Top-Down Leadership

For those un-familiar with the term “curdle,”curd is a dairy product obtained by coagulating or curdling milk with an edible acidic substance, such as lemon juice or vinegar, and then draining off the “whey,” or liquid portion. It is essentially cottage cheese or paneer; an unaged, acid-set, non-melting farmer cheese. Milk that has been left to sour (raw milk alone or pasteurized milk with added lactic acid bacteria) will also naturally produce curds, and sour milk cheese is produced this way.

This brings the question:

Q: Is “Curdling your culture” a bad thing? It does, in fact, yield a useful product.

A: I think in some examples, there comes a tipping point, where a cultural decomposition is necessary; as it is said in our Declaration of Independence “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

Call me a patriot, but there comes a time when the “long train of abuses and usurpations” of a company’s right to a good process requires throwing off the old, and establishing new guards for their future security.

I don’t think it’s a bad thing, but to obtain curd, you must practice patience and deliberate precision in its preparation. This is no going back after you’ve made the curd, so before you go down that road ensure you’ve exhausted all other alternatives.

Let’s take a step back and look at ways to prevent unplanned curdling in your culture.

Q: How do I instill change in a culture?

A: There are a number of approaches for enacting change.

First, leading by example will show people that you’re serious, and more importantly, successful at what you’re doing. By adopting a “Lead by Example” approach, those key members of your staff will see the vision and direction, and will feel more comfortable walking outside their comfort zones, which is a large part of the battle.

Secondly, by mentoring and taking active consultative actions, you’ll demonstrate you are confident in the direction you are leading, and will also begin to add value at a very tactical level. Maybe it’s helping someone put an action plan or continual improvement plan in place. Or perhaps it’s taking a leadership role in building a communications tour, or helping someone put together a presentation and being his or her sounding board. Either way, it demonstrates that you’re serious, and you don’t mind “getting your hands dirty.”

Lastly, show them the vision. The best way to do that is to have it come from a high visibility and known-quantity leadership individual or body. It is one thing for you to have a vision, and to drive it; it’s another thing entirely if they hear it from an Executive Leadership figure driving the direction of the company. Everyone wants to feel connected to their company, and by knowing that the path you’re paving is the same as Executive Leadership, it will help alleviate fears of being left in the cold.

Q: How do I ensure continual commitment?

A: Engage your experts. Seek out Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), whether consultants or full-time employees. Don’t be afraid to be mentored or to solicit the help of experts. The key is to trust that knowledge and expertise.

Understand this is part of delegating responsibility and letting go of those “pieces,” when things don’t go as “planned” according to your view; give those experts a wide berth. Even if you feel they are truly failing, or not achieving a particular bullet-point on a particular roadmap, you must demonstrate that they are truly empowered.

We learn best by our mistakes. Encouraging those experts to lead, for others to grow wings and fly on their own, will also reverberate in your organization. If others see the first misstep is a “Career Limiting Move” (CLM) for that person’s upward mobility, they will surely avoid every aspect. On the other hand, if they see those “experts” being given the support and latitude to empower experts of their own, those key individuals will seek the same. Those are the “Future Experts” that will help take your wonderful “Process Garden” and translate it into bountiful profits.

So to answer the question at hand, “How do I ensure continual commitment?” I say, show them continual commitment; not commitment that dries up during a hiring freeze, tough market conditions, or an unpopular presidential candidate. Nay, you must foster the roots of your organization and the roots of your experts, so that they can withstand the fiercest of storms and droughts. Dare I say, they may serve as an oasis for you and yours when the time of need arrives.

Q: How do I keep momentum?

A: Understand that this is not an easy task; leading change will often challenge you to re-evaluate everything you know about Business, Technology, and Life at large. Keeping momentum is so very important because without it, all your vision, your hard work, and sweet “milk” will succumb to the acid of the old guard. Whether or not you like cottage cheese, it will be the only thing on the table.

Momentum can be felt in several areas.

• Tactical change: The day-to-day changes; both from what is worked on to how work is done on those things.
• Strategic change: The horizon will change for those leaders and future experts. They will realize your organization is heading to a new place, and will exhibit renewed fervor.
• Communal change: The self-imposed status-quo will be lifted and redirected; those around your “area affect” will recognize a change in the tempo and tempest of your organization.

So the important piece to this is recognizing those three areas, and addressing them in a methodical manner. By enacting steady tactical changes -- not too fast, not too slow, and at the right time -- it will be in their faces, undeniable proof that change is happening. For them, not to them.

By enacting Strategic change, they too will recognize the change in the tone at the top. By knowing and seeing how they tie together, it will reinforce changes are necessary and important, and subsequently, they will feel a connection unlike anything they’ve felt before.

Lastly, I feel Communal change is one of the most important and influential aspects. It is palatable at the water cooler and at lunch tables. It’s that sense of belonging to something bigger, and also the sense of being accountable to your peers -- that if you don’t get behind this change, it will let your peers down.

Q: So what does culture change have to do with Curd?

A: Nothing, and everything.

Curd is a by-product of milk standing still and spoiling, the milk would be wasted, so the cycle of life takes over; it makes something useful from something useless; in this case, perhaps an IT department, in a town not too far from your own. In a business sense, when an organization stagnates, and spoils, there rises to the surface these “clumps,” which when strained and repurposed, makes a wonderful new product.

However, if it’s unintentional, it’s disastrous.

So my advice is this: When you’re blending change into your culture, don’t put your precious resources in the position to spoil. Frequent communication checkpoints with your Subject Matter Experts will keep you in tune with the process. Also, ensure proper precautions are in place to let you know when you’re reaching a resource’s “expiration date.” Lastly, if your intent is to let it curdle, make sure you have good recipes for that curd, and of course; make sure the executive branch likes cottage cheese.

To Recap:

• Curd isn’t a bad thing, but it’s an acquired taste, and requires some careful planning;
• Change keeps your culture from spoiling, tune for desired results;
• Communication keeps you in tune with the process, regardless of the desired end product;
• Continue to lead by example, and to build executive leadership’s buy-in; and,
• Commitment and Momentum will keep you on track.

Thanks for your time; I look forward to your feedback at nealleininger@verisassociates.com, or in our blog’s comment section at http://veris-pm.blogspot.com/

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Five Tips for a Great Performance Review

Cheryl Croce Sr. Consultant Veris Associates, Inc.

The anticipation.
The flop sweat.
The fear it won’t go as well as you want it to go.

It’s the annual performance review. Those aren’t the doubts of the employee. They are the uncertainties of the manager.

Everyone’s been there at least once. We’ve had memories of performance reviews, even when they were positive, where we wished the manager worded something differently, or clarified information in their message, or provided enough time for us to express an opinion about what was said. These are the reviews that scar new managers or propel them to vow they will ‘do right’ by their employees during evaluation periods. Then the time comes and they find themselves tongue-tied, nervous and unsure how to proceed.

One of the more weighty responsibilities of any manager is providing annual reviews to his or her staff members. They are a wonderful opportunity for both manager and employee to get one-on-one time and to discuss important career milestones and objectives, achievements, and opportunities for improvement.

While managers are given standardized documents and a process for capturing information about an employee’s performance, companies leave out how to process all the feedback, consolidate the message and deliver the positive and constructive information.

Some may debate delivering a performance review is more art than science; less formula and more finesse. To be sure, managers must possess a certain level of diplomacy when they convey what is in the evaluation. But, there are steps managers can take to ensure the experience is a just and fair one for their employees.

Following five straightforward rules of engagement, managers at any level of experience can deliver great performance reviews:

1. Be prepared before you walk into the review. In reality, there should not be any surprises to the employee if the performance review process is executed properly. There should not be any surprises to you as a manager, either. Employees expect managers to have a comprehensive, accurate picture of their performance during the year. Collect feedback from others who work with your employee, even if your company does not have a 360 review process. Do not disappoint them by consolidating the feedback without reading or understanding all of it. Go back to the contributors and ask questions if you are unsure of the information returned to you for your employee.
2. Focus on the strengths. Traditionally, there is polarity in the delivery of performance reviews. Much wasted time is spent on opportunities for improvement or focusing on weakness. Mention them and then move on. What is it that makes employees valued assets to the company, to the team, and to you? Emphasize those qualities, and discuss ways the employees can continue to flex their muscles in these areas.
3. When delivering tough messages, place the spotlight on behaviors and not the individual. No one likes to hear negative feedback, especially if it is a behavior they unintentionally exhibited. Assume merit and positive intentions, but address the damaging behaviors that impact individual employees, their colleagues and the company. In order to properly course-correct without retribution, you must be just and fair in the approach. Come prepared with specific examples of how the behavior, not the individual, caused issues and provide suggestions on how the behavior might be altered to create positive results in the future.
4. Use your ears as much as your voice. Allot time for employees to express their concerns and their expectations. As much as it is a review of performance, it is also a forum for them to talk about their career outlook and aspirations.
5. Develop a measurable and meaningful action plan. Close the chapter on the year in review, and look to the future. Explore career growth, and how their strengths may be applied in achieving both their goals and your organization’s objectives. Map out a strategy that has clear milestones and deliverables, and discuss how these will be achieved realistically. Don’t be afraid to add challenge to the plan, but make sure to tie deliverables back to the agreed-upon plan.
   

How about you? Do you have any managerial tricks of the trade you employ when delivering performance reviews? Share them with our reader community.