The real secret to IT success
In a desperate search for solutions to IT's organizational problems, I turn to Bob Lewis, InfoWorld's IT management guru
Follow @EricKnorrIn most companies, IT remains far less effective than it could be. And guess what? The main barriers to success are almost never technological. They're human -- how people organize themselves and how they relate (or fail to relate) to each other.
So where are we in the long-running soap opera of IT and its relationship to the business? To answer that question, I could think of no better person to ask than Bob Lewis, who has been writing about this topic for InfoWorld since (I believe) the disco era. His Advice Line blog, the "Dear Abby" of InfoWorld, remains one of our most popular items. And he has written several insightful books on IT management, his most recent being "Keep the Joint Running: A Manifesto for 21st Century Information Technology."
[ Also from InfoWorld: Got a burning question about your IT career? Then go directly to Bob Lewis' Advice Line blog. | For more on Bob's view of prevailing wisdom, see "Run IT as a business -- why that's a train wreck waiting to happen." ]
Bob lives in Minnesota, but he visited InfoWorld's offices in San Francisco recently, providing a rare opportunity for me to interview one of the true gurus of IT management in person. I was surprised that he actually showed up wearing a saffron robe; after all these years the guru thing seems to have gone to his head. But after years of bemoaning IT gridlock, I was in search of wisdom, and Bob was the best I could do.
Eric Knorr: Your most recent book listed 13 principles you say will be the hallmark of successful IT organizations. I'm giving you 50 words: What does a CIO need to do to be a true part of the executive team?
Bob Lewis: Hmmm.
Knorr: That's one.
Lewis: I know this is going to sound like I'm channeling Dr. Phil, but it's still the right answer: In spite of all the panaceas out there -- ITIL, COBIT, CMMI, and so on -- relationships and trust come first. Without positive relationships and trust among participants, no process can work, all governance will be ineffective, and even the best employees will be hamstrung -- tied up in conflict, bureaucracy, and rework.
Knorr: Relationships and trust? Sounds pretty difficult to turn that into a strategy.
