The IT Hot Potato - Note from the President - March 2014

Have you ever played Hot Potato? It’s a game where everyone gets in a circle and tosses a small object around while music plays. The player who has the “hot potato” in their hands when the music stops is out. The fast-paced, high-pressure game continues until there’s only one person left.

Several times over the last few years, the Information Technology (IT) Hot Potato game has been demonstrated to me.

Here is how the IT Hot Potato Game is played…

The person who reaches out to me has just taken over the Information Technology function. Sometimes the manager has had IT experience and sometimes managing IT is brand new to this business leader. In either case, the issues and concerns communicated to me are exactly the same. The management of the IT department or contractors was passed off from the former manager to see if the new manager could get better results. Usually there is a small IT department of one, maybe two, who continues to request help from outside consultants, or sometimes a small firm is helping the company as needed. Needless to say, the “hot potato” would not have been tossed to the new leader if things were going just fine.

It turns out in every case that the company and management believe that a one man team, or very small group, should know ALL there is to know about technology and EXACTLY how to manage the function and the people.

I usually ask my contact a few questions like:

• How do you know what they are “supposed” to be doing?
• How do you know if they are doing it correctly and with Best Practices?
• How do you know if you have enough diversified knowledge to support your organization?

Most of the time, the business leader will respond with a few symptoms of IT issues related to something that does not work or a project that has not been completed. This is because the manager may not realize that 60-80% of technology management is never seen by management.

These are the things that IT SHOULD be doing even when it all appears to be working fine.

We believe it takes a “Village Approach” to get the best possible IT results. This approach leverages the IT specialists, architects, designers, support teams, and onsite teams so that a company can get the most from its investment in either internal IT departments, or more virtual or contracted IT departments.

If the IT Hot Potato has landed in your hands….give me a call!

Marty