Like many people in the northeast, I've just spent the past four days with no power in my house. Okay, in the spirit of full disclosure, I do have a generator that provides enough power for the bare necessities: heat, running and hot water, a cold fridge, and a few lights. After some recent storms, hundreds of utility crews from multiple states have scattered across NH, working day and night to repair the downed lines that left more than 50% of households state-wide without power.
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Don't Get Caught in the Dark! Each year O&A coordinates a series of open enrollment public workshops in support of our clients' IT leadership and professional development plans and priorities. The following workshops are all sponsored at client or partner sites, and we invite you to incorporate these highly-engaging, limited-enrollment workshops into your talent development plans: Business Requirements Management Managing Vendor Partnerships Achieving IT Service Excellence The Politics of IT Project Management Managing Vendor Partnerships Consulting Skills for the IT Professional Business Requirements Management Special Benefits: In addition to benefitting from O&A's 25 years of experience, subject matter expertise, and proven best practices, you and your team will also have multiple opportunities to network with and learn from IT peers who are addressing similar challenges. Participate with your team and you will return to your office energized, with new ideas, practical skills and techniques that you can put into action immediately. Coming to a city near you... If the workshops, dates and locations above are not aligning with your needs, and you have 4-9 people that would benefit from a particular workshop, please share your needs with us and we will work hard to accommodate these needs. Or, if you have 10 or more people targeted for one of these workshops, let's discuss how a tailored, on-site workshop might best suit your needs. Please contact Tracy at tdinu@ouellette-online.com or 800-878-4551 to start the process.
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Powering Up Your Most Valuable Asset I have been told by utility industry insiders that their companies have been cutting back on maintaining their power grid, such as clearing overhanging branches and replacing old or outdated equipment. This helps their bottom lines in the short term, and doesn't expose their greater risks and liabilities until a big storm comes along, such as the one we just experienced. So why am I sharing this with you? For some time, I have been worried about a similar storm brewing in IT. We have not been investing in our "power grid," in this case, our people. How many times have you heard the mantra, "our people are our most valuable asset," only to see this asset downsized, outsourced, asked to do more and more with less and less, and expected to step up to meet the needs of an increasingly complex, always-changing, hyper competitive business environment? Too many IT executives are falling short when it comes to developing their future leaders and workforce so that they are prepared to tackle these challenges. Like the utilities, this lack of investment in our "power grid" may not show up today, but it will come back to bite us someday soon. In his recent column in CIO, "Where has IT's Passion Gone?" IT Futurist Thornton May talks candidly as only he can about how little is being done to bridge the leadership skills gap. He points out how CIOs' direct reports are not convinced that they have the leadership toolkits for what comes next in IT, and asks, "who is preparing the minds of next generation leaders for what's to come?" May also cites recent Corporate Executive Board research that indicates that only 4% of the IT workforce is "highly engaged." What does that say about the majority of our people, and what impact this has on our client relationships and ability to partner with, influence, and create value for our businesses? Further, the latest Conference Board annual survey gauging employee satisfaction has hit a 22 year low, finding that only 45% of US workers are satisfied with their jobs. These are staggering numbers, and my intent is to make sure they are on your radar as your priorities for 2010 are being shaped and continue to evolve. On the flip side, I am pleased to report that I am seeing a noticeable change in attitude with many of the CIO's I have met with the past couple of months. These transformationally-oriented IT leaders are looking ahead and identifying new opportunities for their organizations to innovate and enhance their companies value. They are focusing on talent development and equipping their next generation leaders, high potentials, and staff with the skills that will move them beyond the reactive, order taker role and position them as strategic, value creating, business partners. Not to boast, but O&A's clients are doing some great work to prepare their people for a successful future. Over the next several months, we will be inviting several of you to share your success stories, best practices, and the results of your IT leadership and professional development initiatives via this newsletter. Until then, I would love to hear what you and your IT leadership team are doing this year to develop your future workforce, to improve employee engagement and morale, and to build a world class IT organization. I invite you to call (800-878-4551) or email me at droberts@ouellette-online.com. As a thank you for sharing your great work, we will express signed copies of our Leading IT Transformation: The Roadmap for Success book for you to share with your senior team.
Dan Roberts |
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