MDE News
3 Training Programs slated

New training programs are scheduled as we prepare to close out 2003. This year has been a significant year in positioning MDE's training initiatives for the future. My goal since leaving a traditional corporate CIO role in late 2000 has been to establish a comprehensive training curriculum that helps IT Managers achieve higher levels of success. The introduction of the IT Manager Development Institute in June of this year has positioned me quite well for future training programs I plan to conduct. In 2004, many new classes will be announced along with new locations for my Institute.

The three training programs scheduled for the rest of this year include:
1.  IT Manager Series is a joint venture with Belmont University and includes twelve, one and two-day classes that focus on all elements necessary to manage technology resources at a high level. The program will be held at Belmont's Massey Graduate School of Business beginning September 9th.
      Information at:  http://www.belmont.edu/tlc/dept.cfm?idno=420

2.  IT Manager Development Institute is a unique 5-day program structured like no other course of its kind. The program includes a customized 30-day action plan, 90 day mentoring support, and a guarantee that every student will identify enough cost savings within 90 days of the class to more than pay the tuition fee. The next Institute is scheduled for October 13-17 in Nashville, Tennessee.
      Information at:  www.mde.net/institute

3.  Preparing for an IT Manager Role is a 1-day course held in conjunction with the Nashville PMI Chapter. This course is designed to help new and "wannabe" managers target the skills needed to be an effective IT Manager and includes discussion on how to position yourself for the role. The class also provides a quick start road map to use once you receive your management opportunity.  Scheduled date is September 26.
      Information at:  http://www.pminashville.com/Newsletters/0803News.htm#ITMNGRROLE

          CLASS                             DATE                         # Days           Co-Sponsor
1.  IT Manager Series      Starts Sept. 9th                       16         Belmont University
                                           2nd Tues. of every month       
                                           (12, 1 & 2-day classes)
2. IT Manager Institute     October 13-17                          5                    n/a
3. Preparing for an           September 26                          1      PMI Chapter of Nashville
     IT Manager Role

IT Tidbits Corner
75 percent
The amount of surveyed consumers who favor a national no-spam registry, similar to the do-not-call telemarketing list. The survey of 1,188 consumers also found that 79 percent want spam banned or limited by law, and 59 percent want spammers punished.
Source: Information Week

70 percent
Enterprises that, by 2004, will selectively outsource applications using a variety of application service providers, traditional outsourcers, niche applications vendors and offshore providers.
Source: Gartner

43 percent
Number of CIO survey respondents who said cutting costs is their top goal for 2003.
Source: Sun

Technology Cost Savings Strategies released
The release of Technology Cost Saving Strategies has been a big success. The price has unfortunately been increased as planned but the information remains well worth the cost when you consider that any of the 50 strategies has potential to save your company thousands of dollars.

These strategies are real because I've used them in the past to save companies hundreds of thousands of dollars. You don't need a lot of theory to start saving money for your company, just the knowledge of where to look and how to go get it.

Every company has "low hanging fruit" cost saving opportunities. You can make a real impact when you use these strategies to start your own cost savings initiative.

More information at:   www.mde.net/strategies

Practical IT Manager Tips 
Beware the "transparent" Manager

Managers that choose to avoid taking a stance and to let someone else take the blame for an issue are "transparent". Transparent managers can cause severe damage to an organization including low morale, poor client service, and failed projects.

We have all seen them at work. They are the managers that blame their employee for client problems, they point to the company when cost cuts have to be made, and they rarely take credit for something unless it's positive.

Transparent managers are unfortunately very common and exist in almost every organization. They tell you what they think you want to hear and point elsewhere when there is a problem rather than stepping up and dealing with the issue head on.

Transparency undermines your team, your organization, and your company. When you see it happening, try to help the manager in question by addressing the issue (in private preferably) and make the Manager aware of the negative impact that transparency has. Ultimately, the biggest loser will be the transparent Manager unless he/she recognizes and changes the behavior.

How do you avoid being a transparent Manager?

1. Take the hit for a problem rather than blaming an employee.
   
2. Do your homework to understand a company's decision and reinforce the reasons and benefits of the decision. Take personal responsibility for helping to implement the decision in as positive way as possible.
   
3. Always give your staff credit for "wins" and take the blame for "failures" as the Manager. Coach and critique your staff for improvements behind doors.
   
4. Recognize transparent action and coach others on "stepping up" to issues rather than pushing them off to others.
   

IT Management Models
Ready-Aim-Fire

Sounds as easy as 1-2-3 doesn't it ? 
Logical as can be  - right ?
It's how we all manage, isn't it ?

Not quite.

There are quite a few management styles. You can probably put these tags on a few managers you know:

Ready-ready-ready-aim-fire 
The manager that can't seem to make a decision.

Fire-Ready-Aim
The manager that shoots first and asks questions later.

The Ready-Aim-Fire manager identifies the specific target he needs to hit (develops a strategy), prepares to hit that target by taking careful aim (plans and prepares), and fires with accuracy (implements).

This management style is much more effective, "breaks less glass", and invariably has a much more productive organization than other managers that don't take the time to plan or can't make a decision.

In a real "fire fight", you have to react quickly and without hesitation. However, preparing yourself for the "fire fight" by assessing your situation, identifying key issues, and developing a plan to address risks and opportunities can help you be a much more effective manager.

"War Story" Lessons
A "silver dollar's" worth

In a company reorganization many years ago, I was about to assume responsibility for a small IT organization and was concerned about how to get started "on the right foot" with my new staff.

You see, I was coming into a regional operations office from the "corporate office" in a time that being from corporate wasn't necessarily a good thing for those that worked in the "region".

I was introduced by our senior manager on a Monday and rather than spending time that day I called a meeting with just my new staff for the next morning. I wanted "private time" with them to begin our new manager/staff relationship as soon as possible.

That night, I kept thinking over and over about ways to "break the ice" and to start building the bond my team and I would need to succeed.

Finally, I had the answer.

I prepared the agenda for the meeting just as I had done many times before with other organizations. There was information about the company, our organization's mission and how it tied to the company's goals, client issues, and key points that I wanted the staff to hear.

But before I started, I had to "get their attention" !

When they all got seated into our classroom table setting, I walked down the line of tables and dropped a silver dollar in front of each employee. Silver dollars make a definite sound that gets your attention, and I could hear a few faint whispers in the background so I knew it was working.

The message
After dropping a silver dollar in front of all 23 staff members, I went to the front of the room and made my opening pitch:

"These are special dollars I just placed in front of you. You can use them for many things, , , determine who serves first or who tees off first, , , look at them as art, , , use them as a paperweight, , , or buy yourself a soda.

They are special because I won them during an IT seminar in Las Vegas a few months ago, , ,so they are "lucky dollars".

What they really represent is a gift from me to you as your new manager. If you ever need to speak with me about an important issue, drop this on my desk and we will make it happen immediately because the most important thing I can do as your manager is to support you in your efforts to help our company."

Some might say I bribed my new team. I would say that it got their attention and helped me "break the ice" so they could see very quickly that I was interested in their success and that our successes helped the company be successful. It cost me $23.00 and remains a positive topic of conversation among those that were part of that special organization.

The benefits far exceeded the cost.

This story had such impact that I repeat the story by handing out a silver dollar in every IT Manager Development Institute.

Letters from the Field
"What books do you recommend?"

When asked this question, I had to ponder a bit. The answer obviously depends upon the context of the question and in this case it has to do with books that provide sound management advice.

The list below includes a few publications, some that have been around quite a while. They are a diverse set of titles that I have found to be informative and helpful.

1. The Goal: A Process on Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu. M. Goldratt (discusses the importance of identifying and eliminating bottlenecks).
2. Executive Essentials by Mitchel Posner is a book that I have had for many years and still reference some of the material on occasion.
3. Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Philips
4. Two short books by John Maxwell:
      A. Teamwork Manes the Dream Work
      B. The Right to Lead
5. Tom Mochal, a widely published Senior Project Manager is about to release his first Project Management book this month. The title is, Project Management Essentials: 50 Lessons from a Project Management Coach. Look for it on his web site at www.tenstep.com . Tom takes a unique approach by discussing 50 issues Project Managers face in a story line and develops the thought processes and solutions to the issue with seemingly "real people".
6. Good to Great: Why some companies make the leap,,, and others don't by Jim Collins is a recent best seller and well worth reading.
7. One of my books is available in paperback and is also sold on Amazon.com. The title is IT Management-101: Fundamentals to Achieve More. I recommend this to IT Managers of any level. It's a quick read and includes discussion of eleven traits that I have seen that are key to being an effective IT Manager.
8. The First Book of Common Sense Management by Diane Tracy is a short read that has some very good points.
9. You Can't Lose if the Customer Wins by Ronald A. Nykiel (the title says it all).
10. Taking Charge by Byrd Baggett includes over 200 quick snippets of basic principles for effective leadership.

Product & Services Review
Bravenet

Interested in a site that has lots of interesting technical tools and web site ideas? Bravenet.com has plenty of webmaster tools that can spruce up your web site or provide your technical staff with some creative capabilities.

A few items you will find on their site include:
   hit counters
   online discussion forums
   guestbooks
   tons of clipart
   html tutorials
   , , , and many more items

Bravenet publishes a free monthly newsletter that always has a few neat tricks. I have found this site to be interesting, informative, and a good resource for web site development tools worth using.

Click on the banner above and you will see what I mean.

Until next time, I hope the little bit of information provided in this newsletter is helpful to you. Feel free to pass it along to other IT managers you know. Work hard and take time to smell the roses along the way.

                                            Mike Sisco