01.26.10
If He Can’t Do It, Nobody Can
[Cartoon]
Remember those days at the pep rallies when the team members were introduced? When “Bob” was introduced, we would all cheer, “Bob, Bob, he’s our man. If he can’t do it nobody can”. Then the next player was introduced and we would give the same cheer only using their name. Did we expect that our man “Bob” was going to fail and the next guy would be our only hope until we introduced the next guy?
Somehow the landscape of IT management resembles this pep rally cheer. The new CIO comes in and there is great excitement. He or she will be the hero to lead the organization into the next new thing. The experience and the enthusiasm of the new CIO will turn things around and everyone in the business will get what they need and want.
Eventually, the great welcoming excitement becomes negative. Promises do not seem to have been met. The business management is disenchanted. Before long, the next new CIO is being introduced. Just like the pep rally cheer, the last CIO is quickly forgotten and all the attention goes to the new one.
Will business management ever learn? Information technology is everyone’s responsibility. Looking for a CIO hero that will read people’s minds and pull off miracles is an impossible challenge for any individual. Business management should not be in the stands cheering the IT team on the field. They should be on the field and playing in the game.
Of course, IT propagates the idea that they are the heroes that can deliver great solutions to business. Whether they have great success or fail, they always have great stories for the resumes. Business management just seems to keep on buying this line and keeps on looking for just the right heroes to solve their information problems.
What business management needs to recognize is that they run an enterprise. They need to understand that any enterprise needs to have an overall architecture that allows all of the parts to work together in a symphony of high performance delivering quality services and products to their customers. They need to understand that this architecture of the enterprise is their responsibility and it should not be pushed off on the Corporate IT department. They need to understand that they need individuals from the profession of Enterprise Architecture to help them craft the performance of their enterprise.
Next time you are in a meeting and the new CIO is being introduced, remember the pep rally cheer. Then think about how silly and irresponsible this whole idea of heroes is for the business. Then take action and hire or retain Enterprise Architecture counsel.
Closing the Business / IT gap
