02.25.10
How’s the Kool-Aid?
[Cartoon]
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of hearing a presentation from John Vautier of Vautier Communications. Basically, he is a personal trainer for those that need help with their public speaking. He has helped many individuals, from politicians to corporate leaders to learn how to get their message across.
Having been a member of Toastmasters, I learned the basics of public speaking. John’s professional insight was fully in line with what I had learned. I was impressed by the techniques he described. He even shared some documents with us that summarized the techniques.
During his presentation, he pointed out that giving a presentation is more about the communication than about what is actually being communicated. In other words, it is more about how the message is delivered than it is about the substance of the message.
The more I thought about this, the more it gave me pause. For years, I have seen executives in Information Technology give great presentations that had very little substance. Some I have seen were so technically wrong I was surprised that so many believed what was being said. I thought about the story of drinking the Kool-Aid.
I began to wonder if well-spoken IT managers have created the business / IT gap. Have they eloquently presented to senior management just what they wanted to hear? Is that why CIOs find themselves in trouble? Is it that they sound good, but some just don’t deliver on their promises?
For years, the academians have been trying to move the IT industry towards well-defined engineering principles. This has resulted in major advances that have provided methods to analyze, design, construct, and test as part of the production of quality hardware and software components. These improvements would not have taken place if substance in communications was not given high value.
Visualizing Information Technology so that senior managers can better understand what appears to be so complex is the primary responsibility of an Enterprise Architect. This visualization is primarily substance. So, following the recommendations from John, how can this visualization best be communicated?
First and foremost, an Enterprise Architect must have good communications skills. If these skills are lacking, they need to join Toastmasters or attend one of John’s classes. This is vital. Then, they need to take full advantage of 2D and 3D graphics in their presentation. They need to always remember that they are there for the listeners to gain value, not to spread Kool-Aid.
[Please comment and share your experience.]
Closing the Business / IT gap
