The 5 Most Dangerous IT Management trends in 2006 and What to Do About Them

IT managers that lose their jobs usually do so not because of skills which technical professionals deem so necessary, but because of management, leadership and strategy.  This is scary considering the recent trends this year and potentially in the future as well.

Let's take a look at each trend and discuss what to do about them and how to beef up your management, leadership and strategy to head them off at the pass.

Trend One: IT and IT Management Outsourcing
A growing trend is that of not only outsourcing IT tasks like backups, network monitoring, security and hosting, but also that of management.  There are IT manager hunters out there using stealth tactics to ride the trend right to your president, CFO and or CEO's office.  They are getting the upper level attention in the name of cost savings and are attacking ferociously to eliminate you.  What can be done about it?

1) Go with the flow and do what's best for the business. - You must always do what is best for the business.  In doing so, you will stand out as a strategic player and ultimately achieve what no outsourced vendor can accomplish.  Since you have to be providing value, doing what's best for the business will allow you to become a partner instead of a line item on the profit and loss sheet.

2) You have to get out of tactical mode and into strategic mode - Who will win, a fighter with great technique, or a fighter with great strategy?  The fighter with a great strategy will win every time.  You see, tactics are just tasks or a small part of a larger plan.  If you are doing tasks without the plan, you aren't really accomplishing anything.  A strategy on the other hand is doing the right things in order to accomplish an objective or goal.  Start doing right things right and you will remain valuable to your organization.

Trend Two: Company IT Audit
In the name of layoffs, cutting costs, aligning IT, mergers, etc, there are more and more IT audits taking place.  There is nothing wrong with this growing trend, but if you are not prepared for it, it can lead to your demise.

1) What to do: Facilitate this, don't fight it - The first thing to do if an audit is announced is to take ownership of the project.  Don't gripe and fight about it.  If you do, upper management will feel like you are just looking out for your best interest or that you are trying to hide something.  I have worked with IT managers who lost their jobs fighting an audit even thought I counseled them not to do so.  Go with the flow and influence the auditor by showing him or her that you are on board and ready to step up as a strategic player.

2) Do a preliminary audit first (share your findings - this will influence the audit) - Immediately when you learn of an audit, start your own right away.  As a matter of fact, you should be doing this as a SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) anyway so this never happens.  With a complete audit, you can just hand over your findings to the auditor so they can see what a great job you are doing and that you are on top of all the issues.  This has drastic effect when the auditor tells your boss how valuable you are to the business.

Trend Three: Company-wide Layoffs
Of all the companies I have worked with so far this year, each and every one has had some sort of layoffs.  This seems to be a growing trend.  The best way to deal with this is to start right away on the following tips.

1) Million Dollar secret right here - keep a diary of your wins - This one tip is worth your time and energy reading this entire article.  Each and every time you add value to the company, you should document it right away in this journal.  If you receive kudos from other managers or departments, you need to put it in this journal.  In the case of a layoff, you'll have this journal ready to show why laying you off would be a major mistake.  You see, it is not that you deserve to be laid off in the first place; it is that there is no documentation for the decision to be made otherwise.  As an extra bonus, in case you get laid off anyway, you'll have this journal to show to your new employer!

2) Become a strategic partner during the down times and assist management - If you hear of layoffs, and IT is usually the first to know about it, step up to the plate and become a partner and make recommendations.  Don't just sit quietly as a spy, become a partner.  Help management save money.  Be the first to let go a piece of your budget in order to assist the company as a whole.

3) Make yourself invaluable to the business - This goes without saying, but if you become a valuable asset to your organization, you'll not be in the layoff category.  By following each of these tips, you'll do just that.

4) There are actually tons and tons of more tips, but for the sake of brevity, I'll just list them here: get on the inside circle, turn your department into a profit center, help the company cut costs, and finally remember, it is not about you or your department, it is about the business. Don't take any of it personally!

Trend Four: Mergers and Acquisitions

1) Again, become a partner in the process - Like in the previous trends, you must act first.  Don't wait until it is too late.  Volunteer to help with the transition.  IT managers who get on the transition team usually find themselves in the new company reorganization.  It is about becoming a team player and facilitating the process.

2) Insist on an IT Due Diligence before the buy - If you are already partnered with the business and core member of the leadership team, it would be wise for you to recommend a Due Diligence in the realm of IT.  If not, this could come back to bite you.  Make sure the stake holders know what they are getting themselves into from an IT standpoint.  The more data you can provide, the smoother the transition.  Perception and expectations are key to maintaining a healthy respect from your organization.  Take strides to manage these well.

3) Get to know the new owners as soon as possible - The first thing I always recommend is to go meet the new owners.  Go play golf with them, build a relationship with them and share your insights on how the company can be built better than ever with the new merger or acquisition.  You'll want to do everything in your power to display your can-do winning attitude.  The first thing on the agenda is who to keep and who to trade.  By displaying your value and your attitude, you'll for sure end up on the "keep" list.

4) If you are the buying company, go visit the other company's employees - Keep in mind, if you are on the buying side, it is no guarantee you are on the keep list.  Take the initiative and go learn about the other company's culture, feelings and resources.  This will help when it comes time to get your advice about reorganization.

5) Facilitate, facilitate, facilitate! - Again, volunteer to help in any way you can.

Trend Five: Removing IT as a Strategic Role
More and more businesses are seeing IT as a necessary evil or commodity rather than a strategy.  Just a few years ago, not all business had extended IT capabilities, therefore mountains of cash was thrown at who could be first.  Business owners therefore saw IT as strategic in order to give their businesses first mover advantage.  Now that everyone has IT, businesses no longer see IT as a differentiator.  While it may be true that most business have technology, IT as being just a pure commodity is far from reality.  So how can IT regain its once highly held strategic advantage?

1) Change the commodity mindset through cost-cutting and revenue generating solutions. - Remember as an IT manager, you are to be solution oriented.  So do what you do best and get to the whiteboard and ask "how can IT facilitate revenue to the company?"  For instance, how can IT facilitate the sales people to make twice as many phone calls? - hint:  predictive dialer, and on and on. Search for all of the low hanging fruit in your organization.  Be as exhaustive as possible.

2) Get out of tactical mode and into strategic mode - Stop fighting fires.  This is a symptom of being in a tactical versus strategic mode.  Put together a strategy and execute.  There are seven steps to a master strategy (not included in this article), so put them into practice to take your organization to the next level.

Remember, these trends are dangerous, but strategy, management and leadership will break them down and diffuse their strength.  Develop these three core strengths and you'll be on the upside of these trends for years to come.