This is the third post in the recent series on Business-IT Alignment where the issue is examined from both sides of the coin so to speak. The objective is to demonstrate that Business-IT Alignment is possible if there is a level playing field where both Business and IT are accountable for their action, not just one (IT) performing for the other (Business) to judge. This post will show how the CIO can use a simple approach to keep tab of the progress of the Alignment effort. But before getting there, let’s review quickly the first 2 posts.
In Part 1, entitled “What Business Would IT Align To?”, the readers were shown that “Business” is an elusive term, used by different groups in different contexts and possibly for different agendas. Rarely that Business is meant the overarching entity which encompasses an organization, its people, products, processes, facilities, customer base, etc. In practice, Business sometimes means the executives or heads of business units who deal with IT on a variety of subjects, ranging from specific initiatives to ongoing support operations. In other times, Business also means the more abstract notions of Culture, Strategy, or Money. To say IT should align to Business means that IT organization should spend wisely (no upgrades this year), that IT processes should be in sync with corporate culture, that IT plans should be supportive of corporate strategies, that IT leaders should be true partners with other corporate executives, that IT people should speak the same language as other business functions … a tall order for any human being or group. A misstep happens, Bang … IT is not aligned. Is it fair?
In Part 2, entitled “Which IT Needs Business Alignment”, it was further explained that IT is also evolving itself as a group, similar to the way that species evolve in a darwinian fashion. It means that there are parts of acknowledged and entrenched IT functions that are no longer valuable because they bring no significant perceived values, either because Business can get them elsewhere at competitive costs or because they are taken for granted similar to the air that we breathe. It also means that some parts of IT have managed to acquire new skills and capabilities that could serve Business well. By focusing the spotlight on the low-value areas and ignoring the potentially high-value contribution of others, Business (or whoever says to represent it – including the IT trade press) tends to look at IT in a partial and somewhat unfair way.
How do we redress the situation and view Business-IT Alignment in a more balanced way? How can we weight in the positive versus negative contributions of IT? Should we measure the Alignment over an extended time frame or take a snap shot at a certain time? This post will attempt to answer these questions.
Alignment is in the eyes of the beholders
Despite all the focus, trade press coverage and surveys about Business-IT Alignment, there is so far no evidence of scientific measurements of such alignment. Not even a semi-scientific one. This subject of Alignment is not unlike any other complex and abstract notions such as Success or Happiness. We will know Alignment when we meet one, but we cannot define it in terms that are unequivocal and measurable. For example: Does a successful implementation of a (fill-in-the-blank)-backed initiative counts as an instance of Alignment? How many such instances need to happen during a year to gain the accolade of “truly aligned” IT? Three? Ten? It’s all relative.
So the first step in making Alignment happen is to engage the Business side and jointly define the Terms of Alignment. Since there are multiple representatives of Business, the CIO needs to seek all of them out, not just the obvious or visible ones. Find the opportunity to engage them and start the dialogue. Ask your business partners what do they feel about the business of IT Alignment. You need to show the Business side that you are serious about getting aligned. You need to overcome the fear of confirmation (Fred, you’re damn right. Where was IT when I need them last month?) or the risk of denial (What alignment? Sorry Fred, I have nothing to discuss and no time for philosophizing now!) That’s would be a big first step.
But what can you do next?
Alignment in Action
Here are a few pointers that you may consider, going forward:
1. No Dashboard - By all means, have all kinds of appropriate dashboards ready: the CEO Dashboard, the CIO Dashboard, the Enterprise Dashboard …, but please, NO Alignment Dashboard. Alignment is NOT a Performance. You just cannot effectively measure Alignment as you do with Quality, Productivity, Resource Utilization, etc. Attempting to build a formal one opens the door for critique on dashboard in general, and by extension, all the other legitimate ones. It doesn’t mean that you, as the CIO, cannot have one (or many). Just make it (them) informal, a one-to-one covenant with each representative of the business side (e.g. one with the CEO, one with the CFO, one with each Division Head, so on and so forth).
2. The “WOW” factor - Many years ago, I put up outside of my office a “WOW” board. On it, I had my people posting all kinds of thing, from ISO-9001 Certificate to News Release about the latest Win. The only condition for posting was that the piece must elicit a “Wow” by others. Any piece which received a “So What?” reaction was unceremoniously removed. It was a very competitive, dog-eats-dog type of action by groups vying for a piece of estate on that board. One funny thing happened after a while: all self-served pieces disappeared, to be replaced by Thank You notes from satisfied clients, cover pages of awarded contracts signed by both Sales and IT teams, … Well, you get the idea. IT people, at least those who worked for me in the past, are proud of their work but they are even prouder if that work is recognized, either explicitly by a Thank You note or implicitly by sharing the spotlight with another team. Find your “WOW” examples. Carefully select those that scream Alignment. Make they hugely visible.
3. Make Alignment your Guiding Principle - Or at least consider it your Critical Success Factor (CSF). Find the way to weave Alignment into your IT shop. Sprinkle your talks, your plans, your reports, your blogs and tweets (if you are the social media-savvy type) with Alignment terminology. Meeting of the mind. Have all ducks in a row. Stay in sync. March in lockstep. Sooner rather than later, you will see your staff picking them up (provided that what you say is authentic) in their behavior, then their partners on the business side, then … the IT press, I hope.
One last thing. Business keeps changing. So does IT. In order to stay aligned, you need to adapt and adjust constantly, from both sides. The glorious outcomes recorded last month or last week are now things of the past. Are you still aligned today? This is the only thing that counts.
alignment, business, CIO, IT, leadership
