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If there's one thread that runs through nearly every discussion in the NTEN community, it's something like:
"How do I convince folks higher up the ladder that this is worth pursuing?"
We hear a lot of answers, answers that involve ROI, patience, and the like. I've dished out plenty of platitudes myself. I'm still waiting to hear an answer that wows me.
That's why I read almost everything that comes across my desk on the topic. Last week, I got a tidbit from a TechRepublic blog post. I love TechRepublic, but I had to cringe when the post suggested:
"...that IT leaders demonstrate (with the support of the research study) how adopting a particular approach to fashionable IT can result in:
- Improved company reputation
- Improved bottom-line performance
- Increased CEO compensation"
Increased CEO compensation? Really? I know there are people motivated by the money, but this is a pretty big assumption to make about the person you're trying to convince -- and it sums up nicely why no platitude is ever going to solve the buy-in problem.
I've come to think that building buy-in has little to do with the merits of the technology, its cost, or its benefits. Buy-in is built between people: you and the person you need to convince.
In my estimation, the best thing you can do to get buy-in from the people above is to get political.
Politics and IT don't seem like a natural fit at first. IT is supposed to deliver the best solutions, based on research and logic. Other people should see that logic and go with it, right? But anyone who's spent more than a month inside an IT department knows that logic has very little to do with the process. Projects are chosen or shelved based on all kinds of irrational reasons -- fear, jealousy, even petty rivalries.
How many times have you been called into a meeting by one department, only to find out they're hoping to pit your opinion against another department's wishes?
Getting more political to help make your case makes sense. There's a chapter on sharpening your political savvy in my latest read, "Leading IT Transformation: The Roadmap for Success." If we're going to succeed with our agendas -- and every IT department should have an agenda -- we have to play the game, too. We have to know what's motivating people, where the power bases are, who's with us, and who's not.
Is it comfortable? No. Is it necessary? I think so. What do you think?