Lean Out Over the Tips: Infiltrating Your Enterprise with Proactive Interaction
The path to strategic partnership involves trust, but what if it involves something else, too?
Most BRMs are aware that IT’s path to a strong, strategic relationship with business partners starts on a much smaller scale, built on a foundation of trust that’s earned over time by illustrating competency, engagement, desire, and an approach that’s anything but self-serving. However, what you also need to move beyond the realm of IT order-taker—after deciding that you do want something different, of course—is to introduce proactivity into your service model.
Now, I fear that when IT professionals hear the word “proactive” they immediately start thinking about event management and imminent hardware failure alerts—which are important, but are also not terribly personal, strategic, or for that matter, innovative and valuable by themselves. No, I’m talking about something bigger than event management can ever provide solo.
This bigger mindset fits into a surge that’s brewing in the enterprise space not only around the importance of partnerships between multiple enterprise stakeholders, but the more formal topic of Business Relationship Management as well–where, at full maturity, IT operates as a strategic partner. What I’m suggesting requires aggressive engagement.
“You have to lean out in order to have the most control, to make the most progress, and to elevate your game.”
I happen to be a rabid skier. Even if you’ve never skied a day in your life, you’ve probably heard or even used the expression, “Lean out over the tips,” which means that you can’t wait for things to happen. You have to lean out in order to have the most control, to make the most progress, and to elevate your game. When you lean back on the skis, not only do you lose control, you end up just waiting for the mountain to come to you, instead of giving it all you have.
Here’s how to “lean out” in the enterprise space:
First, volunteer to help. Proactivity means infiltrating your user’s space. Make yourself a visible and invaluable resource—so much so that no one would ever think to say, “Let’s go get a third-party to do this!”
When you offer to help someone, you immediately gain some credibility, because you’re not just thinking about yourself. Build on this credibility by asking questions and helping with technical tasks that might otherwise get overlooked–before they turn into issues.
Second, bring a proposal to the table. Your proposal doesn’t have to be so formal that it takes more time to decipher how you can help than actually doing so, but you do have to have a plan that shows how you’ve thought this out and where it could go, especially if you want to actively participate in more sophisticated business-led conversations down the road. Ask your business partner for feedback and input—they’ll love you for it.
Third, listen and learn. Yes, many an organization is looking to make money, but more often than not there’s something more philosophical under the hood, like serving others. Even if you think you already know, learn what objectives and outcomes the business has set out to achieve, and start figuring out how to tie IT activities to business needs. By being proactive, you’ll be helping them serve others!
Fourth, continuously improve. Integrate what you’re learning into your long-term plan and in your immediate activity, and begin to recognize the impact IT has— both good and bad— on business needs. Practically speaking, from a service management perspective, think of this as getting in that nagging little space between the use of duct tape, baling wire, and incident and problem management. Regardless of whether you had a formal one or not, your service strategy always has room for improved and more in-depth service capabilities. All part of increasing IT’s value proposition!
I know what you’re thinking: isn’t this going to cost more? The answer is yes, it very well may, but look at this way: what’s a better use of expense and labor— getting on the service wagon and actually engaging with business partners, or waiting around for something to happen?
Finite resource supply calls for adjustments to how that supply is used. By becoming proactive, you strengthen your tactical capabilities, enabling IT to eventually help shape service demand, build business strategy, and converge priorities.
“By becoming proactive, you strengthen your tactical capabilities, enabling IT to eventually help shape service demand, build business strategy, and converge priorities.”
Plus, how often do people actually refuse an opportunity to be helped?
Jonathan Berdyck is a Consultant with Excalibur Data Systems. Jonathan has spent the past 20 years serving business partners via technical and management roles, primarily in IT infrastructure operations, services and support, ghostwriting, and IT Service Management for large healthcare enterprises. New to formal Business Relationship Management (BRM) but no stranger to more informal BRM practices, he holds fast to the mantra that, “IT does not exist for its own good,” and encourages others— especially in technology— to see their organizational role as something bigger than just “keeping the lights on.”
Jonathan holds a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University.