BRMConnect Charlotte: A Bird’s Eye View
I recently had the honor and privilege of hosting the annual BRMConnect
conference in Charlotte. Going into the conference, I have to admit that I was not only excited, but a little nervous to take the reins from Vaughan Merlyn, last year’s event host—I knew I had big shoes to fill.
I have such admiration for all of the amazing work the BRM co-founders, team members, committee members, and volunteers put into making the now three-year old Institute the success it is. Although my involvement began two years ago—just a year or so after the Institute was born—my passion and commitment to the BRM role in business has never been stronger, especially after this year’s conference. It left me feeling even more passionate about helping to make BRMs successful around the globe.
Now, it has been a little more than a week since the last keynote address. Attendees came from far and wide to attend, and as the host, I had a unique perspective on conference preparation and planning. I thoroughly enjoyed delivering the opening keynote address on Tuesday night, as I tried to set the stage for the many informative sessions in the days to come. Throughout the conference, I also heard every keynote speech and session, was there for every moment of each day, learned more than I could have ever imagined, and met so many amazing and talented people.
In an effort to keep the conference energy and passion alive, I am sharing my top ten lessons from the conference. I hope these help stoke the BRM fires of your mind!
Top Ten Takeaways + Two More
- Commit to your craft – The week started with BRM training sessions, which began the Saturday before the conference. Our first session was a breakfast kick-off where these early birds discussed the two-fold importance of getting BRM-certified—not only does it show everyone that you take your craft seriously, but when companies support training, it shows that they are also committed to your professional development. This “double commitment” reinforces the importance of the program by putting real skin in the game.
- Practice, practice, practice! – We also discussed the importance of practicing your craft. By using the analogy of professional athletes who practice every day to be the best they can be, we should commit ourselves to practicing our craft similarly to athletes, as a way to purposely improve and sharpen our skills.
- BRMs are value seekers – There was one message that I heard consistently from almost all speakers—BRMs must focus on the critical importance of finding value in their companies. Successful BRMs are not only charged with understanding company strategy and knowing customer pain points, they also seek solutions that reduce pain points and move the needle on strategy.
- BRMs are value finders – Once someone said that BRMs are value seekers, a couple of well-meaning smarty-pants people in the room said that BRMs are actually value finders, not value seekers. A fine distinction perhaps, but in my opinion, being a value finder is the outcome we are all looking for in the end. I included this in the top ten because it makes you stop and think about the value we bring to our companies—it may be a question of “the chicken vs. the egg,” but delivering business value is such an important aspect of what we as BRMs will be measured on each day.
- When in trouble, ask questions – It can be frustrating to get stuck solving a business challenge, making it tempting to take over the conversation and prescribe solutions. However, a better approach is to ask questions of your business peers. When you engage in this way, they often reveal hidden problems that they may not have articulated clearly beforehand. When you can’t describe a problem, it means that you don’t fully understand it, and a vibrant Q and A session can unlock the truth.
- BRM inside – Like “Intel Inside,” business people from all areas can benefit from thinking like BRMs. The ability to solve business problems with sharply-focused business technology solutions is a critical thinking skill in today’s hyper-competitive, customer-driven marketplace. The more people with this bilingual talent—the ability to know the languages of business and technology—the more they will help their companies compete and win the battle for customers.
- Don’t collude with dysfunction – I have Vaughan Merlyn to thank for these words of wisdom. It can be tempting to play politics and drive a BMW (bitch, moan, and whine) when problems surface, especially when there are strong personalities involved. Instead, it is much more effective and powerful to directly engage individuals with problems in a positive, honest, and constructive way. Said more crisply, be sure to stop judging and start helping. That is the path real leaders take.
- Words matter – We heard from almost all speakers that our words really do matter. In my Breaking Bad Habits keynote segment, I spoke about the biggest language offenders. We need to converge versus align, refer to business units by name and refrain from calling them “customers,” and realize that BRMs and IT are a legitimate business unit. In short, we all need to commit to stop using language that puts BRMs and teams routinely outside of “the business.”
- Value = results – This is a simple concept, but an easy one to forget. There is no other value inside companies aside from business value, and the BRM’s primary goal every day should be to deliver real value to stakeholders and customers. By doing so, BRMs can most effectively ensure that their teams are working on the most impactful project and initiatives—the ones that add real business value.
- BRM community – It was powerful and inspiring to be in a room with 150+ like-minded individuals. There is real power in this community. Through the willingness of attendees to be so open with sharing ideas and helping to solve problems, we learned that our challenges are not unique, and that many companies around the globe are searching for the same BRM-like values and skills to help companies succeed and keep careers growing. The power of the BRM community is very much alive and well.
- Be active in the community – When you give back, you open so many doors for yourself and others. Teaching and sharing with others creates a learning opportunity for everyone involved, and there may be no better way than to do so actively and regularly. Being active in the community is a gift that BRMs earn and deliver when they share their ideas and learnings.
- Be part of something big – Every day during and after the conference, I got the feeling that something big is happening. The BRM movement is alive and well, and there are so many of us within the movement on a global scale. Not only is it fun and rewarding to be at the beginning of such an amazing experience, it serves as a reminder to seize the moment.
Conclusion
BRMConnect 2016 was a huge success! I met many wonderful people from around the country and the globe, and these conference lessons are still fresh in my mind. Be sure to list your own top ten take-aways and consider sharing them, since I would love to hear them. Keep the energy going and be sure to engage with your peers from around the globe by sharing your ideas, challenges, and lessons, and help accelerate BRM successes wherever possible. See you next year, or maybe even at one of the three other conferences around the globe! Until next time…
Joe Topinka is a recognized, game-changing career CIO, published author and executive coach. His IT Business Partner Program™ drives exponential business results consistently across industries by bridging the chasm between business stakeholders and IT organizations. He is the founder of CIO Mentor, LLC and a board member of the Business Relationship Management Institute (BRM Institute). Joe is a two time CIO of the Year award winner in both Minneapolis and Charlotte. His most recent adventure, CxO Global 100, is an invitation only, peer-to-peer global network of like-minded business technology experts.