Protect your IT strategy from executive attack
Today I want to share with you Brian G.’s story. He is the CIO of a mid-size financial services company with an IT budget of about $30 million.
Brian and his team were keen to deliver a top-notch IT strategy to support their company’s rapid growth. They did months of research; analyzed their industry, their customers and created a world-class vision. Then they interviewed their business community and consulted with a series of experts. In the end, they created a brilliant, focused and cost justified strategy.
Brian then scheduled a presentation of his brilliant strategy to the executive management team with the expectation of a standing ovation. When he was done with the presentation, instead of applause they started questioning him.
At first he was happy to field their questions; many of which he asked himself earlier in the process. But after a while it became exhausting. He started to wonder, “why don’t they trust me?” “Why don’t they respect my vision and wisdom?” Brian described it to me like this: “I felt like my strategy was under attack. I couldn’t believe it. How did this happen? I know I can get through this and win them over eventually but it wasn’t suppose to go down like this at all.”
Sound familiar? It should. Because it is a pretty common problem.
The reason for Brian’s problem, and the way he could have avoided it in the first place, was to use the famous ad agency “trick.” (It’s not really a trick but it’s often called that anyway.)
When ad agencies are hired to come up with a slogan they spend lots of time figuring out just the right slogan. But when they are done, they know they have to sell it to the client. Experience has shown that if you only give the client one slogan, they tend to reject it, find fault with it or worse, start making their own suggestions.
So what the agency does once they have a great slogan is they come up with one or two really bad slogans. Then, when the client comes in for the meeting, they present all three options. The client is then told that they have developed three slogans and they need the client’s “help” to figure out which one is best. Naturally, the client gets all excited to dig in and get creative. And sure enough, with the client’s help, the right slogan is chosen.
It’s pretty much the same thing with IT strategy, although perhaps not quite so cynical. If you want to avoid an executive attack on your IT strategy, in place of presenting a strategy, present instead a set of strategic options. With a set of options to review, discuss and choose between, your executive will feel:
- They are a partner in the IT strategy formulation and choice
- That you value their opinion and input
- That you have considered a wide range of possibilities and done a thorough job
It’s tough work to come up with a good IT strategy. It can be even harder to get it accepted by your key stakeholders. By presenting a set of strategic options, you position your strategy for the best possible reception.
By the way … In chapter 9 of my new book The 11 Secrets of Highly Influential IT Leaders, I explain exactly how the most influential IT leaders use the strategy development process to earn themselves a seat at the table. Check it out here. You won’t be disappointed.
