Which of These Common Q4 Problems Are Challenging YOU?
A couple weeks ago we asked our newsletter subscribers:
What’s the biggest Q4 challenge YOU are currently facing?
We received lots of responses from all across the globe, thanks! After reading through them all, we selected a few of the ones that touched on the most common, pressing problems you’re all dealing with right now!
Q: “I’m in the middle of planning for 2015. I’ve got hundreds of ideas, how do I decide which ones are most important?”
A: Ask yourself: “What’s right for the business?”
Look at the business’ strategy, and look at IT’s strategy. Then, evaluate each of your decisions against how it contributes to these strategies. Will the idea change the way you do business? Offer a cost efficiency? Ensure you comply to new regulations?
We developed a tool called the Business Criticality Index to help IT and their business stakeholders map project ideas against strategy. Check it out here.
Q: “I went to my stakeholders and got all of their ideas for 2015… and they gave me too many! How do I get my them to narrow down to the few ideas I think are really worth doing?”
A: From the start, be very clear what your budget, time and staff limitations are. You can’t do everything, and your stakeholders need to know this with concrete data.
And remember— this isn’t about IT telling the business what can and can’t be done, it’s about sharing a conversation with your business stakeholders. You aren’t saying “No”, you are helping them decide which of their projects fits best within the Business Criticality Index.
Q: “I’m trying to manage a ton of emergency ‘last minute’ projects for 2014. How do I get it all done?”
A: A lot of IT pros run into this problem in Q4! Each of the business functions reach the end of the year and see they’ve got a little money left over in their budget. They have to spend this money by year’s end, so they go looking for good little one-offs to drain their extra cash. Invariably, they see IT and go “Ah! IT’s not doing anything. Here IT: here’s an emergency program I need done immediately. Make it happen!”
Sound familiar?
When this happens you’re put in a tough spot. You want to say “Yes” to everything and help everyone, but in reality you have to balance each of these requests against the rest of the projects still in your portfolio.
To add to the challenge— for the rest of the year you’re likely operating under-staffed. If you work in a Western nation then you’re staffing will be reduced 25%-30% for the rest of 2015 due to holidays and personal time taken off.
In short— carefully consider what you take on. Before you say “Yes,” ask your business stakeholder:
- “What is the realistic outcome of this project?”
- “What is the benefit of completing it?”
Then, give your business stakeholder a reality check.
Ask them: “You say this can be delivered in 30 days. Is that realistic, or will it actually take 90 days to deliver?”
Sometimes you will still have to deliver. Sometimes the money your stakeholder wants to empty from their budget just has to go back to the business. No matter the outcome, just don’t automatically say “Yes” every time a last minute 2014 project lands on your desk!
Q: “I’m struggling to get my stakeholders to agree on my 2015 priorities and to fund my big ideas for next year! Any advice?”
A: You can’t just do a project because it puts a sparkle in someone’s eye, so start by making sure your priorities and ideas:
- Align with business strategy.
- Provide tangible benefits.
- Are supported by data.
Assuming everything you bring to the table meets these requirements, the key to stakeholder signoff is simple… you gotta tell a good story— one that demonstrates your mastery over the financial side of the projects and systems you’re proposing.
Being able to talk about your projects in a purely financial sense will move you away from being seen as just “The IT Guy/Gal” and ensure your peers see you as one of them—a strong business executive. (Specifically: a strong business executive whom your stakeholders will feel comfortable putting in charge of all the big, expensive projects and systems sitting in front of them.)
We call this the Control Play, and we discuss it at length in our book The 11 Secrets of Highly Influential IT Leaders.
