It's been a very challenging year for everyone and indeed, this has been the case for
first responders. Somewhere a couple of rungs further down the ladder, most
organizations owe plenty of thanks to CIOs, IT leaders, and especially the
IT service desk. It's one compliance requirement to have business continuity
plans, but an exponential challenge to quickly enable global organizations
to stay safe and work remotely.
Over the years, I've made several posts advising CIOs and IT leaders on how
to use the summer months. In 2013, I shared my
CIO advice for taking summer vacations and suggested burying the email, learning something new, and building
memories. In 2017, I shared
five things CIO should do over the summer, including unplugging, having fun with the team, and scheduling fall
events. Sadly, these suggestions are hard to do this summer. In 2018, I
added five things digital transformation leaders should do over the summer, including road tripping to visit customers, bringing treats to difficult
meetings, and getting hands-on with customer data.
I confess that it's a bit more challenging writing this 2020 version. We
can't easily travel for a holiday. It's ill-advised to bring teams together
to brainstorm or barbecue. And yet, we should cave to our human instincts
and use the summer months to relax a bit, reflect, and rejuvenate.
So here's my answer on how CIO, IT leaders, and really everyone in IT should
consider doing during the summer COVID months.
1. Find ways to express thanks and gratitude - Everyone has gone
through personal hells the last several months, some more than others, and
impacting others more than some. It's hard to know through Zoom calls how
everyone is holding up, but it's fair to say that a good number of people in
IT stepped up to ensure their colleagues were working productively and
business operations continue. Even if you've already thanked your team,
colleagues, and boss during this challenging period, it only helps repeat
the message. We don't know when we'll need everyone to step up again.
2. Reconnect with executives - This recommendation is for CIOs and IT
leaders. We all know that success during difficult times is a lot easier
when we have supportive colleagues who have our backs. It may have been
difficult keeping open communications during March, April, and May when
everyone was facing remote working challenges, so now, while things are a
little slower, it may be the best time to reconnect. Find out the new
opportunities and challenges, and get ahead of rethinking
an offensive and defensive strategy
to these volatile times.
3. Learn more about low-code platforms - Readers of my
book, blog,
vlog,
newsletter, and
twitter feed already know that I am
a strong proponent of
adopting low-code platforms
to support rapid development and
remote collaboration. Before COVID, I'd estimate that about a third of CIOs were low-code
enthusiasts, another third were highly skeptical, and another third really
hadn't invested sufficient time to have an informed opinion. All that's
changed now, and I hear more CIOs recognize that they need low-code
platforms to rapidly develop applications to address risks and chase
opportunities. If you are the one third that hasn't researched or prototyped
with a low-code platform, you are behind the curve and should consider
making this a priority.
4. Roll up the sleeves and learn a data visualization platform - Ok,
so you have Tableau or Power BI in your organization and have a
growing citizen data science program. Maybe you
established basic self-service BI governance
and ideally started a
proactive data governance program. But can you build a dashboard yourself? Be honest! If you can't,
reconnect with your hands-on self and learn a bit about the self-service BI
platform you are promoting.
5. Brainstorm resiliency with your team - I'm hoping your teams have come up for air even though many IT leaders now have new
work to do to support a hybrid remote and in-office workforce. Sadly, I don'
think any of us believe that we're near the end of the health and safety
risks confronting employees and organizations. So what to do next? It's time
to review feedback from ITSM tools, speak with employees on their needs, and
brainstorm what's needed to improve resiliency. Hopefully, everyone will be better prepared
for what comes next.
Stay healthy and safe. Get outdoors. Take a walk and take it easy. Enjoy
your summer.
It's important to reconsider the way we communicate. I think that what you're saying is really right in this period of the end of global sedation,(I am talking about France here)including within companies.
ReplyDeleteThank you
Mario