INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR BUSINESSMAN

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If you're not a computer expert, but a businessman, maybe you felt like an illiterate at some moment, hearing many jargons, acronyms and titles used in computing. Well, it should not happen in this way.

I'll try to share with you what I have been learning in more than 25 years working as an specialist in the Information Technology (IT), because it is time for you know how to choose and discuss IT solutions for your business, rather than delegate by omission, or stay 100% depending on ​​IT people. An IT decision can boost or destroy your company. 

Even being an IT specialist, my knowledge, experience and interests include business, engineerings, administration, entrepreneurship, quality assurance, best practices, operations and processes. Although I had began early with the electronics, computer science, and math, I never limited myself to these knowledges, always looking for practical applications of these sciences in the companies I've been working, as: electrical engineering, construction, financial, industrial, car rentals, IT and software. 

I've learned with clients and leadership of teams, how important is to emphasize on the IT applications, rather than treat it as a core activity, making the complexities of IT imperceptible to customers.

Currently, I feel comfortable and prepared to discuss any matter of the business environment, whether in the strategic or operational level, be about the administrative, financial, Human Resource (HR), accounting, costing, production, logistics, fleet, CRM, TQC, etc. Also, the interest in people, their cultures and contexts, makes customers more engaged and interested in contributing and working together, making it easier to eliminate their problems, find solutions and/or make improvements.

As in the fashion industry, there is the "fashion technology", which are not always what's the best in IT, but will make many professionals go in their search and advocacy. They will try to deploy these technologies in your company, because those will keep them updated to the labor market. Therefore, entrepreneurs, directors and managers should be alert to this. So what do about it? 

Being the IT so strategic to your business, such as Marketing, HR, Logistics, Financial, Costing, Production, Manufacturing, etc., then you should devote all attention to the IT as you do for the others. Remember that an IT decision can leverage or destroy your company. 

Here are some tips:

1. Require simplicity, eliminating the use of jargons, acronyms and/or titles specific of the IT area, substituting them by synonyms or analogies of common sense, or normally used in your industry.
2. Develop your knowledge in the IT, as you have done for other strategic areas. There are good magazines that can help you with this.
3. Prioritize the requirements of your business, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Return On Investment (ROI), instead of the characteristics of IT solutions, avoiding decisions based on technological requirements.
4. Consider the measurable benefits, including TCO and ROI, quality, productivity, and impacts on customer satisfaction.
5. Avoid reinventing the wheel, try to benchmark and adopt best international practices, therefore it will cost cheaper and will yield better results.
6. Focus on core business of your company, then consider outsourcing of what are common sense, or another company can do better for you.

No resources in Information Technology is so complex that it can not be explained simply and practice using the language of your business.

THE IMPORTANCE OF STANDARDIZATION

In consulting to various clients I've been watching some shortcomings, which are not related to software or hardware, but the lack of and standardization: Processes, Service Instructions, and Trainings.

The consequences of this are usually the loss of efficiency, higher operating costs, and the difficulty in developing a corporate image more homogeneous, which could be observed by their customers as a factor that differentiates the company from their competitors.

I do not want to lecture here on how to define and document a Process, Service Instruction, or Training, but to draw attention to the importance of each one, because there are rules and procedures detailing them, as are the Quality Assurance principles, outlined by the ISO 9000 family of standards (which the ISO 10000 series is an integral part) emphasize the importance of managing human resources and the need for adequate training, so look carefully at the ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 10015, to name some of them.

It is recommended that all people of all levels of the organization are trained to meet the organization's commitment to provide products according to the quality required by a changing market, where requirements and customer expectations are increasing continuously. However it will be effective only if your company already has their Processes, Service Instructions, and Trainings, standardized, documented and easily accessible to everyone. This, therefore, will be the beginning of a process of continuous improvement towards Total Quality, exceeding expectations of your customers.

VISION STATEMENT

In the previous article about Leadership, was mentioned that a Leader must have a Vision, which must be shared with the team. In this article let's talk about the Vision Statement, which will help you apply in your organisation, in case you don't have one yet.

Where your organisation is headed? The answer for this question will be the Vision Statement, however let's talk how to define it.

What are the characteristics of a Vision Statement?

1.  Future casting
• Using a gerund verb to define your future casting.
2. Clear and Visible
• Metaphoric speaking, if you can actually see yourself in top of that mountain, your team will see either.
3. Audacious
• Thinks big, being audacious, thinking in what you want to accomplish for your organisation.
4. Descriptive
• Use a single sentence, which is the vision description.
5. Time bound of 5 years (3 up to 10 also works, however I recommend 5 years)

Looking at a diagram representing where your organisation is right now, point 'A', and where you wanna be in 5 years, point 'B'. If you think on how you're going to get there in point 'B' and the gap in between 'A' and 'B', then it drives you to the Mission statement, which answer "why your organisation exist"; but 'B' is your Vision statement, "where your organisation is headed".Why it is important? Will be a big problem if your Vision is out of the context of your Mission.

The purpose of the vision statement is to inspire, energize, motivate, and stimulate your creativity, not to serve as a measuring stick for success; that is the job of your objectives and goals, so following the rules, let's create Vision Statement for a car rental company, named "Super Rental":

1. Future casting
• We will be creating loyalty customers.
2. Clear and Visible
• We serve customers anywhere and quickly.
3. Audacious
• Our clients consider us the best company to rent, and our employees the best company to work.
4. Descriptive
• Be the most innovative car rental company in the world, delivering safe vehicles anywhere and quickly, for customer enjoyment, rewarding their loyalty, as well as the employees' accomplishments.
5. Time bound of 5 years
• 2011: In 5 years be the most innovative car rental company in the world, delivering safe vehicles anywhere and quickly for customer enjoyment, rewarding their loyalty, as well as the employees' accomplishments.

So, the Vision Statement for Super Rental company will be:

Vision

"2011: In 5 years be the most innovative car rental company in the world, delivering safe vehicles anywhere and quickly for customer enjoyment, rewarding their loyalty as well as the employees' accomplishments".

LEADERSHIP

Leadership must be shared because it is impossible for the leader to take care of everything and everyone, so he needs to delegate, allowing his followers to analyze the details, make choices, take decisions and actions.

As customer contact is essential to the business of a company, which will determine whether the customer will purchase and will become a loyal customer, the leader in his side, who is often away from these direct contacts, must be a server and coach of his followers, for they be able to perform this role very well. So, yes, this attitude will inspire and share the leadership with their followers.

Also, the leader must be visible and have ethical attitudes, as a leader does what he says, becoming an example to be followed, and this visibility is expected, and without this there will be no leadership.

Another important factor is to share a clear vision to reach the target with his followers, once is easier to achieve what we can see or predict. So, remain focused on his vision, correct the direction, think broadly and openly, overcome obstacles, lead and motivate, coaching periodically his followers are some of the leader's roles.

You have heard that no one leads a group of people to remain in place, unchallenged, unmotivated? Leadership involves a sense of change, where all are engaged to perform, for the action that leads to the realization of this change: a greater market share, consolidation of market leadership, a change in corporate structure, etc. 

Here six rules to help you improve your leadership:

• LEADER is the bearer of legitimate authority, the one in whom followers acknowledge their claim to be heard, respected and followed.
• LEAD is to connect your employees to your business.
• LEAD is getting and keeping employees who work and act like owners.
• LEADERSHIP is the art of getting desired results, agreed and expected by employees engaged.
• LEADERSHIP is the art of making others feel like doing something you are convinced that should be done.
• LEADERSHIP is the art of mobilizing others to struggle for shared aspirations.

"The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers. Some people are thinkers. Other prophets. The two roles are very important and necessary. But without followers, there can be no leaders" (Peter Drucker)

Also, know how to avoid common mistakes of a leader is crucial:

• Inability to interpersonal relationships
• A leader is primarily a manager of people, before being a manager of processes and operations. A leader who does not listen to his followers, does not communicate and think he is never wrong, certainly affect his relationship with his team, superiors and peers, also missing the opportunity to learn and innovate. So a leader with these characteristics will have difficulties in building a high performance team.
• Not open to new ideas, or different ones
• A big mistake is when a leader does not accept the ideas of others, since the idea does not belong to him. This suggests there is uncertainty, because the leader does not know everything.
• Not focused on results, nor take reponsibility
• The leader who is not focused on accomplishments will remain in a danger position, because it will reflect negatively on the goals, and worse, if the leader does not assume responsibilities that are inherent to his activity, the chaos is installed.
• Failure to take the initiative
• If the leader does not take any initiative, then someone will take it. In an increasingly competitive world, an initiative was not taken in time, will mean loss of market share to competitors.
• Inability to practice self-development and learning from their mistakes
• A leader who can not learn from their mistakes, will also have difficulties in having a high performance team as the team is a "mirror" of the leader, offering resistance to change and improvement.

So do not let your company go without a leadership, drive it as recommended in this article, working with your team, getting better results going forward.

Books recommendations:

Strategic Planning For Success: Aligning People, Performance, and Payoffs

Leadership: Theory and Practice

The People CMM: A Framework for Human Capital Management (2nd Edition)