About Eric Bloom

Executive Director IT Management and Leadership Institute

7 Ways to talk with business users

When my team and I talk with our business counterparts about our software development projects, they seem not to care.  How should I deal with this issue? As much as we love the technologies we use and how they work, most of our business users don’t.  Business users are, generally speaking, looking for solutions to their problems and not necessarily the behind-the-scenes technologies that make it work. That said, you will know you are talking too technically to your business users when: Their eyes glaze over and don’t seem to understand what you are talking about When they don’t ask you any follow-up questions regarding your articulately stated technical explanations When the users say “That sounds great, but what does this mean for me?” When the users just say “Great, thanks” with no added comment and then change the subject. Additional ways to know you’re talking too technically to your users is to: Watch the body language of the person you are talking to for visual cues that they are bored, uninterested, or totally lost Listen to their tone of voice to see if it sounds dismissive and they are trying to end the conversation The habit of speaking to business people too technically can be very career limiting.  From an IT management perspective, it’s great when the people in your group can communicate effectively with those outside of IT. Doing so, has the following benefits: Reducing the chance of miscommunications on an array of topics, including business requirements, resource planning, user [...]

By |2024-11-20T20:13:27+00:00November 20th, 2024|
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10 Questions that can help your IT department be more innovative

There has been a big push by our new CIO for our IT organization to be more innovative. What things can I do in my department to enhance our innovative culture? Innovation doesn’t always require the use of new leading technologies, such as AI. Within IT, innovation most often comes from innovative ideas on how to use technologies and equipment you already own. Below are 10 questions you can ask your staff, maybe one question per weekly staff meeting, that may help you drive innovation within your department: How are other industries using technologies that our company currently owns? What technologies are our competitors using that are giving them a competitive edge against our company? How can we combine two or more technologies our company owns in creative ways to solve business problems? What open-source software can be inexpensively integrated into our existing infrastructure in a secure way that helps IT or organizational productivity? If budget was not an issue, what could we do to enhance your technical environment? Then, how can we do it less expensively? Are there any technical or business processes that could be done more efficiently? If so, how? What technologies are we currently using that should be phased out to make budget dollars available for new innovative initiatives? What can we do to help foster an innovative company culture? Can it be started today? What measurements can we use to show the return on investment of our innovative ideas? If we knew we would not fail, what [...]

By |2024-11-05T15:22:07+00:00November 5th, 2024|
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6 ways to help influence your manager

My boss is a great person, but sometimes I can’t seem to get his attention and support for the things I think are most important for my department. Any suggestions on how influence my manager in this way? The first thing you must do to gain the support and ear of your manager is to be the best employee you can be. You must: Do quality work Embrace company values Meet your deadlines Play well in the organization’s political sandbox . . . and generally, be a true asset to your company With these things now in place you can influence your manager. That said, when reading these suggestions, note that you should choose your tactics wisely, based on your relationship with your manager, your department’s role within IT, and the culture of your organization in general. When you bring issues to your manager, also provide potential solutions and your suggested recommendation. With a well thought out recommendation in hand, you will very likely be able to correct the issue in the manner you wish. Try to view the world from your manager’s perspective. This will not only help you better understand your manager’s needs and wants, it will also help your professional growth should you wish, in time, to attain your manager’s position. Be transparent with your manager. Be equally willing to tell them about the good news as well as the bad news. This approach of sharing both good and bad news has many advantages including the following: It develops [...]

By |2024-10-22T14:27:38+00:00October 22nd, 2024|
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Overworked? Maximize your productivity by knowing your zone

Since my company’s layoff last year, my IT department has had more work than we can handle. We’re working really hard but can’t seem to keep up with it. Any thoughts on ways we can increase my productivity? Thanks for your question. My belief is that there are millions of other people asking the same question. I think the best way for me to answer you is to tell you what I do. I’m a big believer in working in your highest zone. Let me begin by explaining my concept of being in the zone. In the zone is being: Mentally clear on the task to be performed Highly focused on a specific task Physically able to perform the task Motivated to perform the task By Mentally Clear, I mean having an exact understanding of what you want to do. It could be something simple, like deleting spam email, or something intense, like designing the new structure for your company’s communication backbone. By, Highly Focused I mean single-mindedness, namely, being able to free yourself from mental distractions, such as thinking about other projects, all the emails you must answer, or a presentation you are making later in the day. By Physically Able, I mean that at this moment you are able to perform the task. For example, I know that if I’m very tired, I have great difficulty doing mentally challenging work like writing performance reviews, answering important emails in a concise manner, or making important technical or managerial decisions. By Motivated, [...]

By |2024-10-16T13:56:46+00:00October 16th, 2024|
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Change is a four-letter word: “Gold” and 6 great ways to get some

Wow, what an industry we’re in, technical mega-trend after mega-trend. There’s gold in them there trends for the techies that can identify a unique niche, application type or business need, or job opportunity. These industry-changing trends can be of great career and financial benefit to you, as an individual contributor, IT manager, or even as an IT senior executive. To take professional advantage of these trends, consider the following: Do your research and find job openings at companies that you think will grow dramatically because of current industry trends and changes. All ships rise in high tide. If you work for a growing company, chances are that you can grow with it; not to mention the potential value of stock options and stock purchase plans if available. If you are at a company you love, try to discover ways that your company can take advantage of new and evolving technologies. This has two advantages for you; first, it can help you become an internal company thought leader, second, using these technologies will enhance your professional marketability. If your company is moving toward new technologies, such as implementing AI, try to get involved. It can help establish your role as a participant in the company’s new technical direction. Also, if your company’s plan is to replace older technologies with newer ones, working on these newer technologies could save your job. If you are entrepreneurial by nature, your skill set is aligned with one of these new technologies, and your personal situation allows it, [...]

By |2024-09-25T19:27:31+00:00September 25th, 2024|
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Pro-Actively manage your career

People early in their career say “If I work hard, one day I’ll be a THIS.” THIS could be a CIO, Systems Architect, Senior Programmer, or any other professional goal you desire. Then, one day, years later, you look up from your day-to-day activities and realize one of the following . . . Wow, I am now a THIS and I love it! Wow, I am now a THIS and I hate it! I have tried my best to be a THIS and can’t quite get there, but I have done my best I’m not a THIS, and don’t think I’ll get there, because I didn’t really put together a plan to become one. If you are early in your professional career, one of the above four scenarios will most likely come true. If you are further along in your career, like me, one of these four scenarios may already be at play. If you fall into Category #1, you probably either planned well or were very lucky. If fact, maybe it was a little of both. Congratulations, you are in the minority and should be very proud of both your achievements and for creating a plan that helped you get there. If you fall into Category #2, congratulations are still in order. Well done. You have reached a goal in your working career that you fought hard and long to attain. You should appreciate your achievement. The trick for you now is to decide how you can use your past experiences [...]

By |2024-09-18T15:23:13+00:00September 18th, 2024|
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It’s ok to say “No”

I’m a software development manager who is continually being pushed by my business users to do more and do it faster, better, and cheaper. I can’t keep up with their demands and I think it’s putting my job in peril. Could I please have your advice on how to deal with this issue? This is a great question. My bet, is that because of the nature of IT’s role and the reduction of resources because of general economic conditions that this issue is on the minds of many IT professionals, tech leads, and managers around the country and around the world. I think this issue can be addressed in a number of ways, including the following: Provide transparency to your business users regarding what your group’s current projects and workload are Once transparency has been achieved, work with your users to prioritize your team’s work in a way that makes sense for both them and you Find creative ways to say “No” to your business users in a way that they understand and accept The remainder of this blog post will discuss this third point. Sometimes it’s not what you say; it’s how you say it. Learning to say “no” in an acceptable and positive way is one of these cases. Also, as an aside, learning to say “no” effectively is more than a tool for the workplace, it is also a life-skill that can potentially help you in all aspects of your life. This trick to say “no” effectively is to [...]

By |2024-09-10T16:01:40+00:00September 10th, 2024|
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Does working virtually make you invisible?

I work within a large IT organization and the people in my department have been given the opportunity to work from home. If I do, does it reduce my opportunities for promotion or increase my chances of getting laid off? In short, the answer to your question regarding the effect of working virtually on promotions and layoffs is that it depends on the following: Your company’s culture and norms regarding working virtually The percentage of people at your company that work remotely How visible you can be on a day-to-day basis to your boss and others How effectively you can perform your job remotely Now let’s discuss these items one at a time. Your company’s culture Companies, like people, have specific values, strengths, weaknesses, prejudices, and, dare I say, personalities. That said, consider the following questions when deciding if you want to work virtually: Is the company technically equipped with conference room speakers, remote computer access, and tools needed to facilitate efficient work from outside the office? Does your company conceptually support working virtually or does it simply tolerate it? Can you remotely participate in important department discussions? Is there an out-of-site-out-of-mind mentality for those working out of the office? Is your boss supportive of working virtually or begrudgingly providing the option because it’s company policy? Are virtual teams at your company managed well or managed poorly? Percent of people working remotely The reason I ask this question is that if a high percentage of people work from home or business groups [...]

By |2024-08-30T01:20:45+00:00August 30th, 2024|
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The hard skill – soft skill debate for IT managers and techies

Question: As a technical IT manager, do I really need to take classes on soft skills like active listening and interviewing?  I hate that stuff, aren’t I better off learning something new technically? Ok, I admit it. I was the biggest offender of the advice I am suggesting to you here. As an individual contributor, I never took soft skills classes. I loved training, but if I couldn’t pick up an additional technical tip or two I wasn’t interested. For many years, if I had the choice between Oracle Database Internals, Advanced Techniques in Function Overloading, or Active Listening, guess which two courses I took? Well, I’ll give you a hint. It wasn’t Active Listening or other soft skills related classes. I’m really glad I took the hard skills classes, the technical information I learned helped me grow as a technical professional. In retrospect, however, I believe I was less effective in a number of soft skills related areas than I would have been if I understood that, even as a techie, these classes provided great value. That said, I should have also taken the soft skill classes for the following reasons: All techies are smart and good technically so it can be very hard to differentiate yourself from the pack. Quality soft skills can help you make that differentiation. Classes like Negotiation Skills can help you negotiate project scope, delivery dates, resources such as people and software tools, and other things that can make projects more successful, and dare I say, [...]

By |2024-07-30T18:32:28+00:00July 30th, 2024|
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5 important presentation tips for IT managers

Help! I'm an IT Software Development Manager and was just asked to make a formal 30-minute presentation to senior management on the business intelligence system we just built. What do I do? First, congratulations on the new software you built. If you were asked to present it to senior management, then it must be very good. Well done! To your question regarding your upcoming presentation, consider the following: At a high level, begin your presentation with a short (five minutes maximum) PowerPoint based overview of the system's overall data and functionality, followed by a live demonstration of the system, and ending with a short question/answer session. Regarding your short (yes, I said short again because it's really important) opening PowerPoint, you could potentially include the types of slides listed below. When reviewing this list, note that the goal here is simply to give your audience a context that enables them to understand (and appreciate) the live demonstration of the system. Slide 1: An opening slide contains the system's name and your name: This is important to orient your audience as to what you will be showing them. A typical senior manager's day is going from meeting to meeting. As a result, it would be good to remind them why they are there. Slide 2: A very high-level overview of the data contained in the system: As an example, this slide could say the system includes company financials, sales forecasts, inventory levels, staffing levels, market share statistics, etc. Slide 3: A very high-level [...]

By |2024-07-17T13:04:59+00:00July 17th, 2024|
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