Stories by Al Kuebler

How can you have a business relationship management program that doesn't include input from the business units?

When the CEO asks the CIO to find a way to attract the business units to the IT function, with the ultimate goal of increasing revenue, the CIO realizes his staff is going to need some new skills.

A lot of technology professionals are frustrated with the IT profession. They can't find a job or move into the position that they want. They're always hearing that demand exists, but that's not what their personal experience has shown them. They feel they have the skills for the job, and have even put in the time it takes to be qualified or certified in the technologies in demand. But the requirements for IT career development remain elusive.

Early in my career, I experienced attitudes toward training and development that were polar opposites. Later, as I moved into leadership positions, I gravitated toward the pole that favored developing staff and keeping them up to date on technology developments. Nonetheless, I have found that extremes rarely provide the best course, and I came to realize that an anything-goes, pro-training policy had its drawbacks.

Sometimes you meet a person who strikes you as an inspiring role model. Other times, you get a role model of a different sort, an example of how not to be. The CIO I had just spent an hour with was definitely the second type.

<strong>A client relationship management culture for IT? Why bother?</strong>

Projects that sail along smoothly, with no resistance, are great. But it's the ones that throw lots of roadblocks in our way that end up teaching us things.

In the course of my career, I've seen my share of dysfunctional IT organizations. One of my most difficult assignments was as CIO for a large county government. It was also one of the best lessons in what it takes to energize IT professionals and serve clients ever more responsively.