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Pay Very Close Attention to New Era Skills
Stephen J. Andriole
We're in another "new era." Technology is changing so rapidly that managers in the trenches have to respond to yet another "sea change." When will it end? (Never, but you already knew that.)
The Internet will become the dominant platform of the early 21st century. Whole new knowledge and skill sets will be necessary to exploit the trends that ultimately will help the business achieve its goals.
So what are these skills? Here are some that will drive the changes implied by the Internet’s dominance:
- Due diligence, or the ability to objectively assess alternative technologies, technology delivery models and business technology performance
- Enterprise architecture, or the ability to understand where business processes and technology functionality actually meet
- Technology service models such as software/hardware as services, communications service models and support service models
- Vendor management, or the ability to develop RFPs, SLAs and ROI, especially for infrastructure, architecture and security outsourcing
- Interoperability and integration, or the ability to exploit standards like web services, service oriented architectures and event-driven architecture
- Abstractions-into-solutions, or the ability to understand concept shifts like virtualization, the Internet as an operating system and data as prescriptions for profitable growth
- Artificial intelligence (AI), or the engine that will drive Web 3.0
- Project and program management, or the ability to understand and measure execution regardless of whether it's done by in-house professionals or outside partners
- Access device strategy, or the ability to optimize the use of other-than-PC devices to get to networks, data and applications
- Business intelligence, or the ability to understand the contribution that analytics of all kinds can make to business performance
These are just a few of the skills you'll need to succeed. Going forward we need to make sure that we develop these skills in our professionals and that we evaluate "technologists" according to how well developed these skills are represented in our companies.
What else should go on the list? What's the point? Stay sleeping or evolve yourself and your team. It's not like you have a choice. Conduct a skills inventory as soon as possible—and continuously—and then develop a learning strategy to close the skills gaps the inventory reveals. The inventory should be conducted by an independent third party and the results should not be reported quietly on a small paper napkin. Everyone should know about the skills, the gaps and the plans to fill them. Education, training, rotation, mentoring and any other step that makes sense should be considered.
You cannot run from this job, so take it seriously. Without the right people doing the right things with the right skills, you will fail.
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Taylor & Francis LLC. Copyright © 2008—2011 Taylor & Francis LLC. All rights reserved.
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This article is an excerpt from:
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The book explains how to achieve dramatic improvements in service and agility by enhancing the people, processes, and culture within your organization. It details the various roles within the technology management process and supplies authoritative insight into the realities of human behavior—including the range of best and worst behaviors from managers, executives, and corporate culture.
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About the Author
Stephen J. Andriole's career has focused on the development, application, and management of information technology and analytical methodology to complex business problems. He was the Director of the Cybernetics Technology Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and was the Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President for Technology Strategy at CIGNA Corporation. He is currently the Thomas G. Labrecque Professor of Business Technology at Villanova University’s Villanova School of Business. He is also a founding partner of The Acentio Group, a technology optimization consulting organization.
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