In my last column, I predicted about technologies that would take center
stage this year. While we wait to see how many of my predictions actually come
true, it's important to realize one thing. That we're passing through a changing
economic environment, and change is something that most people are resistant to.
Last year, this resistance was against measures being taken to combat the
economic slowdown. People had to reluctantly accept most measures because in
many cases, they were for the very survival of the organization or even to
retain their jobs.
One CIO I know took up the additional role of business development last year,
even though it was completely different from his existing role. Then of course,
there were countless examples of organizations moving from CapEx to OpEx,
cutting their IT and travel budgets, deploying what was absolutely essential,
etc.
Anil Chopra, |
This year, resistance will be against the measures that would be taken to
leverage the upswing. This may sound absurd, because who wouldn't want growth?
But would your organization's sales team accept 100% increase in revenue targets
now that the economy is growing?
There would be a lot of resistance, but what if the IT department promised to
make them more mobile by giving them 3G data cards, netbooks, mobile CRM, and
other mobile technologies? They might be more receptive, thereby building your
case for an increased IT budget for mobile technologies. If they aren't, then
further change management needs to be practiced.
Extending the above argument further, many organizations enabled working from
home for their employees during the economic slowdown. There weren't too many
complains from users about it then, because times were tight. But now, I hear
people complain about how they can never enjoy a free moment, and how their boss
can catch them anywhere and ask them to do some important work.
I hear people talking about having a more stressful life because of mobility
and cellphones. Here, technology isn't the problem. There are ample technologies
available to enable working from home. Problem here is the resistance to change
in lifestyle that needs to be managed.
There are ample examples of how resistance to change has been managed in the
past-computerization in banks and govt. departments, outsourcing work, etc.
We're also aware of how successful these initiatives have been in bringing banks
closer to customers, in bringing more transparency in govt departments and so
on. So now it's important to realize that you'll face lots of resistance to
deploying the newer technologies-cloud computing, virtualization, unified
communication, security and compliance, etc. It's up to you to manage that
resistance and bring the necessary change to your organization to help it grow.
So here's to a growing economy, prosperous organizations, and effective
change management.
Happy New Year!