IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE: Podcast interview with Harris Kern, author, publisher, lecturer, and IT consultant

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Here is a short list of complaints about the IT organization in business today; do any of these sound familiar?

• IT spends all of its time in the reactive mode, fighting fires rather than proactively solving problems
• IT is not aligned with the company's business goals
• No matter how much money is spent on technology and software, the situation in IT does not seem to get better
• IT perennially costs major dollars, but company executives still don't see it as central to the success of the business

Now, say a consultant listens to this list, and tells you that it doesn't matter how much money is spent on new hardware and software, it doesn't matter how many consultants you call in to fix the problems, because in the end, you must focus on the people within IT to heal the IT department. And, oh, yes, using this approach will not cost a lot of money. Sounds too good (or too scarey) to be true? Harris Kern, an IT industry veteran, proposes these and more in an energetic conversation with Tom Parish, discussing topics from why implementing ITIL can be a great idea on paper, but can do little to improve your organization; to how important it is that IT executives get away from their desks, no matter how busy they are, and do lunch with other executives. It's all about people, organizational structure, and processes, says Kern, who clarifies and builds on ideas he proposes in his article, "Building a Competitive IT Organization." Tune in to this refreshingly unconventional wisdom about some of the most commonly cited problems in the industry, and see if you agree.

Resources

Building a Competitive IT Organization  - Part 1

Building a Competitive IT Organization  - Part 2

Enterprise Computing Institute

Bio

Harris Kern is an author, publisher, lecturer, and IT consultant, specializing in IT simplification. Through the Harris Kern Enterprise Computing Institute (www.harriskern.com), he has developed a powerful resource for building competitive IT organizations. Under the umbrella of the Institute, IT professionals from many of the world's leading companies come together to take advantage of leading edge disciplines and strategies for improving the IT industry.

Production Credits

Dana Farver, Executive Producer, Communities Editor-in-Chief
Tom Parish, Audio Producer, Show Host
Kimberly Stone, Web Development Manager
Scott Ebner, Web Developer