Business Mentor
Solve Problems With Your Network of Nerds

Is there any truth in IT? What I mean by truth is, are there methods, processes and technologies that are always correct? I have been thinking about this question ever since someone asked my for advice on how best to implement portfolio management. I shared my advice but then realized that my perspective was just that -- my perspective. My approach to portfolio management has been different in different situations, and this holds true for a lot of what we do in IT. Is there only one true way to perform change management? How about software development or project management?

In IT, perhaps the only truth is that we operate in an uncertain and ambiguous environment. So how can we benchmark our performance? How do we determine whether our methods and tools are state of the art or severely lacking?

Forming a Network

One of the best ways to get answers to these questions is by building and tapping into a network of fellow IT leaders (whom I call my "network of nerds"). When I wonder how to do something, when I want information about specific technologies or when I want input on doing business with a vendor, I contact my network of nerds and await their responses.

A few weeks ago, for example, one of my business peers wanted to start recording customer calls at his call center because he believed that it would help improve the training and performance of call center agents. I had no experience with call-recording technologies, so I sent an email inquiry to my network of colleagues asking which tools they use to record customer calls. Within two hours, I had information about five different tools, with the respective strengths and weaknesses of each one. This helped me create a short list of tools to investigate, and my business colleague was amazed that I knew so much about call-recording software that I could, in just a few hours, list potential technologies with their pros and cons. I looked like a genius.

I have tapped into my network of nerds for help on both technical and managerial issues. I have gotten advice on their favored project management practices, how to improve relationships with business peers, how to manage and appraise performance, how to simplify Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, whether to upgrade Microsoft Office, and which tools to use to recover data from a corrupt Oracle database. And the list goes on and on.

How do I build my network of nerds? First, I participate in my local Society for Information Management chapter. (SIM is the professional association for IT leaders.) But it isn't enough for me to join SIM; I need to attend meetings and, contrary to my introverted nature, approach others to learn whether the issues they deal with are similar to mine.

I take the same approach when I attend IT conferences and user group meetings. During meals and breaks, I ask questions and build my network. I ask my IT vendors for the contact information of customers so that I can add these names to my network.

I don't make decisions based solely on the information I get from my fellow nerds, but their input does give me important guidance. I still filter the feedback and compare it with my experience and the culture of my organization. But tapping into my network has not only gotten me better answers faster; it has also saved me from making numerous mistakes.

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