I recently came across a brilliant piece by Bob Lewis from IT Catalysts about breaking the vicious cycle of bad IT results.

I'm going to try and sum it up here and give our take on it, but I really urge you to go ahead and read it right here.

The summary

The basic idea is that business and IT form a relationship which is purely based on results.

Good results strengthen the relationship because the trust that is built from them leads to more competence (competent people are free to do their job to the best of their ability) and adequate budgets, which in turn allows for better and better results.

Bad results on the other hand will cause the relationship to wither because trust diminishes and that leads to a decrease in competence (people in place are not trusted to take the right decisions) and inadequate budgets, which in turn results in consistently worst results.

Hence the term 'vicious cycle'…

Our take

At Avisi, we put a lot of energy in establishing 'virtuous cycles' and it happens that we have to break existing vicious cycles for new clients (more on this in a future post). Trust is really what we're after because, aside from making a decent living, our goal is establishing long term, mutually beneficial relationships with our clients and you just can't do that without trust.

It all starts with competence, good governance and delivery... 

1. You just can't fake competence. Hire the best of the best and do whatever it takes to get better as a group.
2. Good governance is about constantly measuring and improving, everything you possibly can. But mostly it's about competent, passionate people supported by more competent, passionate people.
3. Delivery has to be a state of mind. Deliver fast and deliver often. Keep everyone aware of where you're at, at all times.

It's cemented by transparency...

1. Show your clients what they're paying for; what you're doing, how and why... from day one.
2. Put the stakeholders in control of business decisions. Explain yourself when their priorities and yours don't meet.
3. Trust is also about interpersonal relationships. Take the time to listen. Take the time to explain. Always respect the client.

But that's not all...

1. Dig deep for requirements. It's not always about the solution the client has in mind: it's about finding out what the real problems, what the real needs are.
2. Always deliver what you said you would. And then go a bit further.

Sure, following this path costs a bit more of everybody's precious time & cash up front... But when you look at the big picture, it ensures that the business people get the results they wanted in the end, in the most efficient way possible.

So invest a bit up front and you'll benefit before the project is even done. And you'll still be benefiting in the maintenance phase and for all the projects to come...

Trust... it's pure profit.

See the follow up to this post, 'Reversing the vicious cycle of bad IT results'.