IT is expensive. In dollar and cents terms, I suspect most companies would rather not have it. Unless you’re selling buggy whips on a small scale, avoiding it won’t be possible.

But before we just admit we need it, we should ask, “Why?” I think any company can choose one of three answers: Help the company survive; help the company grow profit; help the company add to its value. If you think of any other big reasons, please comment.

So how does IT succeed at any of those? Not by technology alone. It takes the right blend of technology, people, and management.

We’ve got more than enough technology to choose from – too much, in fact.

Technologists always seem to forget the people part of it, but they’re learning. More and more CIOs are communicating with the business and motivating their teams to establish good relationships with user community.

And finally there’s management. With all of the management approaches and fads, it’s hard to know which way to turn. We've all seen too many technology and management fads that have wasted our energies, cost us time, and - maybe the worst - caused some really good people to go elsewhere. So let me suggest some guiding themes useful in management:

Common sense, thoughtfulness, and critical thinking.

My goal in my consulting practice is to help my clients increase profits with technology. (OK, I’ll admit to helping my clients use technology for any of the three reasons above.) So I’ll write about related topics here. But I’ll also apply liberal doses of critical thinking and common sense in my opinions.

Dollars, Sense, and Technology. I invite your comments.
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Steve Lipka
slipka@Consult-Avatar.com