Category: Handling Business Leaders

Working with the Business

Tech execs and business analysts collaborate with the business leadership and their team. The business team’s tech maturity has grown, especially with the advent of cloud. Thus, the technology team must work harder to maintain their skills. Ensuring the Business sees value in the interactions with the Technology team is vital.

As a tech professional, gaining trust and respect from business colleagues is crucial. Involve them early on in the requirements process for any solution being developed. Don’t assume you fully grasp the business needs when building or implementing a tech solution.

Often, the technology team takes the lead and involves the Business later in the process. This can result in the Business feeling left out, asking, “Why wasn’t I included earlier?” Whether you have expertise or not, consensus and buy-in are crucial for designing a solution that meets business needs. Including your business team early is the key to gaining that buy-in.

In Agile design, “moving left” involves involving the business team earlier in the process. This collaborative approach is becoming more prevalent and essential. With no/low code solutions on the horizon, end-users may even develop their own applications. It’s crucial to keep the business on board and provide value.

No room for ego. Business leaders urge tech execs to step down from ivory towers. Sooner the better.

Body Language

I just returned from a face-to-face meeting with a client tech exec, and it feels fantastic to be engaging with clients in person again. One key insight I’ve gained from these meetings is the significance of non-verbal communication that we missed out on during virtual meetings on platforms like Zoom, Teams, or Webex. The subtle cues conveyed through body language can greatly impact our understanding and connection with clients.

Our meetings follow a hybrid format, with some joining remotely while others attend in person. During a recent session, I noticed an interesting dynamic between our technical Partner, who participated via Zoom, and the client. Being in the room provided unique insights that might have gone unnoticed. The Partner heavily relied on technical jargon to explain the proposed work, but it seemed that the audience was unresponsive. Every time technology acronyms were mentioned, the CIO subtly flinched and rolled his eyes. These reactions were evident to those present in the room.

Providing some context, we are currently developing a comprehensive “resiliency offering” that consolidates various concepts into a unified approach. It aims to address a wide range of challenges, while avoiding overemphasizing the offering for specific client needs like a DevOps platform assessment. Effective positioning is key. Resiliency encompasses incident management, site reliability engineering, disaster recovery, and more, all seamlessly integrated for uninterrupted service and consulting support. However, presenting this approach simply and without unnecessary complexity is vital. The client’s reaction is understandable; they believed we intentionally bundled and complicated components, potentially inflating costs.

Fortunately, the subtle expressions of disbelief did not go unnoticed, leading to a sincere and candid discussion with the Chief Information Officer during our dinner. Ultimately, we reached a consensus to shift our attention towards the core issue at hand and break down the aspects of resilience into manageable components that align with the client’s objectives.

The key is to effectively communicate your tech expertise in a way that resonates with the client’s business. Align your discussions with their specific issues. Instead of assuming the client will be impressed by our knowledge, focus on addressing their problem and providing a solution.

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