Building Great IT Organizations

Chris Filandro

VP/CIO Meritage

Homes

Is My Organization Great?

• Business– Business Objective…very specifically

• Revenue Expansion / Profit Expansion

• Merger / Acquisitions

• Customer / Market Expansion

• Raising Capital vs. Preserving Capital

• Information Systems– Run the Business

– Grow the Business

– Transform the Business

Understanding the Mission

• “The roots of leadership…..are expertise and empathy. A leaders work is not only to apply these traits but also cultivate them – both on a personal and organizational level”• “True leaders create organizations that themselves

cultivate leadership…..this can only be achieved through rigorous and systematic organizational development”

William G. Pagonis “Leadership in a Combat Zone”

Leadership…In a Combat Zone

Sad Fact Number 1: Not Enough Choices – Senior Managers get only one option.

Silver Lining• The option usually reflects senior leaders’

previously expressed preferences• Leaders eventually get enough one-option

choices to shape them into a coherent portfolio

Thomas J. Peters “Leadership – Sad Facts and Silver Linings”

Sad Facts and Silver Linings

Sad Fact Number 2: Not Enough Time– Time is fragmented; issues arrive late, fully staffed.

Silver Lining• Each fragment can be used to signal leaders’

preferences and set direction.• Small, last-minute modifications of current

options strongly signal what future options should look like

Thomas J. Peters “Leadership – Sad Facts and Silver Linings”

Sad Facts and Silver Linings

• Sad Fact Number 3: Too Many Filters– Bad news is normally hidden

Silver Lining• Senior leaders can use their responses to good

news to reinforce the organization’s values and priorities

Thomas J. Peters “Leadership – Sad Facts and Silver Linings”

Sad Facts and Silver Linings

• Sad Fact Number 4 : Too Much Inertia– Major choices take months or years to emerge

Silver Lining• Over time, consistent choices accumulate into

a consensus that requires minimal correction• With a large number of decisions in the

hopper, decisions will come frequently enough to spell out leaders’ chosen direction

Thomas J. Peters “Leadership – Sad Facts and Silver Linings”

Sad Facts and Silver Linings

• Business– The People

– The Influencers

– The Readiness

• Information Systems– The People

– The Investments

– The Environment

Assessing the Environment

Time for a Tool…

“You get what you inspect not what you expect” Steve Hilton CEO Meritage Homes

Measure the Environment

• Measure the Business– Readiness for Change

– Change Indicators

– Impact Areas

• Information Systems– Ongoing Operations

– Realized Change Results

– Direct Impacts ($ & %)Time for a Tool…

• “A tentative approach to a critical decision in an unfamiliar environment is not a sign of indecision but of common sense.”

William H. Peace “The Hard Work of Being a Soft Manager”

Leadership…an Option

• The Good…Human Capital– Thinkers

– Communicators

– Executors

– Leaders

• ….and the Bad...– the Wrong People….

• Is it a skill issue…

• A Culture Issue

• A maturity issue

Time to Assess & Address the Team

Time for a Tool…

• “Soft management does not mean weak management. It means candor, openness and vulnerability, but it also means hard choices and responsible follow-up” • “…it means taking the heat for difficult decisions

and giving unhappy subordinates a chance to unburden themselves at your expense.”

William H. Peace “The Hard Work of Being a Soft Manager”

Leadership…Other Zones

• Business– Decision Making Environment

• Authoritative vs. Committee

• Sacred Cows

• Industry Insiders

• Industry Outsiders

– Communicating Failures

• Information Systems– Operators vs. Innovators

– Collaboration and Ownership vs. Protectionism

What About the Culture

Time for a Tool…

• Regular ordinary operations can become a problem• Complacency = lack of attention

• Ask the Questions:– Are we in firefighting mode too often?

– Do we have to assemble task forces often?

– Do not allow basic “blocking and tackling” to erupt into a crisis….

Beware of the Mundane

Time for a Tool…

Change is a Process not an Event!

Time for Change…Getting Great

• The Portfolio– Business & IS Investments

• People

• Process

• Tools

• The Roadmap– Long, Intermediate & Short Term

– Change Management • Roadmap can and will change

• Incorporate the change

Time for a Tool…

Manage Crisis….Effectively

• Being Unprepared is No Excuse• You Know the Threats – Get Ready for them• Know What You Want to Say Before They Ask• Admit That You are “Wing-It” Challenged• Divide and Conquer• Get Outside Help• Every Crisis is an Opportunity

Brian Ellis EVP CRT/tanaka

Now What…

When Greatness Has Arrived

Greatness Can Be Better

Time for a Tool…

• Always consult with others….what are they doing• Measure yourself…often and honestly• Solicit feedback from your harshest critics• Challenge organization to do better– Be very specific

• Development Plans….one size does not fit all• Investment:– People / Business / Technology / Process

• The Mission– Business & IS

• Assess the Environment– Business & IS

• Measure the Environment• Leadership– Style vs. Substance

Let’s Review the Toolbox

• The Team– Good and Bad

• The Culture– Business & IS

• Time for Change!• Lead the Basics and

the Change• Greatness Can Get

Better

Greatness Can Be Better

“The price of greatness is responsibility”Winston Churchill

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them”

William Shakespeare