Yesterday we talked
not only about what IT needs to do to stay relevant, but also about the
ways it can really become an enterprise leader. Esther Schindler over
at CIO.com talked today about ways IT can learn from marketing and begin transforming their image. From her article:
“To many non-technical enterprise departments, IT—and
particularly security personnel—are viewed as ‘Uh-oh… here’s the party
pooper!’ They’re the ones who are always seen as the people who say
No.”- What IT Can Learn from the Marketing Department
She goes on to tell of one company whose IT
department learned a few tricks from Marketing and began to brand itself
based on its strengths. In this case it began marketing security as a
product in itself, not just an obligatory add-on service.
“In this case, it means that Natanson gets a one-hour
meeting with every executive, including the chairman of the board, at
least once a year. And she spends the time listening. That’s
when she asks about the big ideas for the year, and what they’ll have
to do to achieve those goals. Because she learns early what’s coming,
Natanson explained, she can ‘become part of their leadership
programs.’” – ibid
What other lessons can we learn from our
non-technical friends in marketing or sales for that matter? If we can
combine these lessons with our technical know-how then we won’t have
any choice but to lead.
