StakeHolder Management in Corporate Programs

Many of us today work in extremely matrixed organizations. Especially the Fortune 500 companies are highly leveraged on their advance technology management practices. IT is always seen as a Business in India but things oversees are very different. IT there is seen as a service enabler, a service partner a service differentiator. In recent times only has IT made in roads into becoming an integral part of Service Offering to client.

    The companies which operate in this mode wherein IT Plays an important role as a product offering are the companies where there are needs of process optimization. Lean, Six Sigma Change Management processes are great help to managers of today to manage schedules, resources and perceptions abt the project once its roled out. We do tonnes of groundwork once the IT Project gets funding.

    We generally tend to miss on an important but integral part of IT Projects for Process automization, optimization or process superiority and i.e People. Yes it may sound so inane coming from an IT Program Manager but people form an integral part of your IT Project success. Its your stakeholders like Finance Department i.e CFO, Marketing Department i.e CMO and Business Head CEO for whom the business impact of your IT Projects are realised. But with growing talent silos in organizations as well as facination towards newer technologies and profilgate projects we tend to totally forget this part.

    Its the CFO from whose Balance sheet is your project Financed. Then you need to know the CFOs concerns . Typically what are his concerns

1. Profitability: He is controller and accountable for business profitability
2. Success Ratios: These are the financial ratios which have to operate between some limits which are sacrosanct for him
3. Business Leadership and Process Differentiation: Is the recent spending directly going to be used to take a lead over competition
4. Costs going to hit Balance Sheet of the company: No Finance Manager wants to outrun his budgeting or financial limits no matter you give him a Ferrari at the cost of a local sedan.
5. Cultural Change: The new project, process would cause how much pain and surprise or trauma to my people.

   Have you ever tried to map this up with your project presentation. Hardly isnt it? Simple are my tips

1. Know all your project numbers well before.
2. Research well on all additional costs your project would encounter and have justifications for it (Finance guys are too smart , they may bring out components to cross you from the corner of books available across world)
3. Have scenario studies ready for present vs future costs
4. Know the intangible benefits your project after it kicks in
5. Talk Numbers and process and new tommorrow nothing other than that.

Its the Marketing Department for whom your developing the application. CMO becomes one of the person who should be in awe of you, what he sees

1. Whats the skill set of my people here. Do they have adequate skill sets to execute the IT System (Nobody wants to train his salesforce for difficult tools and waste his productivity)
2. Whats the benefit I can present to customer experience. It is in terms of time for resolution,search,designing of products or costing for deals
3. Once installed till how long it wont require revamp. Especially in growth oriented companies nobody wants to upgrade his infrastructure and tool functionalities very often
4. How credible are these people to execute such type of projects

The points to keep in mind here are

1. Have good data based presentations with plans ready for long term future
2. Show how you are giving them solutions of 2050 in 2008
3. Money is a concern but most important is how much benefit you give to them
4. Dont go for a highly revolutionary tools or applications which the sales guys need yrs to understand (remember business productivity enablers)
5. Give him a training and support plan( everybody in world likes to be supported and trained to tame new beasts of IT).

CEOs are the most complex stakeholders in your project. If you have some value proposition your project would be approved and or otherwise diapproved even before you meet them. CEOs are those people who look the project in whole picture

1. Am I doing something unique to keep me ahead of competition
2. These IT Folks do they know their work
3. Whats the earlier experience I had with these folks
4. What are my counterparts telling about their project design and execution experience
5. Is my IT Manager positive about it
6. Strategy , where does this project sit in my strategy

This to take care

1. Dont make verbose slides with tonnes of data
2. Presentaiton having clear value proposition
3. Background check should be done for his confidentes and they should be positive about the project
4. Does he have money now or money later.It may happen he many postpone the project to rise above losses or under performance(doin't get disheartened
5. Does your application directly supports and shapes towards his long term goal of organization

 The list above isn't comprehensive enough. But the bottom line is know your stakeholder well. Dont become a war soldier here to automize everything and go..Know you owe a part of profitability of the company. Know henceforth you arent a Business Enabler but a part of your companies Business Offering