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The Imperative of IT Business Planning
Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.
Since writing the article on Business Planning in last year’s IT Strategist, I have made it a point to chat with IT execs whenever I can about their approaches. While almost all give voice to the idea, almost none do any real formal business planning. In concert with this virtually all of the IT execs I have visited have problems with budget approval, peer relationships and project approvals and support. Hmmmm...could there be a connection here? I THINK SO.
Business planning is not a punishment or a make work exercise. It is the process for establishing the foundation upon which an organization is to pursue its vision, goals and objectives. A business plan, properly developed, provides the roadmap for success.
I believe this is lost on most IT executives who instead view the business plan as just another documentation exercise and not as a vital part of their commitment to align IT with the enterprise.
Of course to do the business planning process justice, CIOs need to get honest feedback from their peers, the CEO, IT staff and other users. They need to understand the gap between the systems and services the organization needs and those that are being delivered. In addition they need to become students of the culture and business plan of the company. Armed with this knowledge the planning process can begin.
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