Hartman Executive Advisors
A few weeks ago, my colleague wrote a blog post discussing some of the challenges posed by the replacement of a legacy enterprise business system. The task of a major system replacement can be so significant, so daunting, that many businesses decide to defer the work, effectively choosing to – as Chris noted – “make [the old systems] work.” [Read more...]
In the first installment of this three part series, I discussed my philosophy and techniques for negotiating software contracts. This second installment will cover the importance of doing your homework before you start.
I once had a professor in graduate school who liked to say, “the more you know, the better off you are.” As simple as that statement is, it couldn’t be more true, particularly as you embark on any type of negotiation. These days, none of us would think of purchasing a new car without being armed with the almost unlimited data available on the internet about the car and its true value. However, I know a number of otherwise experienced business people who go into a software contract negotiation armed only with the vendor’s stated price and the knowledge that they want to pay less. I would suggest that that is not nearly enough. There is much internal and external homework that can be done to better equip you to negotiate the best fair deal possible.
All of the above information can be leveraged to your advantage in any negotiation. You may not be able to collect it all, but the more you know the better off you are. Stay tuned for the 3rd installment of my series where I will discuss some specific points on which to negotiate software contracts.
A major issue facing many of the businesses I work with is legacy systems and the immense challenge of changing them. Many industries, particularly in the distribution and retail sectors, are saddled with systems as old as 20-25 years. Although significant business capability has been added through upgrades, these systems tend to have very little flexibility. Typical issues include severe field and data description limitations, and difficulty integrating with other solutions. Replacing them, however, can create major business risk if not done correctly.
A previous client of mine had a legacy system as described above. The solution required a team of in-house programmers to keep it functioning, was difficult to adapt to new business needs, and was quite expensive in terms of software and hardware costs. With the intent of resolving these issues, the company purchased a new system. It seemed fairly straightforward until well into the implementation phase when many specific aspects of the legacy system were uncovered. During the system selection process, there was an assumption that processes would be streamlined to work effectively with the new system. Unfortunately, the tactical users did not want to change and there was ultimately no willingness at the management level to reengineer the business. As a result, the implementation was plagued by significant delays and cost overruns.
The alternative to replacing truly old legacy systems is to “make them work”. This strategy may prove successful if growth is fairly slow, as third party solutions can be patched on over time to deal with the biggest issues. Where growth is significant, however, this strategy can create massive efficiency issues and even get to a point where the system fails. In this situation, staying with the legacy solution beyond a certain point can lead to a solution that is failing to handle critical aspects of your business and directly impacting customers and profitability.
Ultimately, replacing key business systems can be a very tough decision. If it is the right decision for your company, don’t underestimate the challenge – you will need a lot more resources than you might realize and there is no substitute for experience. Successfully changing core systems is as much about change management, process management, and project management as it is about the technology itself.
Top 5 “Don’ts” when interviewing via Skype
As the head of Hartman’s Team Development practice, I spend a lot of time helping our clients grow their team. I’m involved in initiatives including establishing a hiring process, writing the job description, finding and interviewing candidates, and creating mentoring/coaching opportunities to help new employees acclimate faster and more successfully. While I normally write blog posts about hiring, this one is devoted to interviewing. Below are my top five do’s and don’ts of Skype interviewing.
1. Don’t assume the expectations are any less than they would be for an on-site, in person interview
Many candidates take a more casual approach to Skype, from the way they are groomed and dressed to having materials ready at hand. I once had a candidate who admitted she had just stepped out of the shower and thrown on something to wear, and she had a soaking wet head of hair to prove it! Didn’t give me the impression she was interested enough in the position to properly time her day.
2. Don’t make the interview your first Skype experiment!
Practice Skyping with friends and family. Take note of your lighting, background distractions and angles. Ask if the audio and picture are clear. I once had a candidate who had piles of “stuff” stacked to the ceiling behind her. It gave the impression that she was disorganized.
3. Don’t eat or drink during the interview.
Now is not the time to enjoy your Starbucks and since you are not meeting in person, you don’t need a mint!
4. Don’t forget about first impressions BEFORE you Skype.
Using a Skype (or email for that matter!) address that includes references to divas, drinking, dating, drugs or any other details with potential negative connotations is a no-no. You are sending a message about yourself before the interview even gets started! If needed, create a new Skype address specifically for interview purposes.
5. Lighting and Angles
Small changes in the angle and/or lighting you use can take you from looking tired and washed out to energetic and enthusiastic! Experiment with moving the angle of your screen and using a light nearby. If you will be near a window, be mindful of the amount of sun exposure and the time of the interview so that you are not getting a glare. Finally, use good posture!
Top 5 “Do’s” when interviewing via Skype
1. Do wear a suit or clothing appropriate for the business environment of the organization you are applying to.
As my good friend and fellow Terp, Mary Anne Lesiak, Director of Programs at AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation, once told me, you never have to apologize for looking good!
2. Do set up in a place with proper lighting and free of distractions.
Try to avoid being in a space where there will be phones or doorbells ringing, dogs barking, roommates yelling, etc.
3. Do have a plan for any technical glitches.
Technology is great, but there are times when it does not cooperate. If for any reason your audio or video feed is not working properly, don’t panic! Present yourself as a solution finder by suggesting an alternative such as switching to a mobile phone. Most interviewers have limited time so you need to make the most of it.
4. Do look the camera in the eye!
Looking down, at yourself or away from the person you are Skyping with gives the impression you are disinterested or distracted. Have any notes or reference materials ready at hand. Have materials to the right or left of you, not in your lap. If you need to take notes, say “I’d like to take a few notes during our discussion” so the interviewer knows in advance why you are looking to the side.
5. Do send a thank you note!
This is basic to any form of interview, but surprisingly not all candidates follow through on it. At a minimum, send a quick email thanking the interviewer for their time and reiterating your interest in the position. I’ve used scoring criteria that actually includes a score for whether or not a thank you was sent, as it is an indication of a candidate’s ability to document and follow through.
As nonprofits strive to be more business and process focused, they are engaging with more people and organizations than ever before. Consequently, there are more relationships to track and more data to manage to do their job effectively.
Look at fund raising, for example. Ideally, fund raising is focused on cultivating relationships with individuals and organizations that can help drive the mission of the organization. Just like any relationship, be it personal or professional, the more information you have at your disposal, the better equipped you will be to move that relationship forward.
To help fill the donor knowledge gap, organizations often look to deepen their understanding of the donor base by screening or appending records in their database. You can do that by basic demographic and address type appends. While critically important to the accuracy and health of the database, it does not offer much to the fund raiser who wants to build a meaningful relationship.
More helpful are the data appends that provide greater insight into donor lifestyles, interests, education background, wealth indicators, political leanings and other nonprofit interests. Organizations must commit a substantial investment of money, time and effort to get, and more importantly, use this type of information.
This larger append effort is not a trivial matter. I have seen many organizations commit to gathering the information but then never use it to its full potential. Too often organizations pay big dollars to get the information but fail to turn it into an actionable strategy. On the other hand, I have been involved with fund raising efforts that have been largely successful due to leveraging this deeper insight to create a personal and emotional connection with donors. Relevancy is a key component in this equation. By understanding your donors’ passions, interests, and experience, your organization is in a position to communicate with donors in a more meaningful way, for both you and them.
At the end of the day, relationships are created and maintained by human beings who have a mutual interest in continuing a dialogue. Data appends can help tremendously by shedding light on backgrounds and uncovering facts and relationships. The best nonprofits blend the science of the data with art of relationship building. To be successful, organizations need to be good at both.
More than anything else, technology has helped people connect. Social media is bridging generations and changing relationships like nothing else we’ve seen. Ubiquitous connectivity is changing networked gadgets from novelties to commodities. [Read more...]
Recently, I conducted a workshop on vendor contract negotiation as part of Hartman’s IT Leadership Program. The session took the better part of a morning, so I am going to blog about it in three parts. This first post will cover negotiation philosophy and technique.
My Philosophy
While we should always set out to negotiate the best deal we can for our firm, this does not always mean beating the vendor down to the absolute bottom line price that we can get. We are all in business to make a reasonable profit, and any vendor or partner with whom we do business is entitled to do the same. If we take advantage of some sales manager’s desperation for getting a deal that compromises the vendor’s ability to cover its costs and make a reasonable return, we may jeopardize the service and attention we get from that vendor in the long run. We certainly don’t want to be the most profitable customer the vendor has, but I would suggest that being at the bottom of the profitability scale is not in our best interest either. Striving to achieve a nice win with balance in all aspects of the final deal will well position us to establish a solid long term partnership with the vendor where the benefits of the relationship are mutual. This approach will allow us to negotiate things into the final deal that can minimize our risks and exposure to things like uncapped annual maintenance cost increases, ensure that the contract allows for the sharing of risk and pain when things don’t go according to plan, and negotiate such things as favorable credit terms or functionality throw-ins.
Technique
While I am not a fan of a lot of game playing, there are certain techniques that I have found helpful in negotiations over the years. One technique I have used with success is developing a logical set of business reasons for my position. Rather than simply tell a vendor that his price is too high, I like to develop solid reasons why I can’t pay the price currently on the table, such as not being able to achieve an adequate ROI at the current price, or the price exceeds the amount in the current fiscal budget, or my company is simply not large enough to absorb the vendor’s current pricing structure. Another technique I like to employ is what I call “silence is golden”. During the negotiation, sometimes simply going silent for a few days will cause the vendor to get uncomfortable and loosen his position without your saying a word. Finally, I like to play the “partnership card”. All vendors like to say that they want to establish a business partnership, so make them prove it by making some fair contract concessions, particularly in the areas of managing and sharing long term costs and risk.
Be on the lookout for the next installment of my three part contract negotiation series, which will cover the importance of doing your homework before starting a contract negotiation. If you are interested in this and other topics relevant to IT leadership and management, please check out the IT Leadership Program on our web site.
With March Madness in full swing and the NFL Draft only a month away, I’m reminded of a phrase that a few coaches have used recently to describe their preparation and subsequent success in facing a recent opponent: “They were who we thought they were.”
As we are beginning to come out of this protracted economic downturn and many companies are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, my question is: “Is your company who you think it is?”
To survive the business downturn, many companies have understandably employed an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach – choosing to maintain the status quo to get them through the storm.
But now as those same companies are beginning to prepare for renewed growth and new customers, it may be wise to step back and ask the question: Are our vendors, suppliers and partners the same company they were when we hired them? They’ve gone through the same recession and many of them, especially in the technology space, have had to curtail R&D, cut support staff, etc. to survive. Can they still meet your business needs? In short, it may be time to “Stress Test” your IT relationships.
We recommend reviewing your contracts, your processes, your key people and key vendor relationships at least annually, to make sure that you’re getting what you expected, that your contractors are accountable to what they agreed to provide for you, and that your rate structures and service levels are still appropriate in today’s market.
Take stock of your business now, so that YOUR customers can say “They were who we thought they were” when purchasing YOUR products and services.
Through the course of the work we do I have a lot of conversations with CEOs about the money they spend on IT. While there is tremendous variability in what organizations spend on technology, almost universally these leaders say that they want IT to provide a “high level” of service to the organization to keep everyone working at a high degree of efficiency. The issue of course is what constitutes a high level of service, how do you quantify it, measure it, and tell if it’s improving or getting worse? [Read more...]
Please join us at an Executive Presentation exclusively for not-for-profit leaders called Make Every Dollar Count: Strategies for Becoming a Donor Centric Organization.
Featured speaker Tim Kobosko will share lessons learned from his experience at the USO, Naval Academy Foundation, and other not-for-profit organizations.
[Read more...]
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