Many IT people are introverts and really love technology. It is a rare find to have an IT person who loves technology and is great at working with people. In IT circles we call those people the king of the geeks. Even more rare is the IT person who loves technology, relates well with people and is really passionate about the business they are in. Many places call those people unicorns. Our Virtual IT Executives pride themselves in not only being unicorns but being unicorn trainers.
Lets take Swanky Service as an example. They are a cleaning service that works like Uber. The owner at Swanky Service hired her son Jim as the IT person. Jim was the classic IT person. He loved to get networks set up, help someone get their Excel problem solved, and show a new person how to use their computer. He even really enjoyed helping get the CRM installed. However his mom really wished that he would become more engaged in the business. Swanky’s initial assessment from Level 5ive Consulting showed that the maturity of Swanky’s Relationships/IT organization was at 1.9. Not bad for a one man shop but there was lots of room to grow. They hired Hannah as Virtual IT Executive. She immediate put a growth plan in place for Jim. Jim started out volunteering after work to coach a local youth sports team. After that he volunteered for the board of a local non-profit. After 2 years of different out side the box assignments for Jim, he has grown to understand the difference between cost of good sold and gross margins. He understands what it means to build a marketing persona and why that is so important for growing the business. He understands what it takes to lead a team. The executive team is very impressed with Jim’s growth and knowledge of their service business. The latest assessment shows the IT org at Swanky to be at a level 4.1 and on track for Jim to take over as the CIO next year.
If you want to close that GAP between IT and the business and not spend a fortune on MBA classes for the IT team, contact us for a free assessment to see where you are and how we can help build an affordable plan to close that gap.