My philosophy has always been that change is good. It is refreshing, an opportunity to improve, to explore and generally move forward. Unfortunately, when attempting to change a work culture evolved from years of good people operating in silos, it is guaranteed that sooner or later you slowly begin to see that as the business grows, so does the complexity of the technology deployed.
This is where I would like to use a very effective analogy. When I was in Marine Corps boot-camp, we were required to become “Swim-Qual’d.” It isn’t something many think about when enlisting in the Marines. As such there are always those who either don’t know how to swim or have very poor swimming skills. The Marines don’t care. You enlisted, you will be given basic instruction on what is required, and you will qualify. For me this was not a problem. For others however, this was a different experience, one that involved a certain amount of anxiety and panic. The Marine swim instructors made one point very clear. Do not panic in the water. If you are in trouble, they will assist. If, in your moment of panic you resist the instructors, you will be let go of. The reality version of the term “Sink or swim.” Changing the culture of technology, introducing new industry standards and processes, essentially altering the way people have worked for years is one of the most difficult things that an implementer faces. This is made even more difficult when the implementer is embedded in a chain of command that doesn’t fully understand the method or complexity in achieving the value of change. Many technology publications outline the benefits of ITSM, ITIL, Six Sigma, SOA, MOF and others practices. These are outstanding motivators to the technology manager faced with a business demand for growth and stability in the technology environment. It is the typical gap that is missing the analysis. Business demand and instability, those are the triggers that begin the search for solutions or “magic beans.” ITSM and corresponding frameworks and practices are right there to appear to provide the solutions. Not much thought is given to the road that must be travelled to achieve a managed service. That road is the path of change. It can not be ignored, it can not be underestimated and most of all, it should not be feared. For to not support, embrace and champion that change will only result in delays, frustration and failure.
