IT Management Models Preview

23. Bite the head of a frog (first page)
 

Description:

Tough issues and decisions often get put off until a "better time" to deal with them. When you have a painful or difficult issue to deal with, make it a point to go into the office and deal with the issue early or at a specific time, i.e., do the distasteful deed proactively and get it out of the way. You will find that it's less stressful for you and has a positive impact on your productivity as you won't be worried about the issue all day. Take care of your most "distasteful" issue first and it clears the way for a better day.

Key points:

  • Deal with the "ugly" issues early and avoid procrastination

  • Address tough issues early in the day

  • Evaluate consequences and prepare for the impact

  • Plan for the event and get your act together

  • Approach the issue with a win-win perspective

Category:

  IT Assessment
  IT Strategy & Planning
x IT Project Management and Processes
x IT Organization and Staff
  IT Financial Management

23. Bite the head of a frog (second page)

Discussion:

 Most of us have this thing called a "procrastination factor". When we have a tough issue to deal with, we often put it off until the very last possible moment. This burns up a tremendous amount of energy, creates a lot of stress, and lowers our productivity quite a bit because we can't stop thinking about the tough session we are about to have when we finally deal with our tough issue. There is a solution. Take care of your ugliest situation first thing in the day and get it out of the way.

Deal with the "ugly" issues early and avoid procrastination - Once you are
prepared, tackle your toughest issues early and avoid procrastinating. Putting it off
doesn't do anything but build up anxiety and cause you to lose focus on important
issues of the day so handle the problem and move on.

Address tough issues early in the day - Handling your toughest issues first thing will
make you feel better that day. Think of it as "biting the head of the frog" being the worst
thing you have to do that day. Go ahead, do it, and get past it so you can be productive
the rest of the day.

Evaluate consequences and prepare for the impact - Once you determine how you
need to handle a tough issues, it's best to go ahead and handle it. Be sure to evaluate
the downside and possible ramifications so you go in prepared. In many cases, the
toughest part is the anxiety that builds leading up to when you actually deal with the
issue. If you have prepared well, handling the issue won't be as tough as you think.
Plan for the event and get your act together - Do whatever it takes to prepare. Seek
help from those with experience in such matters and develop a planned approach. If it's
a really tough employee or client issue, it's worth the time to prepare.

Approach the issue with a win-win perspective - Approach tough situations with a
win-win attitude and seek a way for both you and the other party to find something
positive with your solution. For example, if I have to fire someone for consistent
unacceptable performance, I approach the issue in the perspective that I'm helping the
employee move on to another career opportunity where he/she will be successful. It's
unfair for the company, my team, myself, and especially the employee to allow him/her
to continue working when he/she is not going to be successful.

IT Management Models

Table of Contents

I. IT Management Models – a new concept from Mike Sisco

A. Purpose

B. Targeted Audience

C. A new model every week

1. Learning a new model

2. Incorporating it into your management style

D. Benefits

II. Developing the models

III. Components of a model

A. A picture is worth a thousand words

B. Description

C. Key points

D. Category

E. Discussion

IV. Organization of the book

A. IT Management Models Category Groups

1. IT Assessment

2. IT Strategy and Planning

3. IT Project Management and Process

4. IT Organization & Staff

5. IT Financial Management

6. IT Measurements and Communication

B. The IT Management Models

C. Category Summaries

D. IT Management Models - Reference Index

V. The IT Management Models - Categories

A. IT Assessment

B. IT Strategy and Planning

C. IT Project Management and Process

D. IT Organization & Staff

E. IT Financial Management

F. IT Measurements and Communication

VI. The IT Management Models

1. Scope creep

2. 2 + 2 = 5

3. High road -- Low road

4. IT Project Priority Hierarchy

5. Career Paths

6. FTP or PTF

7. Expect the Unexpected

8. Prevent Fires

9. What Goes Up Must Come Down

10. Communication Circle

11. What Goes Around Comes Around

12. Open Door Policy

13. Change Management Processes

14. Key New Hire

15. Training plan

16. Murphy’s Law

17. Create Vision

18. Decision Making

19. Ready – Aim - Fire

20. Target your efforts

21. Pressure points

22. Strategy basics

23. Bite the head of a frog

24. Drain the swamp

25. Lines of fire

26. Snails crawl; birds fly

27. 2 birds with 1 stone

28. Bottlenecks

29. The main thing is not to get excited

30. Invest in yourself

31. Net it out

32. In sync

33. Management Basics (AQPPI)

34. Do the right thing

35. Win-Win

36. 5-lb sack

37. Change Facilitator

38. Play Your Position

39. Management Layers

40. Define Responsibility

41. Every Day is a New Day

42. Be Selfish

43. Set the Tone

44. Listen

45. Manage Expectations

46. Follow-up

47. IT Assessment Focus

48. Think Out of the Box

49. Problems are Opportunities

50. Budget Buffers

51. Cost Saving Strategies

52. Uptime is King

53. Disaster Recovery

54. Backup

55. Verify References

56. Quality Assurance

57. Project Management

58. Help Desk

59. Observe

60. Experts and Depth

61. I knew this was a snake when I picked it up

62. Focus

63. Escalation

64. Stability

65. Scalability

66. Reward Desired Behavior

67. 0 to 180 in 30 days

68. Measurements

69. Understand the Business

70. Effective Meetings

71. Performance Plans

72. "Bubble" Effect

VII. IT Management Models Category Summaries

VIII. New Models Template

IX. IT Management Models Reference Index