When worlds collide

  Tips for communicating with a nontechnical boss
  who just doesn't seem to get it.

  By Louise Fickel
  Network World, 8/17/98

  What do you do when your boss understands so little
  about computer technology that he's willing to let
  temperatures in the network equipment room soar daily
  to 86 degrees? If you're John Appel, you show him that
  it would cost more to replace the network and company
  data than to install air conditioning.

  Appel's strategy of educating his boss worked in that
  situation, but like many of his counterparts, he hasn't
  always been so lucky. Now the director of IT
  operations at First Annapolis Consulting in Linthicum,
  Md., Appel hit a brick wall several years ago when he
  worked as a systems engineer for a technology
  consulting firm.

  The chief information officer (CIO) didn't think the
  firm's traveling consultants needed to be able to install
  software or store data on the hard drives of their laptop
  computers, so he launched a campaign to lock the
  drives to reduce support costs and eliminate computer
  viruses. A former railroad company executive who had
  trouble turning on his own laptop, the CIO remembered
  how administrators at his previous employer had used
  Windows NT to accomplish this. "He just wasn't willing
  to listen," says Appel, so the IT department simply
  ignored his impractical suggestion.

  Appel isn't alone in his experience of working for a boss
  who has little understanding of IT. Other networking
  professionals have their own horror stories. Take, for
  example, the e-mail administrator at Greyhound Lines,
  Inc. in Dallas whose manager refuses to acknowledge
  the role that network problems play in employees losing
  e-mail messages. "When we explain that the problem
  was caused by a system glitch or a faulty setting, he
  says, 'It shouldn't have happened. You should have
  done your job better,' " she says.

  If such stories sound familiar, it may be because it is
  increasingly common for networking professionals to
  work for bosses who don't have a technical
  background.

  "Over the last four years, the CIO position has seen an
  influx of people with backgrounds in business
  management," says Fred Magee, vice president and
  research director at the Gartner Group in Stamford,
  Conn. In the past 10 years, the ratio of CIOs with IT
  backgrounds to those with business backgrounds has
  shifted from 80/20 to 50/50, he says.

  Working with what you've got


  Although you're likely to work for a nontechnical boss
  at some point in your career, there are a variety of
  measures you can take to enhance the working
  relationship. At one end of the spectrum are basic
  management skills that rely on common sense. "Keep it
  from becoming antagonistic," says Appel. "Maintain a
  professional demeanor and don't resort to trying to
  diminish the other person's credibility.

  "Recognize the situation from the very beginning,"
  advises the e-mail administrator. "If you try to ignore it,
  it will be a lot harder later. And always document what
  you're doing."

  And how should you try to educate your boss?
  Explaining the technology in business terms is key. He
  or she will understand the information more easily. Plus,
  discussing technology in terms of meeting business
  goals will better justify its use for both your boss and
  upper management. "Tell them, 'here's how much we'll
  lose if we can't work for three days,' " says Appel.

  And how should you try to educate your boss? Reduce
  the amount of technical jargon and use broader terms to
  explain a complicated concept. Graphic representations,
  such as simple drawings of the network, are effective
  with people who learn visually. Giving someone a little
  hands-on experience can also work wonders. And
  consider bringing your boss into the network equipment
  room for a tour.

  The bottom line is keeping the lines of communication
  open, says Victor Danevich, managing consultant at
  International Network Services, a network consulting
  firm in Burlington, Mass. "Perceived value is extremely
  important," he says. "It's crucial that your boss
  understands where your time is being spent." Danevich
  recommends e-mailing daily status reports with an
  objectives list.

  Learning the business means more than just talking.
  Since joining his company five years ago, the IS director
  at a Midwestern wholesaler of telecommunications
  devices says he and his boss have educated each other.
  "Maybe he didn't understand what ATM was, but he
  had the ability to grasp a basic understanding and then
  translate it to the next level up," says the IS director,
  who requested anonymity. " And I traveled with him to
  several of our distribution centers, so that he could
  teach me the business."

  Personality issues also were important. "We first had to
  develop a trust of each other, so that he knows I'm not
  going to get him in trouble with my recommendations.
  And I know that he's going to provide the resources to
  do it right."

  Since then, they've worked together to tackle a number
  of thorny issues. They recently convinced the
  company's chief financial officer to begin leasing PCs
  rather than buying more dumb terminals. His boss
  initially found it difficult to buy into the plan. "As a
  businessman, it was hard for him to grasp the idea that
  a PC's life expectancy is about three years. He had
  always regarded equipment as tools to be used for
  years and years," the IS director says.

  Educating his boss has paid off in other ways as well.
  "The biggest benefit is that IT is now a part of the
  planning process and a strategic weapon against the
  competition rather than a backroom accounting
  machine," he says.