Real Business of IT Quotes

“Language is powerful. What we say can shape how we think—and it certainly shapes how others think about us. In this regard, calling the business a “customer” simply conveys the idea that IT is not part of the business.”
― Richard Hunter, Real Business of IT: How CIOs Create and Communicate Value

“The only people in any enterprise who ever describe anyone except the people who buy the enterprise’s products and services as “customers” are IT personnel. The only people in the enterprise who ever talk about “aligning with the business” are IT personnel. (Maybe the head of sales has talked about aligning her function with a new strategy or a new value proposition, or the head of manufacturing has talked about aligning with new key performance indicators—but aligning with the business?) That view can’t be good for IT. It is a legacy of the”
― Richard Hunter, Real Business of IT: How CIOs Create and Communicate Value

“We believe that executives, like everyone else, see what is brought to their attention. The costs associated with IT are brought to their attention every time they see a chargeback report or request a change in their services. Occasional failures are bound to be noticed, too. If IT doesn’t make a point of bringing the value to their attention, it’s much less likely to be seen and acknowledged.”
― Richard Hunter, Real Business of IT: How CIOs Create and Communicate Value

“Lots of IT organizations have metrics that say, 'We're 99.99 percent on uptime, we're fast.' The plumbing is wonderful, but nobody cares.”
― Richard Hunter, Real Business of IT: How CIOs Create and Communicate Value

“the right way to discuss IT performance and value is to focus on IT's contributions to business performance and business outcomes, and not on the performance of IT's machines.”
― Richard Hunter, Real Business of IT: How CIOs Create and Communicate Value

“calling colleagues "customers" puts a wedge between IT and the rest of the business.”
― Richard Hunter, Real Business of IT: How CIOs Create and Communicate Value

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
― Richard Hunter, Real Business of IT: How CIOs Create and Communicate Value