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Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

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crispybits
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Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by crispybits »

I'm really just looking for any experience or insight any of you have had of how you deal with bosses who don't understand the value and particularly the strengths and weaknesses of IT solutions and how and where to apply them (and vice versa where not to apply them)

A little background. I work for a company that maintains a moderately sized dataset (about 6000 overall records with about 30 fields per record) entirely through Excel. To do so they have split it up and keep some information in this file, some information in that file, some information in another file, etc. They have 6 identical versions of a few of the files that only concentrate on 1 of our 6 project regions, and in some other files the 6 regions are split between 6 worksheets in the same workbook.

A lot of the work is better done by human minds and I fully understand that. For example when a judgement call is required about whether the root cause of an event is a contractor not performing their work on time or a failed delivery of materials or a mismanagement of a project such that the contractor was booked to show up on the Tuesday and the delivery was booked to arrive on the Thursday. These are things it's very difficult or impossible to write properly accurate and reliable formulas or VBA coding to deal with because it involves reading through emails, checking various other files that are only accessible through a bespoke online file storage system, or other things like that.

But one problem I am running into, and I've heard my boss say the same thing to various solutions I've proposed for a few different issues we have (that are almost always caused by relying on a human to perform some task that can be writen with such clearly defined and simple rules that the solution is almost childs play) is "but if we do this the people won't pay as much attention to their work" or "why should we get the computer to do their job for them?" and it makes my spidey-senses go bananas!

For instance, our projects have various deadlines built into them. If a deadline passes without that particular activity being completed then the project should be flagged and reported on. But at least 30-40% of the time we report on these late because checking for these deadline flags and inputting them manually is just one of maybe 10 computer-suited tasks that the human users have to do every day and they don't always do all of them because of either sloppiness or other workload pressures.

So, have you experienced this problem, and if so what are the best ways you have found to get over them and get to a point where the computer is doing the work best suited to the computer, and the humans are freed up to spend their time doing the work best suited to the humans?

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by Tacalabala »

I'm fortunate in this respect as my bosses are either quite computer literate or instantly grab any chance at further automating processes.

My advice would be to knock up a working 'beta' and ask that they should at least try to use it. Once people see the benefit, the only problem you'll have is that they want more.

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by crispybits »

But the issue isn't that they don't think the proposed solutions will work - I've proved to them with the solutions I have managed to put in place that work perfectly and have been in place for a while now with no problems that I can build things that work - it's more about the attitude that the people will become less focused on their work or that I'm somehow taking work away from people that they need to be doing manually (without any reason being given for why the humans need to do that particular task).

I have a solution in mind that takes about 30-odd files down to a single file that becomes easier to use, and that automatically sends out personalised email reminders every day about all the important events to every one of our 60-odd project managers. I could build it within a day or two of starting. It wouldn't reduce the number of people needed to do the work of the team as a whole, just allow them to focus on getting the job done better. But that won't dismiss either of these two objections.

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by Surprised »

Maybe you need to change tactics. Rather than just show the proposed solutions work show that they release staff from the mundane "fact checking" side of things and enable them to work more on the judgement call side of things and actually delivering projects on time.

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Tacalabala
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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by Tacalabala »

Yeah, I mean if you build it (in your own time, sorry), then they can't really have a justification for not at least trialling it. If they don't, I think that isn't a good sign re your boss or something behind the scenes.
Last edited by Tacalabala on 04 Oct 2014, 20:38, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by Edmondson »

Don't the two objections cancel each other out?

1. The personnel will lose focus on their work
2. Work would be taken away from people

If 2 occurs then this frees up time for more focus, or "value added" :roll: work for the personnel to perform so helps the first objection.

From the types of thing your new system would do, it sounds like it would flag things for people to take action on, so adds focus and gives them the work to do, that the company needs them to do.

Your boss sounds like a bellend. :P

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by Dennisthemenace »

If you stand still, you get passed and this has been the case throughout the eons. Four notable examples:

Cunard (if you want to go back that far) - shipping, failed to see that air travel was the way to go
Motorola - ignored the impact of Smart Phones
Blockbuster - should've been Netflix. Ignored it
Your boss - because he's being a bellend

This is all your boss needs to know. Oh and maybe two more things

It's 2014
It's only going one way

http://www.futuretimeline.net/21stcentu ... entury.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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WilBert
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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by WilBert »

Cost benefit analysis. Written on a tablet (of stone)

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by Cheweybacca »

Follow the money. If your boss wants to make money and your solution achieves this then do a CBA illustrating the savings to your boss.

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by Surprised »

Always found a cost benefit analysis to be of little value as the cost side is always wrong and the benefits side too subjective.

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by WilBert »

If you make the benefits stroke the boss' subjective ego then it can work well IMO.

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by Dennisthemenace »

The other thing here is your relationship with your boss, it sounds pants. He won't listen to you and he pisses you off.

For the next month I suggest you loses a few dignity battles with him to help your win your war (which is getting what you want).

Suck up to him as much as possible, tell him he's great, talk about the footie (or something he likes), suggest you get something social going and take him down the pub, talk about the thing he likes and say 'oh that's interesting' when it's really about as interesting as growing carrots, then get some advice off him when you become interested in his world of making model aeroplanes, fetish clubs, amdram, writing articles for trainspotting monthly etc.

Playing the game can be great fun especially if it's for the one purpose - making your life at work just a bit happier.

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by crispybits »

Firstly my boss is female (no biggy, just weird to see her referred to as "he" and "him")

Secondly we have a decent enough relationship. On Thursday, with her having given me a task to do something that she admitted would have taken her days to do her way and I went back to her a coupla hours later with the full results (because instead of working on doing the task I worked on automating it) her smile was so wide her face nearly split in half. She respects my work.

I just can't get past this almost dogmatic brick wall of "automating things is bad mmkay" on certain issues when in every single case where they have relented and allowed me to automate tasks that I know are better done by machines than humans the results have been rated as anything from "good" to "bloody brilliant" and they admit as much. That deadline example from the OP is a prime example. I've been allowed to write code that they run every Monday to get a list of what the deadlines are each week, but not code to automatically flag the deadlines for us to fix before the customer asks why we're not flagging them properly (which, like I said, happens a lot!)

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by tedbull »

Is this what I think it is? Project Scheduling by Excel checklist?

I'd be shitting myself purely at the lack of robustness in the data storage. Never mind the fact it's not designed to do what it seems like you're asking it to do

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by crispybits »

I have mentioned a few times that we should be using a relational database built specifically for project scheduling (and offered to do the donkey work in building it) but when I'm having a hard time even getting them to let me put a few lines of VBA code on the sheet to check for deadlines whenever it opens the chances of getting them to adopt a whole different software framework is somewhat negligible :-P

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by Dennisthemenace »

The other thing is that maybe she has no idea what you're on about and so she just 'shy's away from it'.

Maybe she sticks to what she knows and if she's hitting the targets then why worry? Lot's of bosses are like that, it doesn't matter if they could be making ten times the amount, if her bosses above are happy then why be bothered with something else?

Stick to what you know and do it well, I've seen loads of them. They can be extremely frustrating and sometimes you just have to accept that it's 'just the way it is'. You either go to work accepting it or go to work frustrated every morning. If you're not willing to accept that then I would suggest

1. Arrange a formal meeting with her as you feel so strongly and are willing to put your career on the line
2. Pitch the idea to her like you are on Dragon's Den

If she says no then you can either,

1. Accept it with a smile
2. Go over her head
3. Leave because you're relationship will never be the same again
4. Slag her off behind her back and be constantly miserable every day.

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Tacalabala
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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by Tacalabala »

Dennisthemenace wrote:The other thing is that maybe she has no idea what you're on about and so she just 'shy's away from it'.

Maybe she sticks to what she knows and if she's hitting the targets then why worry? Lot's of bosses are like that, it doesn't matter if they could be making ten times the amount, if her bosses above are happy then why be bothered with something else?

Stick to what you know and do it well, I've seen loads of them. They can be extremely frustrating and sometimes you just have to accept that it's 'just the way it is'. You either go to work accepting it or go to work frustrated every morning. If you're not willing to accept that then I would suggest

1. Arrange a formal meeting with her as you feel so strongly and are willing to put your career on the line
2. Pitch the idea to her like you are on Dragon's Den

If she says no then you can either,

1. Accept it with a smile
2. Go over her head
3. Leave because you're relationship will never be the same again
4. Slag her off behind her back and be constantly miserable every day.
There is another dimension to this as well - if Crispy appears more able than her, and those above think so as well, then her own position is on the line. You could understand why she wouldn't want that to happen.

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by crispybits »

It's too late to avoid that one Taca - I've been told I'm being moved up to be the technical advisor to contract/senior management and lead data analyst (not above my current boss specifically but higher up and off to one side of her) - I can quite easily wait until I get into that position and have more influence in a couple of months and force a few things through (though apparently the big boss of the whole project is a technophobe too so I'll probably still need to figure this out), but I'd quite like a few extra things to point out I've implemented when, in the coming weeks, we negotiate the salary I'll be getting in my new role 8-)

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by Tacalabala »

Well, I suppose you could build it, put together a model etc etc as something to show what ideas and projects you have in pipeline in your new role. That would show that you have that 'big picture' lookout and be a big fat plus in the negotiation.

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by tedbull »

Ultimately people will always wonder "WIIFM". So what really is in it for her?

You know the woman... are there certain things that trigger a reaction with her?

Cost savings
Data integrity
Consistency of reporting
Flashy reporting to her managers
Improved efficiency
Greater visibility of PM failings (she sounds a bit old school - maybe this one resonates)
Better reporting to clients

New World vs Old World will trigger a response with a lot of people. They like to be seen as innovators. If she's not that way inclined then something must drive her.

Personally I like to try to find if people have KPIs with a bonus implication. Does she?

I'm sure your solution can tick whatever box she needs while achieving what you want to achieve

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Re: Selling IT solutions to a technophobic boss

Post by Zimmerman »

crispybits wrote:It's too late to avoid that one Taca - I've been told I'm being moved up to be the technical advisor to contract/senior management and lead data analyst (not above my current boss specifically but higher up and off to one side of her) - I can quite easily wait until I get into that position and have more influence in a couple of months and force a few things through (though apparently the big boss of the whole project is a technophobe too so I'll probably still need to figure this out), but I'd quite like a few extra things to point out I've implemented when, in the coming weeks, we negotiate the salary I'll be getting in my new role 8-)
Maybe this is the key.
You already have the new role in the bag? Keep this in your back pocket for your big cost saving deliverable when you're in position.

If your (old) boss is a technophobe, it's probably fear on her behalf. She feels she'd be unable to know what the troops are doing if you go down that route.

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