I recently spent three days doing something pretty special. As part of my role on the board of itSMF USA, I helped to convene and then participate in something that we called The Revolutionary Network at our annual Fusion conference. What we thought we were getting was a bunch of industry thought leaders from whom we would capture some thought provoking content that we could then share with our members. What we got instead, was a revolution. Perhaps not surprising, given the name that we chose. But it was momentous just the same. You can learn more about what transpired and the results here: www.smcongress.org (over the course of the three days, the group became The Service Management Congress).
The discussion amongst the group was vigorous, passionate and sometimes quite heated. One of the discussion points that came up again and again was whether IT was a service provider or if instead, IT was simply part of the business. One of our participants quoted a very high profile IT executive who says, “There is no such thing as an IT project. They are all business projects.” The debate raged on. And largely without any definitive conclusion.
But, as you might imagine, I have something to say about this. So let me give you my answer to this question. Is IT a Service Provider or must we simply see ourselves as part of the business?
Yes.
Sorry if you expected me to pick a side. But I don’t think that there is a side to pick. I actually find the entire conversation frustrating and one-dimensional. Are we part of the business and should we see ourselves as peers? Of course we should – in fact, we must. But does that mean that we should not see ourselves as service providers or “the business” as our customers? No, it does not. We should be capable of seeing ourselves in both roles simultaneously. We must see ourselves that way. Let me try this another way.
In your family, what is your role? You may be a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt and so on. You are almost certainly serving in more than one of those “roles” at the same time. So let me ask you a question.
Are you a part of the family or do you serve the family?
I dare you to pick one or the other. At least by my definition, seeing yourself as part of the family mandates that you also see yourself as in service to the family – and vice versa. They are inseparable. As part of the family, I both live in service to my children, to my wife, to my parents, etc. and as part of the family, I am the recipient of their generosity, their love and their support. They go hand-in-hand. Relationships are not one-dimensional. We should not expect it to be any different in our business lives.
Is IT part of the business? Absolutely. As such, we should expect to be treated as equals and as peers. But because we see ourselves as part of our business family, then we should also see ourselves as servants of the business. Every waking moment, we should be asking ourselves how we can be of service, how we can deliver value, how we can help the entire organization achieve its goals. Seeing ourselves as Service Providers (root word: servant) and anyone whom we serve as customers is simply a mechanism to help us remember this vital truth. Seeing those we serve as customers doesn’t set us apart or make us subservient. It simply reminds us that we have a mission to serve them as part of the business family. The irony is that while some see this attitude as one of subservience, in my experience it is, in fact, the fastest way to reach equanimity. When we humble ourselves in front of others, we change the dynamic. Rather than demand their respect, we earn it.
As a member of the board of itSMF USA, I see my fellow board members as my customers, just as I see our members as my customer. As the founder and CEO of ITTI, I see my partners, my extended team and our clients as my customer. In every situation, I see myself as both a servant to those around me – regardless of whom works for whom – as well as a recipient of their “services.” It keeps me grounded and keeps my attitude focused solely on one thing: how I can be of service to them so that we can mutually achieve our goals.
So let’s stop discussing this distinction and get down to the business of serving our customers as part of our role in the “family business”.
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