Thirty Thousand Feet above C Level: Win an iPod

I spend a lot of time in airplanes and occasionally reflect on the pleasing notion that from thirty thousand feet large trees look like small pieces of broccoli.  Unfortunately, this slightly fanciful notion is indicative of the world view of many of the people who control our budgets and our ability to execute projects.  The common “view from thirty thousand feet” metaphor indicates the high level, initial or cursory view which is so often held by what we now refer to as “C” level executives.  I heard a great illustration of “C” level thinking last week from an IT executive who reports to one of the lions of the insurance industry (someone we would probably all consider to be a “CCC” level executive.  The lion wanted to know why it would take the IT guy three months to select a core systems software vendor given the fact that he “could buy a damned insurance company in less time than that”.  One interesting potential answer is that maybe it is more difficult to select a core systems software vendor than it is to buy an insurance company, but I strongly doubt that was the lion’s conclusion. 

The problem with high level executives is that they live in intellectual airplanes.  Everything looks like little pieces of broccoli to them.  These are the people who look at you with incredulity when you tell them that it will take two years (you are lying, you really mean three) to replace the company’s policy administration system.  Then when they ask what in hell can possibly take that long, they cut off your explanation because they don’t have time to hear it.  One of the main reasons that so many projects end up late and over budget is that the guys in the airplane just cannot not fathom what we were telling them and insist we reduce the numbers to something which fits better with their arbitrary world view.  We are dealing with trees and they are dealing with broccoli.

So how do you explain that the little piece of broccoli is a hundred foot tree?  And how do you anticipate the moment when the “C” leveler suddenly pays your project A LOT of attention (usually when you are asking for money or some other major commitment)?

At a talk on software selection at the recent IASA show an attendee asked how to deal with “helicopter executives”.  To switch aeronautical metaphors for a moment, a helicopter executive is one of those “hands off” types that hovers out of sight for most of the project life cycle and only occasionally drops out of the clouds, joining the rest of us at ground level and raising a great deal of dust. 

So here are some ways to deal with the executives in your life, whether they fly airplanes or helicopters:

·                    Business and IT executives are incredibly time sliced. Talk briefly, in simple, high level concepts. Details will make them malfunction.

·                    Despite the contrary protestations of a former US President, C levelers do not “feel your pain”.   The stresses and strains of a major project are not their concern.   Getting the project done is their concern.  Empathy is not the overwhelming character trait amongst those who fly in the corporate jet.

·                    To communicate effectively with C levelers you need to talk in terms they relate to – dollars, head count, time lines, and talk only about big issues.

·                    Understand the project from their perspective.  Think business drivers, cost benefits and technology support for business plans.

·                    When building teams make sure that the C levelers have proxies on the team who can represent their views, keep them informed and tell them what to think. 

·                    Make sure you report progress regularly to the C level.  A project sponsor meeting goes a long way to at least informing if not involving the decision makers.

·                    Never surprise a C level executive, they are remarkably easy to spook.  Especially never blind side them with real news in a public forum.  Private briefings, followed by public meetings will help to move the project along relatively smoothly.

Joking aside, the majority of us project types don’t have a lot of exposure to those who hold our fates in their hands.  We don’t know what they do or how they think or how little time they have for genuine reflection.  I had a boss years ago who would walk through the IT department with a meaningful stride and a fixed smile on his face.  One hand extended in salutation he would call at intervals: “Everything OK”, and disappear without ever stopping.  It took me some time to realize that “Everything OK” was not a question.  Years later I asked him why he never stopped and apparently didn’t want to hear the answer to his “question”.  His reply was to that he used to stop and listen but realized that either people would tell him what they thought he wanted to hear or they would bombard him with details which he couldn’t possibly absorb and action.  So he settled for a daily “run thought the gauntlet” which looked good and achieved nothing. 

          

So, here is the point of this post.  You all know aeronautical executives.  Share your best C level story with the rest of us and I will arbitrarily award an Apple iPod to the one I consider to be the best.  C level executives may participate, assuming they have the time.  Get to it.  This one time offer only last until I land.

Comments

[Bill Garvey]

I have been on the flip side of Peter's story. Beyond contract negotiations and deep into the development project, the “C” privately told us (if he told us in front of vendors I'd rather not work for him) "pay more, pay more, our future rests on this gig." We did...and what did we get? You already know. Sometimes the C should listen to "his guys."

[Peter Symons]

Almost 20 years ago, as the VP of delivery for a vendor, I was involved in the sale of a combined P&C and Life policy admin product to one of Canada’s banks, we (the VP of Sales and I) were negotiating the final license fee contract with the two COO’s (one P&C and Life), we were less than $100,000 off on a multi million $ sale and not going anywhere fast, no one would give an inch for various reasons.

The CEO walked in and asked “Everything okay”!!! After some shuffling of feet we all said, in various ways, no, we’re stuck. He asked for the problem, which was explained to him by his guys with, I might add, somewhat of a bias to their side. His response was immediate and astounding, he said: “pay them what they want, our whole future rests with these guys and we don’t want to piss them off for less than $100,000 in a $25,000,000 project” and left the room.

In retrospect it was brilliant, it didn’t cost him much and we owed him success (which we delivered, in fact the P&C system is still being used to this day, which may be another issue!). He understood that vendors are not foes from whom you need to squeeze every nickel, he understood we had a business to run and had demands and budgets and targets just like he did, he treated us as equals and got payback many times over.

George, on the off chance I win the Ipod, please donate it to a local kids group