The Consummate Gardener
There are times in IT Service Management that seem to be like dry cold spells. Times when the funding is dry, the resources are lean and to all but the consummate gardener might appear to be nonproductive in the way of moving forward. The consummate gardener will find something to put on the schedule in the bitter cold of January, something like garden planning, tool maintenance, or alphabetizing the seed packets. Perhaps browsing seed catalogs and more to ensure they are prepared for the next season. Why? They have a vision! The crop, the wonderful fruit of their labor realized.
There are times in IT Service Management that seem to be like dry cold spells. Times when the funding is dry, the resources are lean and to all but the consummate gardener might appear to be nonproductive in the way of moving forward. The consummate gardener will find something to put on the schedule in the bitter cold of January, something like garden planning, tool maintenance, or alphabetizing the seed packets. Perhaps browsing seed catalogs and more to ensure they are prepared for the next season. Why? They have a vision! The crop, the wonderful fruit of their labor realized.
Back to the Basics
Like the gardener there are areas
of ITSM Best Practice that a service provider can continually be preparing for
and improving. When times are lean and
dry as well as when they are not. With
all the terms, the technology, the latest and greatest buzz lets pause and step
back; back to the basics. For the
gardener that is the seed, the soil and the tools that will be needed to ensure their vision.
People: (Seed)
Consistent
thought effort and preparation for how to invoke the culture required for
strategic initiatives has to begin with a focus on people. Who? What? Where? How? When will you need
executive management involved in the near future for aspires that are on the horizon? The consummate gardener in ITSM will be
reading up on relationship management, stakeholder communication, and perhaps investigating
to find out what communication plans and awareness campaigns are working in
other areas that they can leverage from.
They will be engaged in and encouraging change champions that will
create fertile ground for the upcoming seed that will soon be planted.
Process: (Soil)
The crop will
not bring in itself. Like the gardener
the service provider will need to think of who, what where when how the ground is
to be fertilized, tilled, planted and sowed to ensure a fruitful crop. For ITSM it might be things like what
governance boards will be required? Not
only what policy will be needed to govern ITSM processes but what activities
and procedures will I need? The gardener
here will be preparing for documentation, knowledge management and perhaps
begin with what templates might help. The
consummate gardener has a listening ear for conversations that make evident
where existing process and activities are broken. Listening, reading gathering and preparing
while constantly keeping the vision of the full crop in mind while fertilizing
the soil. When the time is right the
consummate gardener will be prepared to instigate the projects required with
appropriate buy in and support and watch their vision play out.
Technology (Tools)
Success for many
gardeners comes from having the best tools available. The consummate gardener is aware that
determining the crop, getting prime seed, building relationships and getting
the best suppliers for just the right seed will trump the tools and automation
that they might be fortunate enough to have.
Bad seed when planted in unprepared soil will not result in the best
crop regardless of what tools or automation the gardener uses.
The consummate gardeners in ITSM
will take advantage of every season prioritizing their thoughts and efforts
with a clear vision of the crop. They
understand that the seed and the soil are utmost to their success and will
prioritize to ensure that the tools they use are in support of those. Let’s get back to the basics: The seed, the
soil and the tools. The planting does
not begin in spring and the crop will not bring in itself. We need a consummate gardener who understands
that the heart the vision and the effort in the bitter cold of January will
bring forth the ultimate fruitful crops all in their season.
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