Sometimes saying "no" to new projects is the biggest favor you can do for your organization. The other day I was talking with a technology executive who explained that he never says no to anything the business wants because if he does, “they’ll get it elsewhere.”
It’s certainly a legitimate worry. With shadow IT a constant concern and technology vendors sometimes pitching their wares to executives in other departments, the threat of the IT department getting bypassed is real enough. And then there’s IT’s lingering reputation as a roadblock, the place where good initiatives go to die. No IT organization wants to be seen in this light.
But a blanket "yes" to every request is not a workable approach for most IT operations. And even if you could say yes, there are times when you will serve your organization best by saying no, even if that’s not what they want to hear. You should seriously consider answering no if:
- Saying yes would threaten security. It’s IT’s job to keep the network safe, and whoever is requesting the new technology won’t be the one to get the late-night call if there’s a breach. But make sure it’s really a meaningful threat. There can be a huge temptation to use security concerns as a blanket reason for rejecting new technologies, or even technologies that you or your staff simply aren’t comfortable with.
- The requested technology doesn’t play well with others. Creating complex interfaces or customizations to make the new technology integrate with your existing applications and platforms is likely to be a bad idea. Most IT experts say that you should only jump through those hoops to gain functionality that is a key differentiator for your business. If it isn’t, then working with the business to find a less onerous alternative is a better strategy.
- You don’t have the resources. Most IT departments are forced to put off some projects with good ROI because they don’t have enough staff available to carry them out. Unless you can easily scale at will using contractors and outsourcers, don’t take on more work than your department can do within a reasonable schedule. Constantly pushing your reports into “death march” mode is bad for their health, your retention, and the quality of their work.
- It won’t serve a business need. The time-honored model is for business to provide requirements and IT to fill those requirements. But enterprising CIOs go a step further, learning exactly what business problem a new technology will solve and how that will contribute to the bottom line. If you know the technology in question won’t truly solve the problem, or the business case for it is weak, it’s your job to say so.
How about you: How often do you say no to something the business wants? And is it too often, not often enough, or just about right?
