MCPc Blog

Learning from Customers: Aligning IT Strategy with Mission

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Author: Lance Frew

One great aspect of working at MCPc is that we're regularly interacting with hundreds of clients. They're from all over the country and are of all different sizes, industries, cultures and missions. Despite these differences, the organizations that are most successful have certain characteristics in common that we can all learn from.  Here are some of the lessons our customers have taught us through our shared experiences.

The Lesson

The IT departments that are most effective have a crystal-clear understanding of what is at the heart of their organization - the mission, vision and values. They make sure the people, both internal and external, are aligned with these.

Strategy is important, obviously. But strategies need to be consistent with the mission, vision, and values of the organization. Given that today's IT departments touch literally every facet of an organization, we see the best-performing organizations have IT departments whose strategy never loses sight of what is core to the organization.

An Example

When was the last time you thought of your printer in "Life or Death" terms?

For some, that could be literally true. We work with many wonderful healthcare providers such as University Hospitals (UH) headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. When they looked for a partner to work with them on their print management solution they made it perfectly clear that they wanted to drive cost savings AND improve patient care - the latter being the most important.

The scorecard UH uses to continually evaluate our performance measures both cost and the levels of service their caregivers are able to maintain. The clear alignment they provided makes sure their people internally and the people of MCPc are all working to achieve the right balance.

Questions to Ask:

• How well do you and your staff understand what is at the heart of your organization?
• Do your partners understand it as well?
• Is the message being constantly reinforced?
• Are they behaving in a way that is consistent with your culture and values?
• When you review their performance, are you talking to them about how well they are extending your organization's mission?

Are your people (internal and external) performing effectively or just working the status quo? Help drive their success by aligning their performance with your organization's mission and reward them when they get it right.

What have your experiences taught you about the power of alignment?

Lance Frew is the President and Chief Financial Officer at MCPc and helps guide the organization in achieving its strategic vision as an industry-leading technology products and solutions provider. Connect with Lance on LinkedIn.