Episode 37 - Avoiding IT Failures with Dave Burrill

Dave Burrill is a senior executive (President, COO, CIO), entrepreneur, author, speaker, board director, and advisor. He’s been part of three successful tech companies taking each from co-founding or early stage to exit (1 IPO, 2 acquisitions) that have earned national recognition for innovation and growth. Dave is a trusted C-Suite advisor and peer with the expertise to cross disciplines from finance, operations, and IT to sales and marketing. He has over 30 years of technology project management experience leading successful teams for clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 50.

Dave shares so many great insights for avoiding IT failures. He shares his experiences with IT failures including common problems like communication and processes and how proper questioning can eliminate these problems. We also talk about the importance of using checklists to drive successful IT projects.

Show Notes:

• [00:30] Dave is the Managing Director at IT's about What.
• [02:48] He learned a lot from his vast past experiences.
• [05:13] Over the last few years Dave has been working with early-stage venture private equity funds.
• [06:16] IT departments have a bad habit of being blind to the initial parameters.
• [08:20] Half of all software professionals’ time is spent remediating something that wasn’t done right the first time.
• [10:38] Three out of four project failures are attributed to one reason alone and the reason is that what the business is trying to do is never fully communicated to the IT department. The IT department doesn’t get a full grasp of what is needed.
• [13:27] Make sure that what the vendor is building is exactly what you want them to build. You need to document the workflow and what is being done.
• [15:47] The vendor needs to ask direct questions and the business needs to tell the tech company everything they know.
• [17:42] Human beings are largely controlled by an unconscious autopilot that we don’t even know we have so we have a separate operating system that is competing for control all the time.
• [20:23] As we get better at doing something we build up these systems in our mind. We can transfer the stuff from doing it manually to automatically.
• [21:21] When stuff carries over the conscious to the unconscious it allows us to act instinctively.
• [22:02] The more expertise that you acquire, the less able you are to articulate that which you know or how you know it.
• [24:19] The business often forgets they know things so they forget to share them with the vendor or IT department.
• [26:48] Audit standards mandate when you are doing an audit that you construct a checklist.
• [28:09] Dave shares about a high-tech project that was successful and met every objective using checklists.
• [29:37] Really bright people acknowledge physical constraints and human limitations and they figure out a way around them.
• [32:49] Dave shares previous IT failures so that we can learn from them.
• [33:57] The problem is that we often lose sight of how and why something was originally developed.
• [35:54] We love the next big shiny object.
• [38:46] If you ever forget that this is all about people, your life with not be worth living.
• [39:26] Understanding the human need in IT is your principle focus.
• [41:25] When you start believing that you know everything there is to know, you close the door on the possibilities of all the things you might learn.
• [41:41] You need to lead with questioning and draw the information out.
• [43:03] It is about moving a ball from point A to point B as fast and efficiently as you can to hopefully generate some profits.
• [44:13] Your reporting strategy is your management communication strategy.
• [45:19] Then you refine what you have done before. You look at your metrics and make adjustments.
• [47:53] A checklist gives a layer of consistency and trust.
• [49:35] Dave shares his best worst boss story.
• [52:47] Continuous learning and continuous improvement are crucial to the success of the organization.
• [54:11] Never forget that human beings are complex. The hero of the morning can be the thief of the afternoon.
• [54:41] Just because you don’t agree with someone on one thing doesn’t mean they can’t be right on something else.
• [55:14] You can contact Dave (949)235-6283 or dave@itsaboutwhat.com.
• [56:11] It is important to document lessons learned.

Links and Resources:

• State of the CIO Podcast Website
• State of the CIO Podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Dan on LinkedIn
• Dave on LinkedIn
• IT’s About What Website
• Thinking Fast and Slow Book
• The Checklist Manifesto Book