My first interview out of college (some 30+ years ago) was for a programmer (now called developer) for a media company. The HR person asked a lot of questions that I answered the best I could (coming right out of college). The only thing I remember from that interview was the last question: “Why are programmers so strange?” I laughed but replied, “They aren’t strange, they just think differently.”
After all these years in the technology world, I’m still asked that question by the business community. My answer is the same. On the flip side, I get asked a similar question from technologists, “Why can’t I get business to understand me?” My answer is the similar: “They just think differently so you need to adjust the way you talk with them.”
With software project failure rate now above 60%, I want to help both sides. In this blog, I hope to open a discussion with the business community on what they need to do to convey what they want. I have a similar blog that discusses how the IT organization can engage the business community.
If you have questions on how best to communicate with your beloved geeks, please comment on this post. I’ll address them the best I can. Hopefully others will add ideas and together, we can help business growth.
Helping businesses uncover growth opportunities. 
I'll help your business communicate what you want from Information Technology through mentoring, consulting, speaking and training. 
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May 30, 2008 at 4:17 pm |
Great to see the new blog. I think there is a HUGE gap in communication. Business doesn’t think Development understands the business process…and Development doesn’t think Business understands the development process. And their both somewhat correct. The point they are missing is that it’s not the process that they are working towards, it’s the outcome. Opening up communication between the two and helping them each to understand their role in the outcome is key.
Looking forward to future posts.