Sometimes, You Just Can't Avoid Politics

Computerworld - When a new governor comes into office, you have to expect changes if you work for a state agency. For the new administration in my state, budget cuts were the first thing on the agenda. I had to slash my budget proposal by 16%, just like everyone else. I was relieved that I didnt have to let any people go, but I had to forget about buying some equipment.

Budgets are finally closing, now that every detail has been repeatedly scrutinized over the past several months. I had to explain why storage-area network technology is important for disaster recovery purposes to several levels of agency management, as well as to the legislature and the state budget analysts. The higher I got in the bureaucracy, the more I had to translate how this works into nontechnical language  not an easy task.

The next thing the political winds blew my way was a statewide, top-to-bottom consolidation of IT and information security. And unfortunately, theres no getting the politics out of this project. My inclination is to take the logical approach; I want to study the problem, come up with some hard data, plan the strategy and then migrate in the correct direction. But planning and collaboration are taking a back seat to jockeying for position.

Ive heard that there are two basic types of power: personal and positional. I have always relied on personal power to manage and get things done. It is rare for me to have to pull rank on someone. In fact, that has happened only when someones safety or well-being was at stake. I prefer negotiation and collaboration. Consensus can be hard work, but the results are well worth it.

My preference matters little in this situation, though. Every agency has something at stake in this game. A state government is generally organized as agencies that are part of larger departments that are part of the executive branch, where things are directed by political appointees. Our new governor has named a new state director of IT and a new chief information security officer (CISO). They, in turn, are calling for this consolidation in the name of saving taxpayers money. Im a taxpayer, so Im in favor of that, but it seems that everyone involved is seeking positional power. The various players want to increase their head counts and control by pulling people out of the agencies and into their own domains in the name of consolidation. They want our equipment and talent. To what end?

Departments that can demonstrate internal collaboration among their agencies will apparently be spared the worst effects of consolidation. Therefore, some departments are working feverishly to demonstrate collaboration. The smallest ones are likely to be hit hard by consolidation, however. My agency is part of a department thats big enough to warrant managing IT and security at the departmental level. And so the director of the department has told his IT managers to perform a complete inventory of people and equipment to find where there might be synergy. These managers are good people, doing good work, and they will find new ways to share talent and resources.