Ask the Right Question!

A business associate of mine is in talks with a local client about a potential consulting engagement.

Due to a number of factors, the client believes they need to reorganize their I.T. resources, and they're looking for help. Certainly the options are obvious; align by customer segment, align by function, align by technology, even align by application.

The problem with the whole exercise is this.

They're asking the wrong question.

First, the client needs to answer the question - "What problem are you trying to solve?". Once you get the question right, the answer becomes almost self evident.

Without a clear understanding of the problem, any internal alignment will do - because you don't know what the outcome should be! The client would be better served hiring my friend to help them identify pain points within their service delivery and support model (which he'd be excellent at doing) - to help them understand the nature of their problem; to help them pose the correct question.

They might even discover that I.T. alignment isn't the issue at all. It could be an I.T. governance issue or possibly an underperfoming department.

The lesson here is that sometimes consulting dollars are better spent helping you ask the right questions, than in providing the answers.