According to Amazon, there are over 100,000 books on management, over 50,000 published just in the last 90 days! Goodness! Management books are wonderful, and I reference them a good deal. Many times, though they lack practical information. I am asked when #mentoring people for actionable things they can do to become an #influencer within their team. My first question is do they understand, in simple terms, how their organization clears a dollar? Even for not-for-profits, this is critical. As technology leaders, we need to understand how the money comes in and how it goes out to understand which processes most help and hurt the organization.
For example, for a healthcare system, it is obvious that a patient visit brings in money. Does lab work bring in money to the organization or is that outsourced? How about pharmacy? What percentage of the operating budget comes from philanthropy? I bet if you understood that 10% of the operating budget came from a certain team, you would focus on their technology needs a little differently.
I am not saying that people and processes which do not have a fiscal impact are not important. I am saying that understanding how the money flows provides better insight into the business, even a not-for-profit organization. This allows any IT team member to speak intelligently during meetings and expand their influence.
You can learn about the money flow in your organization by asking someone on the finance team, exploring general training through a professional organization such as HIMSS, and reading articles from major publications.
What book, article, class, or podcast have you encountered recently that has stretched you or reminded you of best practices you need to bring back?
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