[Discuss] Justify your existence

[bill at horne.net (Bill Horne)]

On 12/15/2011 10:56 PM, Edward Ned Harvey wrote:
> You're in a social situation - at a party or something - You're talking with
> some CFO or otherwise interesting financial person about work, and Dilbert
> cartoons, and the wastefulness and inefficiencies of typical corporations or
> typical organizations, etc.  Somebody uses a term like "overhead" or
> "secondary" referring to support roles.  But you're an IT person - You're a
> support role, and depending on what is your core business, most likely
> you're overhead.
>
>
>
> With only a moment's thought, and only a few words, how do you describe the
> value that your role adds to the organization?  How do you justify your own
> existence, casually, when talking to a CFO or somebody in a social
> situation?
>

I suggest something like this:

"I'm one of the team that makes sure the computers, networks, 
telephones, power, fire alarms, printers, and cell phones are always 
working.  In short, I'm the guy who keeps the magic smoke from leaking 
out of the wires, because computers run on magic smoke, and if it leaks 
out, things stop working. I like to think I do my job well, and the 
measure of my team's success is that you've probably never heard of us."

HTH.

Bill Horne
http://www.billhorne.com/

-- 
Bill Horne
339-364-8487