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Welcome to the first issue of BRM Compass, a monthly newsletter of tips and useful articles for today's Business Relationship Manager. Whether you're new to the BRM role or already an expert, there will be some gems to discover here. We've created this publication to provide everyone -- BRMI members and non-members alike -- with information and helpful articles about the field of Business Relationship Management. Please feel free to share our BRM Compass with your colleagues and friends who would like to learn more about BRM. If you have been forwarded this issue and would like to sign up for your own copy, you can do so here.
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In this issue: An article that talks about success in your BRM role, tips on how to influence stakeholders and information on a new webinar being present by Business Relationship Management Institute (BRMI).
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What does Success in your BRM role look like?
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Those who've tried it know, the BRM role is tough! BRMs are torn between:
- Conflicting forces of strategic, longer-term thinking and the more tactical short-term demands
- Insatiable business demand and limited supply
- Two 'bosses' - one from the business side and one from the supply side (usually the CIO when the supply side is the IT organization)
Adding to the challenge, the BRM role is often not defined or communicated as clearly as it needs to be. Like a Rorschach blot, people tend to see in the BRM role what they want to see. This can be a big problem! Read more
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BRM Featured Question:
How do you influence stakeholders to move from tactical to strategic thinking?
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This question had been posted on the BRMI Wiki and answered by a panel of BRM experts, namely Aaron Barnes and Vaughan Merlyn -- two of BRMI's founders. Here are their answers:
Aaron Barnes: A good tactic to get to three year strategic conversation, is to use is a dual approach. Start with a review of current opportunities and establish priority and potential delivery dates. Show your business partners you care most about their short term needs and have a plan for solution delivery. Follow that effort up with conversations about a three year plan. Explain that part of your role is to shape the provider (IT as an example) to deliver to the business's needs. Explain that having a three year strategic plan will help the provider build out a capabilities roadmap and start planning what the provider needs to do to be able to meet the requested delivery dates in the future. Explain the benefits of planning ahead - improved quality, improved delivery, etc...
Vaughan Merlyn:
First, it's a perennial question and issue. Many companies seem biased towards a short term, reactive style. Getting a more "Strategic" view, with the longer time-frame that typically implies, is an ongoing challenge for many BRM roles.
A reality is that a significant change in leadership (e.g., new CEO, new CIO) is sometimes the catalyst for a major, and potentially rapid, shift in the management style.
Absent a change in leadership, it's often a market crisis of some sort, or a significant new competitive or regulatory force that catalyzes the shift.
For the BRM, I think some of the clich�s apply:
- Find and sell the "pain" (cost of status quo, risks and threats, opportunities not being seized, etc.)
- Find and sell the "remedy" ("here's some strategic possibilities, opportunities or threats")
- Lay out some first steps, at least an executive workshop or retreat to explore strategic options
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New Webinar: Organizational Context and Maturity
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 On October 25, 2013, at 11:00am EST, we are holding a 60-minute webinar entitled "Organizational Context and Maturity: Keys to BRM Implementation Success". This is the second in a series of three webinars related to the BRM Role implementation. The initial webinar, entitled "Implementing the BRM Role" was held on September 27th and can be purchased or downloaded here.
In the first webinar on BRM role implementation, we introduced a framework with four main categories of success factors: Context, Clarity, Enablement and Transition Management. In this upcoming webinar, we will delve deeper into the success factors related to Context such as business and provider organizational context/operating models, demand/supply maturity, and history of past BRM implementations.
This webinar will be conducted by Sheila J. Smith, president of Omega Point Consulting. She has over 30 years of business and consulting experience and is Chair of the BRMI Advisory Committee.
To register non-members or if you want to learn more, click here. You can also email us or call us at +1.888.848.3012 for any questions.
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Copyright � 2013. All Rights Reserved.
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