IT Governance Publishing

Transcending Conventional
ITSM
Yoga in ITSM

Moving deeper into ITSM & ITIL

Beverly Weed-Schertzer




Part 1: How do you become visible?
Service Strategy

Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 0
Demonstrating value .................................................................................................................. 1
Becoming Visible ........................................................................................................................ 3
Summary .................................................................................................................................... 4


Transcending Conventional ITSM

Moving Deeper Into ITSM & ITIL Part 1 Service Strategy
IT Governance Publishing Beverly Weed-Schertzer 2014



Part 1: How do you become visible? Service Strategy
Introduction

Moving deeper into the ITIL service lifecycle will guide you through a different perspective in relation to the
people and process issues that impact value creation. Moving deeper into ITSM/ITIL is a series of five papers
each diving deeper into one of the five stages of ITIL; Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition,
Service Operation, and Continual Service Improvement. Part one - Service Strategy - is about extending beyond
the ITIL Service Strategy guidance focusing on value visibility (VV). Value visibility is a term introduced in
the Moving Deeper model to emphasise the importance of value creation described in the ITIL Service Strategy
material. It means that the service you offer and the value you create transcends to the authentic value a
service will provide in a live environment. Value visibility includes authenticity and connection, two important
roles to have in your organisation to establish the appropriate balance between the business, employees and
customers.

It is imperative for the IT industry to recognise the repeated cycles of dispensing people too soon, accepting
autopilot behaviour in the day-to-day, or trying to be a people pleaser. These cycles are damaging to service
delivery and, as a result, organisations suffer dire consequences. People are at the core of every action and
decision. People utilise and program the tools, and people are responsible and accountable for the process.
Moving deeper into ITIL helps an organisation to break away from self-defeating people and process cycles,
which damage your organisations credibility, upset opportunities for increased revenue from repeat business
or referrals and create a deficiency in employee productivity and morale. Techniques for moving deeper will
help your organisation transform into an authentic service provider, delivering value through services while
also sustaining them in a stable environment and instigate a reliable CSI program.

Service management success requires authenticity and commitment. The universe of technology is growing
and changing at a fast pace, creating a field of dreams in todays market for IT service management services.
There is no corner of the universe not using some component of technology, which creates a wider area of
opportunity in the current market. Consider this compared to the environment 30 years ago, when
opportunities were limited and required specific technical expertise. Within this universe of technology, the
people and process issues were once viewed as minor, largely based on the business low-risk, low-impact
perceptions. During those times, the perceived solution to address process issues focused on automation, and
for people issues the focus was on restructuring resources. These misperceptions cause a failure in the
effective problem solving of operating issues, which leads to cycles of self-defeating attitudes and actions.
Self-defeating cycles set a course for ITSM doom by triggering a loop of overrun costs, exhausting staff, budget
cuts, layoffs, poor customer satisfaction and extensive service interruptions.

Information technology organisations have transformed over the past three decades and these views have
taken a 180 degree turnabout. People and process issues are now ranked high among the problems suffered in
information technology across all industries. Regardless of the awareness of the significant impacts people
and process issues cause, automation and cutbacks are still the primary solutions IT professionals use to
resolve these issues. There isnt a vertical in the IT universe that has mastered sustaining an environment
focused on people and process first.

ITSM success relies on momentum, dedication, commitment and communication. Life and business; it's all
about learning and improving.



Transcending Conventional ITSM

Moving Deeper Into ITSM & ITIL Part 1 Service Strategy
IT Governance Publishing Beverly Weed-Schertzer 2014



Moving deeper into ITSM/ITIL takes the avid ITIL guru beyond the rim of the established publications and into
the fascinating journey ITIL takes in the living world of IT professionals. It is drawn on a service management
model developed through 20 years practical experience tackling real situations, and provides techniques to
get to the heart of the people and process issues. The guidance in ITIL is to fix the people and process issues
first, then automate. Very little exists, however, in the know how to effectively address people and process
issues without sacrificing these major capabilities and resources.

Demonstrating value

Service management activities need room to grow in order to mature. Maturity levels in service management
are the pulse checks to gauge how well the organisation will operate independently without deviating from the
governance model. The higher the levels of maturity, the higher the return on investments made for a healthy
growth within the business. To grow in a healthy manner, service management needs to learn and exhibit
transformative and maturing qualities. Learning and growing help the organisation establish workable
methods to understand the results of all decisions and actions made from a tactical and strategic position. You
need to integrate these decisions and actions from both areas to reach growth potential.

Are you real with your customers? Becoming visible to your customers begins with an intention to service your
customers authentically and to put value at the heart of your business. An intention to be valuable is
the difference between adding value by way of services to the business, versus operating solely as a cost-
centre.

Having the right goals, policies, processes and designs around this intention are more than words we speak,
document or print out. The intention to be a valued service provider will reproduce real value in an
authentic way throughout the entire organisation. When an organisation lacking in authenticity receives a high
rate of customer complaints, it triggers a reactive instinct to counter attack with defensive actions against the
complaint. Reacting defensively at the height of customer complaints creates a time consuming effort to
develop the right kind of communications to respond appropriately. A reactive defence consumes costly
resources and deviates from an authentic and real action to mitigate successfully. This brings with it significant
impacts to the perceived value by your customers and an impact to your businesss credibility. Regardless of
how well value creation is planned in Service Strategy, in Service Operation behind the service delivery aspect,
there is likely to be a reactive, defensive behaviour as a normal mode of operation. Inculcating authenticity in
the business has a dramatic effect in minimising the levels of reactionary behaviour, thereby decreasing the
risk of harming the reputation and credibility of the business.

Operating in any manner other than authentically with your customers will keep IT in the swamps of being a
cost centre; as a cost centre to the business, IT will remain at the mercy of corporate mandates on quick fixes
and severe budget cuts.

Setting an intention is different from a service strategy policy: it is a shift in the organisations culture. Setting
a statement like we plan to be your #1 service provider, for example, is a desired outcome and not an
intention. This statement describes what you'd like to happen in the future, and in reality we dont have
control over people and all the elements internally and externally. You do, however, have more influence and
control over what you do. Individuals have control over themselves and people will support


What resonates with their work ethics, belief system and what generally makes sense to them. Intention gets
you off automatic pilot and out of the ruts worn down by old and powerful beliefs within the organisation. It
Transcending Conventional ITSM

Moving Deeper Into ITSM & ITIL Part 1 Service Strategy
IT Governance Publishing Beverly Weed-Schertzer 2014



helps to make a commitment about what you plan to do and keep reminding yourself of the businesses pledge
to be valuable.

A desired outcome is a wish for the future and an honest intention is what you do to achieve a business
outcome.

Growing up and maturing is an essential part of succeeding and mastering issues that stem from people and
processes. This involves awareness, and the knowledge to assert the proper responses to day-to-day
situations. One crucial trait is to know when to say no and the power of an authentic yes to requests from
your employees and customers.

The art of solution building for people and process issues is a large and extremely grey area. It is known but
rarely discussed - that a job role will be eliminated when tough times arise which are seemingly
unmanageable, unsolvable or perceived as too costly to endure. This fact acts as a life raft for managers and
indirectly encourages a laid back attitude in addressing people and process issues. People are at the core of
everything in business and, with the appropriate intentions, will produce the highest return on investment. But
when conflict arises in an environment lacking core values, minds become stale and stuck within their own
thinking, hindering effective growth potential in people.

ITSM focuses on value creation and provides specific methods in
creating value. Put as a simple formula, service value is equal to the
combined service components minus the known restraints. Service
Strategy - the first phase of the ITIL Service Lifecycle comprises
offering a service and deriving the value the service will create,
scoping the cost of the service, the market for the service, and
outlining the overarching policies for service provisioning and
management. Being an authentic service provider starts here.
Awareness has a major role to the authentic service provider. Begin
the lifecycle for your service offerings with mindfulness and
awareness.

Being mindful and aware in Service Strategy requires initiative and commitment to shift cultural change in
order to engender a work environment that fosters positive work beliefs. In Service Strategy the core values
of the business are defined as the foundation to setting policies, services and practices that will effect usable
service designs.

Some of the work beliefs you hold onto grow from within work environments, and primarily stem from
negative experiences and accepted work behaviours. Its the it is what it is frame of mind. There are aspects
of this behind the desire to achieve, high performance syndromes, and to make it better. They are ideals
one holds to fix it all - to create a utopia! Well, come down off the cloud. Being up there believing there is a
panacea will only breed fantasies. These mucky beliefs are simply ways to accept severe dysfunction. Believing
you have what it takes to be a contributor to business improvement through self-awareness of capabilities,
skills and experience is the authenticity needed to foster balance and positive reinforcements in the work
environment. Positive reinforcements enable you to think clearly and make informed decisions. They allow for
forward thinking, thereby creating an environment that continually aims higher, transforms and improves.
When the energy of the team is focused, and everyone is working toward the same authentic goals, conflict
can be addressed positively.

Step out of the cage of standards once a week. Set an intention with authentic core values derived from the
heart of what your business is about. Drive this intention by putting it at the core of Service Strategy outputs.
Transcending Conventional ITSM

Moving Deeper Into ITSM & ITIL Part 1 Service Strategy
IT Governance Publishing Beverly Weed-Schertzer 2014



It takes creativity and thoughtful leadership to be competitive within your market spaces. Pause, and ask
yourself, Were yesterdays ideas transformed to todays successes?



Becoming Visible

Authenticity is at the core of making service value visible. Becoming visible requires a shift in beliefs, and
increased awareness of this to cultivate lasting cultural change. Cultural change should focus on presenting the
organisation as a united front to maintain an authentic image with your customers. The united front focus has
policies defined through Service Strategy, which has clearly defined boundaries regarding conflict resolution,
acceptable behaviours, communication with the client, and escalation processes to mitigate conflict in a timely
manner. The policies cover the actions to be taken when a violation occurs.

Here are some ways to be an authentic service provider:
Know Your Processes, BE Your Processes

Stick to your organisations processes: live them, breathe them, BE the processes. Do not deviate. Have a
policy in place to avoid deviations and include methods to resolve extenuating circumstances. Most
processes are violated due to poor planning, emotional drainage, and the belief that the employee will
conform to proper paper processes that are shown to the customers, while the processes we actually
follow (which are different from the paper processes) are either filed in a top secret location somewhere
on the network or not documented at all.

Only alter processes through a formal Continual Service Improvement program. Make sure discussions to
determine process changes are founded on well thought out discussions and clear reasoning. Dont be a
slave to it, but its not a process if youre willing to change on a whim. Avoid changing a process for one
person or one customer because they will come back to haunt you. Bad decisions should be handled
maturely. Take the critique and recommendation and share it with the appropriate team. Being a people
pleaser will drive the problem deeper and you are not doing your customer any service by doing this.

Be Clear in Communications, Policies, Plans,

Educate your staff on the way you do business and stress the policies around authentic and acceptable
communications. Explain why you do business that way. When a person is educated upfront about why
things are done a certain way, they are typically very receptive and grateful. They dont have to completely
agree but they will appreciate your proactive, well thought out and authentic communication. Theyll be
able to see the reasoning behind the action and develop trust.

Be Honest

Honesty is extremely important to developing a happy customer base and employee satisfaction. If youre
unhappy with something or if there is an issue, discuss it immediately. Sweeping issues under the rug or
procrastinating will not fix the problem, it will compound it. Take a proactive approach and have the
appropriate discussions at the right time. Being honest with customers and employees doesnt imply a
bare-all attitude, it means forming the appropriate message clearly and succinctly, and with honest
intention. In cases dealing with sensitive information, be honest about disclosure policies. People respect
honesty and this can prevent larger problems from occurring. An honest approach can harmonise
relationships, transform cultural awareness, and breed a leader in the market for your services.

Transcending Conventional ITSM

Moving Deeper Into ITSM & ITIL Part 1 Service Strategy
IT Governance Publishing Beverly Weed-Schertzer 2014





Summary

Becoming visible through Service Strategy requires a strong commitment to change. Incorporate two
important facets into the overall strategy-planning phase to set the right tone from a cultural standpoint. This
ensures that the organisation pursues the ideal of becoming an authentic service provider who demonstrates
value visibility. Being visible allows for real, honest connections with your employees and between employees
and customers.

1. Be Present, Manage the Present

Exploit and market best practices from other business units, organisations and service providers. This
will require a solid knowledge management plan, which includes knowledge acquisition. Take what
resonates with the business and integrate it into existing policies, processes and procedures. All best
practices start somewhere; use a formal CSI program to apply them effectively.
Know when to separate from resources and when to integrate them. This involves knowing where to
consolidate services and when to remove employees that are not aligned with newly acquired services. Its
natural for organisations to blend, merge and eliminate areas of the business. It is an essential factor to
thrive and survive in a tough economic market. That doesnt imply relying on major layoffs, however. Major
layoffs are often the result of a failure to distinguish when to separate or integrate resources. Look for up-
skilling opportunities, training and career growth during these times.

Modify leadership styles in accordance to the scenario. Take advantage of the business heritage to
change due process and style. Not everything that worked in the past needs to be thrown away, but
flexibility is needed to adjust leadership styles in accordance with leading external suppliers and different
functional groups. This will vary from company to company. Some may be able to leverage a traditional
command-and-control leadership style to achieve more rapid implementation of change; however, in other
environments a more democratic leadership style is the norm.

2. Build the Present, Think and Build for the Future
Empower the organisation. The top leadership team should delegate to employees as well as motivating
and enabling them to act. Creativity and forward thinking can be sparked by incorporating the intention to
be valuable.

Enable the organisation to engage in exploration of new ideas and business practices. This is achieved by
encouraging innovation and experimentation, and by developing a culture that encourages informed risk-
taking and outlets to learn from mistakes. Exploration enables the organisation to develop new capabilities
suited to specific conditions, rather than just setting the course and routines from other conditions.

Create new paths. This means creating a deliberate change in direction using new capabilities and
resources. This can be in the form of new products, services, processes or business models. The
combination of exploration and path creation will help secure a sustainable competitive advantage.

Transcending Conventional ITSM

Moving Deeper Into ITSM & ITIL Part 1 Service Strategy
IT Governance Publishing Beverly Weed-Schertzer 2014



















About the Author

Beverly Weed-Schertzer illuminates and inspires innovative thinking in ITSM. She has 23 years professional
experience in IT & ITSM providing thought leadership and guidance on the ITIL Service Lifecycle. Her areas of
expertise are business improvement, specializing in the areas of IT service management, support services,
infrastructure management, and implementing best practice methodologies (ITIL, ISO, COBIT). She has
formally worked with ITIL since 1998 and is ITIL V3 Expert Trained. She is experienced in ISO20000, 9000, 9001;
IT governance and strategy planning; global business transformation; and quality performance improvement.
In addition, she is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with the Yoga Alliance. Beverly is the creator of The Art of
Practicing Yoga in ITSM model 2013 and Moving Deeper into ITSM/ITIL 2014. For more information, visit
edifyIT.com.
Awareness
Intention
Core Values
Value Visibility
Achieved?
Awareness