SharePoint Rocklog

Do you ever regret getting into IT in the first place?  With the constant drumbeat of ‘cost reductions’, ‘going offshore’, ‘doing more with less’, etc., it’s hard to not feel like there’s a giant BULLSEYE on our backs.    Enrollment at computer science programs are at their lowest levels in a decade.  Is the current generation of college kids smartly avoiding our fate? 

The reality is it can be REAL tough to work in IT at times.  However, every once in a while a technology comes along that is cost-effective, can be readily introduced into the infrastructure, and most importantly, has capabilities that truly resonate with users.  That technology is SharePoint.   It’s not accidental that SharePoint’s the fastest growing Microsoft Server product in history.  SharePoint offers the promise of making IT relevant again, even to the point of being a ROCK STAR!   But it’s not going to come from installing servers and software alone.  For you to be successful, you must empower your CUSTOMERS to be successful, to be ROCK STARs in their own right.    To be a star, you need fans, right?

So how do you cross the chasm from having SharePoint available in your environment to having your company realize major business impact from SharePoint?    In this series, we’ll discuss the approach we developed that led to a successful SharePoint Program at McKesson Corporation, the largest healthcare services provider in the world (Fortune 18).  We received an award for our presentation at the Microsoft SharePoint Conference 2008; Microsoft’s published a case study on our experiences.    We regularly receive requests from companies who heard about “Rock Star” and want to know more.    We’ve put the presentation online, but in this series we’re going to provide ‘more’.   We’re going to revisit the 10 step Rock Star approach, but in a very condensed fashion – highlighting with each step the key takeaways we WISH someone would have told us when we were getting started with SharePoint. 

In 2006, I was an IT manager responsible for one organization within one Business Unit (BU) of a very large corporation.    My 7^th priority (!) project was to deployment SharePoint for one department.  The good news was I had an open headcount to hire a SharePoint engineer, Aaron Rafus.   Together, we soon realized that SharePoint could readily meet the needs of that one department, plus the entire BU, and ultimately the whole of McKesson!    But to get there, it would require our developing and demonstrating skills that aren’t typically “IT”.  

So come along for the ride!     

1)      Know Your Peeps -  4 Essential Things you must know about your company before you begin

2)      Create a Brand – When you say “SharePoint”, users shouldn’t hear “GobbleDGook”

3)      Develop a Business Plan – The Four key Audiences for your SharePoint Marketing Plan

4)      Perform at Small Venues – Imagine yourself performing at the SharePoint Café!

5)      Build Fan Membership – Ensuring Departmental Success through a SharePoint Administrator Certification Program

6)      Deal with the Critics – 5 Myths You’ll need to overcome

7)      The BIG SHOW – Hosting “Microsoft Online Services” for your own company

8)      Sell out to Corporate – Pros and Cons of Distributed Governance

9)      Perfect Your Craft – The Top 7 Keys to SharePoint Success

10) Explore Adjacent Markets – From Rock Star to Collaboration Idol!

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