Typical mistake.

Manage your IT by reviewing all the tech and trying to figure out how to make sure it works, so that it can deliver value.

That is the wrong sequence, you likely to overlook the important bits.

You can’t manage your IT without looking at resource conflicts. Most IT systems act as some kind of digital infrastructure to its users, meaning that it has shared resources.

This sharing drives the benefits, for example by reducing cost or exchanging information.

But all sharing has built-in resource conflicts. Capacity that is used by one team or user cannot be used at the same time by others. And where data is shared, there will be conflicts on what it exactly means, and how precise it should be.

When a new application is launched, for example a GenAI application, one team wants to move fast, while another team wants it to be safe. Both are relevant to the larger organization, but the conflict needs to be resolved.

Start your IT management by looking for the (potential) trouble first.

Because, when it comes to managing IT, most of your conversations will be around those conflicts.

Discover more in my book Digital Power: How Digital Infrastructures at Scale lead to Value, Power, and Risk.

Here are some relevant sections:

Games of value and power: http://localhost:1313/book/value/game-theory/

Shared services lead to conflicts: http://localhost:1313/book/diginfra/shared-service-conflict/

Want to know more? Just reply with your thoughts and questions.