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ITIL Service Level Management:
Objective of SLM:
Ensure that both the customer and IT Organization are aware of their responsibilities and roles
Measuring service performance so it can be reported on and the cost can be tracked
Providing an improved quality of service

Following is the process of SLM:

Stages	Reminders
negotiation	In the first stage, the IT service provider and the customer work together to determine cost-effective and realistic service levels. The IT service provider verifies that the customer's service level requirements can be met. Then they meet to cooperatively refine the customer's needs.
finalizing	During the second stage, finalizing, the service level agreement (SLA) is completed, along with any other supporting agreements.
monitoring	Monitoring is the third stage. Here, service quality is proactively monitored against the service targets defined in the SLA. Service targets are the agreed-upon levels of service being provided. If there are discrepancies, actions are taken to rectify them before the business is adversely affected.
reporting	During reporting, the fourth stage of the SLM process, reports are generated that compare the agreed-upon service levels with the measured service levels. These reports are the basis for continual service improvement.
reviewing	In the last stage, reviewing, a global examination of service quality and the communication with customers and third parties occurs. During this examination, issues are raised and lessons are learned.

SLA document should contain:

Security is to - Password Controls, Unauthorized Software and virus controls

Performance  is to - Details of expected responsiveness such as target workstation response time

Support Levels is to - Details of how to contact service desk and their available time. Contact numbers after support hours.

Service Description is to - outline of key business functions and deliverables

Changes is to  - Reference to organizations change mgmgt process

 

 

While creating SLA determine what structure it will have. Multilevel, Service Based, Customer based

 

Multilevel can have

Corporate level - covers generic services level management issues appropriate to every customer like BCM, Security, BCP

Customer level -  covers issues relevent to specific customer

Service Level - covers specific service issues used by a groupd of customer

 

Why Rewards system fail in corporates and schools

Rewards fail for five reasons. 

First, rewards punish and control by seduction. The failure to win a reward or the threat to remove a reward is functionally identical to the threat to employ a punishment. 

Second, rewards rupture relationships both vertically (student/teacher) and horizontally (student/student). Both rewards and punishment are really about someone maintaining power and control over another and they induce a behavior pattern whereby the subordinate tries to curry favor and impress the rewarder rather than encourage a relationship of trust and openness. Also, rewards lead to destructive competition. 

Third, employing rewards can change superficial behavior effectively, but it ignores the underlying reasons for the problem behavior and so does not effect long-term change. Rewards are not solutions, they are gimmicks, shortcuts, quick fixes that mask problems. 

Fourth, rewards discourage risk taking, creativity, and taking on challenges because the task is now just something that stands in the way of gaining the prize. 

Finally, and most tragically, rewards change the way people approach the task. To reward someone for something that many find intrinsically interesting and enjoy doing is to destroy motivation. For example, the Pizza Hut "Book It" reading incentive and summer library reading incentive programs are, according to Kohn, very destructive. Reading is presented not as a pleasurable experience, but as something one has to be bribed to do with a food reward or other token.

Communicate with Impact - Avoid "Very" and use better words

Avoid the word "Very"
Very	fast	=	quick
Very	dry	=	parched
Very	dirty	=	squalid
Very	cold	=	freezing
Very	afraid	=	terrified
Very	angry	=	furious
Very	bad	=	atrocious
Very	beautiful	=	exquisite
Very	big	=	ammense
Very	bright	=	dazzling
Very	capable	=	accomplished
Very	clean	=	spotless
Very	clever	=	brillient
Very	stong	=	unyielding
Very	stupid	=	idiotic
Very	tasty	=	delicious
Very	thin	=	gaunt
Very	tired	=	exhausted
Very	ugly	=	hideous
Very	valuable	=	precious
Very	fierce	=	ferocious
Very	good	=	superb
Very	happy	=	jubilant
Very	hot	=	scalding
Very	hungry	=	revenous
Very	large	=	colossal
Very	lively	=	vivacious
Very	lioved	=	adored
Very	weak	=	feeble
Very	wet	=	soaked
Very	wicked	=	villainous
Very	wise	=	sagacious
Very	worried	=	anxious
Very	neat	=	immaculate
Very	pretty	=	beautiful
Very	quiet	=	silent
Very	roomy	=	spacious
Very	rude	=	vulgar
Very	small	=	tiny
Very	risky	=	perilous

Managing the challenge of change.

Managing the challenge of change.

One of the main attribute of any professional is ability to manage change. Not only manage it, but anticipate it, plan it and implement the changes that are necessary. Charles Darwin many years ago said, “It's not the strongest of the species that will survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.”

 

One of the ways that we can be sure to be ready for that is to be able to handle the myths of change. Let's look at the myths of change.

Number one, change equals danger. Now that's a myth. It's true that change equals danger but if you know the Chinese symbol for the crisis of change, it's the combination actually of two symbols, one standing for danger which we know is always there with a changing situation, but the other is opportunity. And that's where we need to key in. Could there be a better time to live than today in terms of the opportunities that are out there for us as individuals? If we're aiming to implement the appropriate changes, to capitalize on the new trends that are coming and the changes in those trends, what a tremendous opportunity for us.

The second myth of change, present trends will continue.

Myth number three, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That used to be a great management philosophy. It no longer is. It's changing too fast, if we wait until it's broke, it's too late and we have missed the opportunity.

Myth number four. Yesterday's solutions will solve today's problems

Myth number five, perhaps the most important one for us as managers. Positive change will occur without effort. No it will not. Whether it's individual change or organizational change, it requires effort. Dr. Daryl Conner, one of the pioneers in the change industry made this statement, he said, “Pain management drives change.” We must help surface the pain that will be there either if we don't take advantage of the opportunities that change presents, and it's a lost opportunity. Or we don't change at all and the effects of the danger of that change take place on us.

 

Actually there are three types of change from a time standpoint. The first is physical change. That normally can be done relatively quickly.

The second type of change, more important is intellectual change.

The third form of change is emotional change. And this takes much longer but it's often an important part of any change process that we effect.

If we can put those three types of change into our heads and think about them as we affect change, we can understand that eventually we want to get to that emotional level so people feel comfort with that change

People do not resist change by nature. They resist not the change, but the disruption that's caused by the change.

 

Let's think about why people resist change. What are some of the reasons why people resist change? And as we think about this, let's think about what then we as managers can do to tend to lessen or reduce that resistance to change. What would be some of the reasons that people might resist change? Fear of the unknown

Fear of losing control

The fear of failure.

Loss of income, profit,

Not enough warning, because of poor communications.

Change of relationships or loss of status

Concern about how it might affect their personal live

Requires more work to change

How about a vested interest in the status quo

How about a break in their habit patterns

 

Let's look now at the major players in the change process. There are really three major players, first the target, the change target.

That's obviously the person that we want to do the changing.

And people may play more than one role in the change process but practically always people are playing that target role.

Secondly there's the change agent, and this is the person or the organization or the group who's responsible for facilitating that change.

The third one becomes a very important player in the change process and we call that the change sponsor. Now the sponsor is the individual or group who can legitimize the change within the organization.

There's a fourth player sometimes who we call a change advocate. A change advocate is someone who desires the change but they lack sponsorship. In other words they're not capable of legitimizing that change. We might think of them as the cheerleaders, as the supporters for that change process. And so they can be important in the process. But let's concentrate primarily on the role of the sponsor. There are five principles of sponsorship that we really should understand. Principle number one, it's absolutely necessary, sponsorship is, for the success of any organizational change. Absolutely necessary. Without it, the change process will fail.

Number two, sponsorship cannot be delegated. There's no way that the person who is responsible for legitimizing the change can delegate that to the change agent.

Number three, cascading sponsorship is necessary in large organizations.

Number four, initiating and sustaining sponsors can't fulfill each other's responsibilities. They each need to provide the legitimacy at the particular level that they're involved at and they cannot switch responsibilities.

The fifth principle, if you have a weak sponsor, what do you do? Actually there are just three things that you might do if you have a weak sponsor. Number one, train that sponsor. Sponsorship is trainable, Secondly, you can replace the sponsor.

The third thing is to fail. Because without sufficient, appropriate, good sponsorship any organizational change will fail.

 Characteristics of organizations that do well in a changing environment. There are at least 10 characteristics that are practically always found in organizations who are very effective in the change process. Characteristic number one, management by commitment versus management by control.

Number two, we find organizations that adjust well to change have jobs that have a broad design.

The third characteristic, jobs to fit people rather than vice versa.

The fourth characteristic is the flattening of the organizational structure. In other words we see, we tend to see less levels of management in organizations that are very effective in adjusting to change. And often as the change process occurs, you'll see the elimination of some layers of management. And that can help greatly because of the communication from the bottom level to the top level. If there's a lot of change that communication can take a long time and can slow down that process. Number five, employee participation at all levels in the organization. Whenever you see an organization that adjusts well to change, you see participation at all levels. Everybody feels a part of that change. They are totally involved in that change and it becomes extremely important. Number six, organizations that do well in a changing environment train more, there's more training available because of that changing environment and that becomes particularly important. Number seven, there's what we call a multidisciplinary approach. In other words, experts across levels, there's actually less specialization or where there is specialization the specialists are capable of working across departments, across divisions, so that everyone sees the big picture of the change within the organization. Number eight, a competitive environment no longer works. We need a cooperative rather than a competitive environment. So there's more emphasis in organizations that adjust well to change on a cooperative environment than a competitive environment.

Number nine, there's more power to mid and even perhaps lower levels of management at least

temporarily during that change process. Again, because of the difficulty of the communication. The closer the individual is to the change, the better they're able to adjust to it. And most top level managers understand that in the change process many times they'll delegate much more downward than they would in the normal situation. The tenth and final point that we found that's a characteristic of companies that adjust well to change is an emphasis on long term goals as opposed to short term goals. In other words what we're saying is sometimes we need to sacrifice some of the short term productivity goals to make the changes necessary for the long term progress of the organization. Remember, in implementing change within your organization, it is much easier to prevent resistance to change than it is to remove the resistance to change. In other words we need to do our planning ahead of time. We need to do our preparation for that change ahead of time. We need to do our training for that change ahead of time. And as you think about organizational change, any organizational change comes down to individuals changing. Let's look for a minute at an individual changing. There are basically three ways to motivate an individual to change. The first way is through fear and that's through the use of some type of a force, if we had a donkey here we might use the example of having a 2 by 4 and using that force to get that donkey to change or to move. And you know that works but there are limitations to it. That donkey eventually begins building up a resistance and what you find if you use fear motivation, if you use it too much and I'm not saying don't use it because there are times when you need to. But if you use it too much, a resistance is built up to it.

And so there's a second type of motivation, we'll call that incentive motivation and that's of course providing some type of a reward. Some type of a positive reward to get somebody to change. And that works well and it's good and it should be used. But you know there's a limitation to incentive motivation, because it's based on what? It's based on a person's appetite for the particular reward. So whatever you're using as a reward, eventually if they lose the appetite, for it, if they lose the desire for it, it loses it's motivational force. The third type of change is the way that I would encourage you to think about and use and we call that attitude motivation. And rather than being based on a force or on a reward, it's based on the way people think. If we can get people to change the way they think, the way they see themselves, the way they react to the change, it becomes a much more permanent and lasting change. I think as one of the best examples of that, I think of my children. I have 10 children and stepchildren and that's quite a few. And I have one of them particularly that's a very, very good student. Always got straight A's. And I remember one time when Dawn got less than a straight A report card, and how devastating that was to her. And then I think about how I am motivating my other children to get good grades and I'm using reward, and I'm using punishment, and I'm using everything that I can possibly think of. If I could get them to think like Dawn thinks, “I'm a straight A student, I should get straight A's.”

Think about that with your people, how can you get them to think the way you want them to think in that change process? And in getting them to change their thinking, they will automatically and

 

Instinctively because our nervous system allows us to adjust to that which we see ourselves doing. Do any of you recognize the name Walter Russell? No one does in the entire room? Well, then it was Jim Hennig who said, [laughter] no I won't do that. Incidentally it was Walter Russell who was a genius. He made this simple statement, “The mediocrity is self-inflicted, and genius is self-bestowed.” If we can get our people to think as geniuses, to think the way we need them to think to affect the changes, that change process will be a whole lot easier.

Communicate with Impact

Manager spend more than 80% of their time communicating.
Nowadays with presence of social media in our lives, good communication is no longer just about getting the message across but about making big enough splash to get your message noticed.
According to poor communication is one of the main reason for majority of failed IT projects.
There are three reasons why we communicate:
1. For people to take action
2. Convince people
3.To inform people

Building blocks of any communication are words, tone and body language.
Managers need to be good persuaders. But most of the managers indulge in bullying their team members and hence end up having a frustrated team.

There are four elements of persuasion:
1. Credibility
2. Common Ground
3. Provide Strong Ground
4. Create an emotional connection

We play 6 different types of role in different situations.
1. Trusted advisor
2. Mobilizer
3. Motivator
4. Coach
5. Facilitator
6.Technical Expert

People have tendency of Early bias or Recency bias, Repetitive Bias or Outstanding Bias. That is they will either remember first words or last ones of your communication. Hence to maximize our chances of being impactful is  to find what interests people. Then communication in the language in which they would love to hear.

Strategic planning is to plan the efficient and effective use of available resources.

Strategic planning isn't planning for the future. Rather, it is thinking about the future of our present decisions.

For any long term strategic planning you have four postures -- fire, the trail blazers..i.e. when want to storm the market you develop a new product. Mountain posture, When you want to weather the storm by holding on to your cash reserves. Water posture, when you want to be flexible when a service or product does not go well then you mold it to new service. or you adjust to the market situation quickly.