Building a Portfolio of Experiences

Tradeoffs and Synergies between Corporate IT, Consulting and the Business of Technology

Background for Context

Merge Technologies, dba “Merge Healthcare” Global medical imaging software and services company Delivering healthcare workflow solutions designed to

automate radiology and imaging services NASDAQ publicly traded 600 employees, Corporate Office in Milwaukee History……quite a story!!

Upon reflection…..what are the lessons learned and relevant experiences?

Lessons Learned and Observations

Focus on Career Synergies Create a Portfolio of Experiences Lead and Develop People

Leadership Principles

Corporate IT vs Consulting vs Technology Business Ask good questions to maximize your experiences Choose career synergies, experiences and becoming a

leader

Career Synergies

Synergies: Develop transferable skills Accumulate skill value vs replace/substitute Skills providing the most Career Synergy:

• Technology – Impacting the business and delivering tangible value

• Sales - Selling yourself, your products/services and your ideas

• Management - Leading people (STO - success through others)

• Customers - Demonstrating customer intimacy

• Business - Creating financial value

Portfolio of Experiences

Bullet points on your resume Focus on experiences, not necessarily technical skills What’s important can change over time:

Technical – Business Value – People

Portfolio of transferable experiences: Improved business operations Increased sales Enhanced services to customers Innovated new products and services Sold ideas, products and services

Example of Experience Portfolio

3 years with Andersen Consulting: Technical skills, working in large teams, extensive training,

first supervisory experience

2 year MBA at University of Chicago Added business acumen

9 years in Corporate IT Impact operations of business and service to customers Launch “revenue generating” software products and

services – directly impact income statement Touch customers directly with software and services –

beyond the walls of the company

Example of Experience Portfolio

3 years - Transitioned to the Business side Division President & COO

• Leadership, P&L responsibility, selling – constantly!!, M&A basics

5 years - Merge Healthcare President & CEO Turnaround – tough decisions, focus, rebuild, Developed 3 year Strategic Plan – organic growth and acquisitions 6 acquisitions later:

• Integration, organizational change, reinventing your business• Selling, selling, selling• Leadership development• Public company headwinds

Technical experiences + business experiences = good combination

Leadership PrinciplesLessons Learned and Observations

Leadership Principles

Get Everyone in the Game• If you lead an organization, you have the responsibility to get everyone into the

game

Communicate• Direct, concise, candid and clear - All employees understand the game, their

contribution and the definition of winning

Trust and Support• A successful organization’s culture is based on trust, which leads to unwavering

public support for each other, their area of expertise, and the companies Vision, Strategic Initiatives and Business Plans

Share the Learning• An organization’s ability to learn, to share the learning, and to act on it are

absolutely critical to success

• Build individual employee value through new experiences and skills

Deepen a Strategic Position• Concentrate on deepening a strategic position, rather than broadening and

compromising it

Operational Excellence• An organization must continuously improve internal processes, strive for quality

and best practices in everything it does

Leadership Principles

Manage by Objective - Focus, Focus, Focus• Laser beam focus on Vision, Strategic Initiatives and Business Plans

• We win together and stumble together…alignment of goals, objectives and incentives

Be “Boundary-less”• Open to ideas from any source

• The hero is not the originator, but the acceptor of an idea

Take Measured Risks• Manage business risks with multiple plans - Plan A, B and C

• Take risks, try new and disruptive strategies/tactics - feed the successes, fail fast, learn from the experience and share the learning

Leadership Principles

Speed is of the Essence• Allow decisions to be made at the lowest level of the organization where knowledge

and accountability exists

• Minimize organizational layers, they promote miscommunication and silos

Stretch• Ask everyone in the organization to reach for their dream

And Finally - Balance• Our success will be determined by our ability to apply these Principles to the

decisions we make and our ability to lead through the challenges of balancing the needs of our Customers, Employees and Shareholders

Leadership Principles

Evaluating Leaders

Shares Vision, Strategic Initiatives, Business Plan and Leadership Principles

Does Not share Vision, Strategic Initiatives, Business Plan and Leadership Principles

Delivers on Commitments

Onward and Upward Coach, facilitate -must walk the talk - must move to the left or a tough decision is imminent

Does Not Deliver on Commitments

Gets a second chance

Easy decision

Leadership Principles

Quotes from Larry Bossidy, CEO of Allied Signal and now Honeywell “We need people who are better at persuading than at barking orders, who

know how to coach & build consensus. Today, managers add value by brokering with people, not by presiding over empires…we need people who are more interested in people than things.”

“Leadership is the art of creating followership.”

“When confused as to how you’re doing as a leader, find out how the people you lead are doing. You’ll know the answer.”

“You won’t remember when you retire what you did the 1st quarter of 2004…What you will remember is how many people you helped have a better career because of your interest and your dedication to their development.”

Leadership Principles

Finally – A Few Things to Think About

Corporate IT Consulting Technology Business

Corporate IT – Things to think about

Internal customers are nice – external customers are better!

What technologies or IT services touch the external customers?

Do you sell any IT services or IT enabled products to external customers?

What is the strategic value of IT? Measure the importance of IT to the company based

on “what is the strategic value and impact to the top line” vs. “what is the budget”

Consulting – Things to think about

Listen and learn from the 2 to 5 year veterans – this can be the fork in the road window

Seek assignments 4 to 6 months in length Avoid becoming the expert, unless you have a plan

“Can’t do more unless you do less”

Focus on the customer and developing customer intimacy skills – very transferable synergy

Travel and enjoy – add to your experiences

Technology Business – Things to think about

Evaluate the industry, competitors and market trends More important than the job – the company’s strategy

and its commitment to employees Don’t underestimate career mobility Build, sell, service – seek examples of employees moving

among these “experiences” Most successful professionals seek experiences in all

disciplines Passion for the products/services the company builds Evaluate culture as best you can – you would be

surprised as to the impact culture can have on your job satisfaction

Building a Portfolio of Experiences

Tradeoffs and Synergies between Corporate IT, Consulting and the Business of Technology

Questions?