Star power: How IT professionals and companies get it

If you use a cell phone or buy household electronics, there's a good chance you own a device with one or more components distributed by Avnet. This global technology distributor's 404,000-square-foot warehouse in Chandler, Arizona ships more than 10,000 line items each day and is the flagship in a global logistics network of value-add distribution centers worldwide that ship more than 38 billion devices each year to more than 100,000 customers. Given the importance of computer systems to its business, Avnet is certainly intent on developing IT stars and polishing their skills for on-going excellence. We interviewed Schultz and other Avnet executives to see what traits and skills they consider must-haves for top-tier systems professionals.

If you use a cell phone or buy household electronics, there's a good chance you own a device with one or more components distributed by Avnet. This global technology distributor's 404,000-square-foot warehouse in Chandler, Arizona ships more than 10,000 line items each day and is the flagship in a global logistics network of value-add distribution centers worldwide that ship more than 38 billion devices each year to more than 100,000 customers.

Workers in the Chandler facility carry handheld computers that tell them exactly what items to pull off the shelves and in what order, explains Steve Schultz, director of strategic planning and communications for Avnet Logistics, which is the warehouse end of the business. As soon as a part is off the shelf, the worker's handheld computer "depletes inventory so nothing else can be booked against it.

And, when the item leaves the building, it's deleted from Avnet inventory. It's a paperless system," he continues. "The only paper involved is the shipping label we put on the box." Not surprisingly, Schultz calls information technology the "neural network" of his organization. "There is nothing that gets done without it."

This makes Avnet an impressive example of IT in action, which is why each year, professors from the Department of Information Systems at the W. P. Carey School of Business march several classes of students through the Chandler warehouse and nearby data center. Schulz says such tours let Avnet exercise its good corporate citizenship and, perhaps, attract some of the best talent soon to graduate from the university.

From the student perspective, graduates of the MSIM program frequently mention these tours in their exit interviews as a great example of how the curriculum brings key concepts to life. Since many students have never seen the complexity of an integrated distribution facility, visiting Avnet helps them to really "see" the value of enterprise systems, integration, and optimizing business processes with IT.

Given the importance of computer systems to its business, Avnet is certainly intent on developing IT stars and polishing their skills for on-going excellence. That's why KnowIT interviewed Schultz and other Avnet executives to see what traits and skills they consider must-haves for top-tier systems professionals. Following are some views on what makes IT pros shine and how companies can encourage functional brilliance.

Getting down to business

Both Schultz and Avnet's Chief Information Officer, Steve Phillips, say business savvy is vital to IT success. "We want people with great technical skills, but we also want them to be aware of business processes and how business operates — so they can apply their technical skills in that context," Phillips explains. Simply following a system requirement may not be good enough, he continues.

"A software system may meet the users' stated requirement but not the users' actual needs because the developer didn't have a complete sense of the business process that is being automated." As an operational example, Phillips points to service-level agreements, where a 99.9-percent system availability may be fine most of the time but, at critical times such as a fiscal year-end, users may actually need system availability 100 percent of the time for a few weeks.

"Experienced IT people know that," he says. They know availability requirements often change with business cycles, and they make sure that their systems are designed to meet the most stringent availability standard. On a related note, Schultz says interpersonal communications skills are crucial. "We make most changes through cross-functional teams," he notes.

Often, the head of that team is an IT worker who has to "reach out" to others, he continues. "An assembly manager or warehouse supervisor goes to an IT person for a solution to a problem and, often, he or she can't articulate the problem in terms the IT professional would prefer. IT workers have to take time to understand the situation completely. Otherwise, we get an elegant system that doesn't do what it needs to do."

Related to people skills is attitude, the thing Bruce Gorshe, head of Avnet's 360-terabyte data center says he looks for most in new hires. "Demonstrate a helpful, cooperative approach. Don't take constructive criticism in a negative way. Listen to and watch those around you who are successful, and learn from them," he advises.

He also says that, given the choice between someone who has stellar technical abilities but an inconsistent or somewhat surly personality and someone with less skill but a far more pleasant and positive outlook, he'll take the great attitude any day. "I'd rather have the go-getter on my team. It won't take that person long to develop the skill" he or she needs.

Following the course

Under Gorshe's direction, Avnet's data center earned multiple industry awards, including two from Computerworld. The honors, according to Gorshe, came from the degree of improvement Avnet demonstrated during a three-year time span. The company has some 1,650 logical servers and managed to cut power consumption per server image by 44 percent.

This accomplishment — and the three years of continuous improvement that led to it — reflect two eye-on-the-ball traits that Phillips identifies as star-power requirements. The first of these is "consistent delivery." He wants IT workers to produce "good quality software and reliable infrastructure" while "meeting budgets and timelines," and he wants to see such behavior demonstrated again and again.

Secondly, Phillips maintains that "creating an effective IT solution isn't enough." You also have to maintain "operational focus," he says. "It's one thing to develop an IT system. It takes skill and experience to develop a system that can be maintained and developed by others over the (potentially) many years that system is in use."

Phillips recalls working at another company with a virtuoso who built a website loaded with features, functionality ? and bugs. Worse, that IT hotshot was the only one who could fix those glitches. "As he'd written the software, he hadn't documented it, so it was very hard for other people to step in and maintain it," Phillips explains.

The developer wound up "working around the clock." If the developer had worked "with operational reliability in mind, we'd have had fewer bugs, and we could have had other people look after the site and fix them."

"The gunslinger, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants personality does not do well in IT," says Gorshe. "Standards are becoming more stringent, and our control processes and procedures are very strict," he adds. "People who work outside of processes and standards are the ones who get reprimanded or walked out the door."

Fostering star power

While business acumen, consistent delivery and operational focus are traits the Avnet executives seek in IT workers, Phillips notes that the importance of such attributes changes with one's position, and the business plays a role in developing the traits that lead to success.

"If you're a software developer or infrastructure engineer, the focus tends to be on technical depth. If you're a project manager, business awareness comes to the front. If you work in operations, consistency, sustainability of results and troubleshooting capabilities" are important, he says.

"At Avnet, we recognize that there are different roles requiring different aptitudes. We want to offer good career paths for all of the skills sets," he adds. In fact, Phillips sees a "transparent" career path as one way to keep employees growing, striving and loyal. That is, people should clearly understand how they could move up in the company. What's more, there should be advancement options.

While some companies link career growth with increasing managerial responsibility, Avnet offers a dual IT career path that allows workers to progress along either a managerial or technical-mastery track. Both pathways may lead to vice-president-level status.

The dual career track "allows people to specialize in areas that are important to Avnet and areas they enjoy while not forcing them down a management path if that's not right for them or their role," Phillips explains. The company also offers unlimited online technical training, encourages employees to pursue role-relevant certifications and makes training plans part of the annual review process.

Plus, Phillips notes, there is a focus on teaching managers to lead. He says the company teaches both technical skills, such as how to conduct a performance review, as well as soft skills, like mentoring and communication. For managers and workers alike, "there's more to learn than you'll ever have time to learn," Gorshe jokes.

Still, he says, you have to try. This advice is related to one last attribute that differentiates stars from the mediocre. "Whether you're looking to get a job or you're already in a position, you still have to earn it, and you have to earn it every day," Gorshe says. "Push yourself. Demand excellence. Don't get complacent, and you will move up.

Bottom Line:

• Avnet, a $19 billion global technology distributor, routinely provides educational tours for students of ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business, so KnowIT queried its executives on what it takes to be an IT star.
• Business acumen and good people skills top the star-qualities list.
• Consistent delivery of high-quality work and a focus on operations also are important.
• Companies contribute to star power, too. They should offer copious educational and training opportunities, as well as a well-defined career path.
• Career-killing traits include complacency and being a process-skipping hotshot.