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Does IT need an image makeover? Top tips for winning over the business

CIOs who turn a blind eye and enable "siloed thinking" soon find themselves in the thick of an internal "Hatfields vs. McCoys" scenario.
Communications, both internal and external, revealing the IT process and its benefits across constituencies is key to survival in today's increasingly global and fragmented marketplace.
How to get started? Evangelism.
Get a few of your internal IT believers with solid creds - preferably those who are most open to change management and can clearly and concisely articulate the benefits of the mission - to handle outreach to non-IT constituents. Start a dialogue of how IT and other business units can work together to brainstorm or improve new or existing processes to gain operational efficiencies, realize revenue gains or outpace the competition.
For example, we started a conversation between once adversarial or misunderstood constituencies like IT and Marketing. By breaking down the dialogue siloes, the groups came to realize that beyond their own functional jargon, they had more in common than they thought. This internal "gap bridging" led to productive conversations and teaming across business units facilitated thru ongoing meetings, emails, discussion boards, newsletters and testimonials showcasing successful internal collaborations.
Take the first step to start the IT conversation inside your company and watch it grow internally and externally - via paid, owned and earned media.
Make evangelism your IT differentiator. Your customers and competition will soon notice too.