Last week I had to fly out of town on a visit to a remote site (hence why I haven’t blogged lately).  During the unloading of the final flight on my way home, I walked past the flight attendants and pilots as they gave their passengers the final thank you and goodbye (you know, when they say “thank you for flying [blank airline], come see us again”).  I just had to bite my tongue and not say “thanks for not f*****g up the landing.”  See, this thought in my head came from a joke circulating around the internet (see the screenshot below) and any time I fly, it always comes to mind.  But, I hadn’t walked too far away from the gate when it hit me (an idea – nothing literally hit me).  Such a simple concept really holds a lot of value to ITSM.

If you’ve read the cartoon below then you know there’s this cute letter a little girl has written to the pilot of an airline.  In the letter, she writes how its her first time flying and that her mum thinks the crew is nice.  First time for something, nice people, picturesque scenery – I don’t know about you, but this sounds like the beginning of an ITSM initiative.  If you don’t believe me, just invite a few vendors to visit and you’ll get the idea.  At the end of the letter the little girl gets down to business; don’t f**k up the landing.

See, during the entire flying process there are hundreds of facets that can make a horrible flight go right.  Of course, there are hundreds that can make a great flight go horrible (I know…I just took a 1 year old on a 12 hour flight).  But of everything, the single most important part is the landing, and that’s why I say to keep it in mind.  An ITSM project/initiative can have tons of documentation, diagrams, culture changes, processes, meetings, rewards, etc., but if it doesn’t do the most important of tasks (like landing), it’ll just crash and burn.

If you’re wondering what the most important task is, you’re in luck; I’ll tell you.  It’s value.  Whatever you do, whichever projects get approved, make sure there’s value in it.  If you can improve the way IT and the business can function, then you know you’ve made a successful landing.  If not, remember that your seat cushion can double as a flotation device.

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Started working in IT in 1999 as a support desk analyst as a way to help pay for food during college. Studied Electrical Engineering for two years before realizing biochemistry was more fun than differential equations, and so ultimately graduated with a Biology degree in 2006. Having (reluctantly) failed at getting accepted into dental school, embraced working in IT and has gone broke becoming an ITIL Expert. Likes to jog, sing camp songs, quote Mel Brooks movie lines and make dumb jokes and loves working for an Israeli tech company where December 25th is a regular work day.