Year Two Core Curriculum
By Steve Ulfelder© Network World. May 14, 2001.
Negotiating
In the University of Texas' Information Management MBA concentration, "We have a negotiation course, but it's not required," Reufli says. "But it ought to be. It is our most popular elective."
Negotiating contracts with vendors, carriers and outsourcers is a key part of network managers' jobs today and will become even more important in the future, experts say. Most network professionals have learned to negotiate the same way they've learned many other "soft" skills - by observing others and making mistakes. But there are more formal options available, which may save you some painful lessons.
At the Babson College Entrepreneurial Leadership for IT Professionals program, which consists of two multiday sessions separated by several weeks, Guinan says negotiating skills are saved for the latter, "down and dirty" sessions, during which students use role-playing, observed by instructors, to learn how business really works.
The good news is that most continuing-education programs offer a course in negotiation, as do IT-education specialists (see 'Other resources').
Social networking
Despite all our tips on formal training and educational programs, it's a fact of life that most learning is done on the job and on the fly. The benefits of the buddy system are well-documented - but it may not have occurred to many IT people to seek mentors and contacts outside the technology sphere.
"Very few people can say no if you come up and ask for guidance on moving your career forward," says Gary Kaplan, principal of the Pasadena, Calif., recruiting firm Gary Kaplan and Associates. "A couple of times a week, you've got to get out with people - not networking people, but other folks in the organization. Management, HR, marketing. Have them become part of your Rolodex."
Toastmasters, the public-speaking group mentioned previously, is another networking tool. While you're honing your communication chops, you also meet local businesspeople.
You needn't force yourself to become a major-league backslapper, but being viewed as a well-rounded person with friends in all branches of the business, and even the local business community, can only help.
