IT Manager's Handbook: The Business Edition

Chapter One The Role of an IT Manager

The buck stops here.

—HARRY TRUMAN

Chapter Table of Contents

• 1. Just What Does an IT Manager Do? 2
• 2. Managers in General 3
• 3. The Strategic Value of the IT Department 10
• 4. Developing an IT Strategy 12
• 5. Starting Your New Job 15
• 6. The First 100 Days 23
• 7. Two IT Departments—What Happens if Your Company Merges with Another? 32

What does an IT Manager actually do? Did you recently receive a promotion into that job? Are you glad you got the job? Or, do you eventually want to become one? Before we help you answer those questions, we discuss the definition and the pros and cons of being a manager. Clearly management as a career path is well suited for some people, but not for everyone. Is it right ...