Partnering With the CIO: The Future of IT Sales Seen Through the Eyes of Key Decision Makers

Share the Vision, Not Just the Goal

Getting the 311 system up and running in a city the size of New York City was no simple task. One of the early hurdles was convincing numerous local community boards that it was in their best interests to participate—even when it required them to yield a degree of local power.

In the absence of a central operation for processing complaints, the city’s 59 community boards had become important channels for transmitting complaints to City Hall, which gave the boards influence in their neighborhoods.

“They may have initially been wary of the idea of a centralized system,” Cosgrave recalls, “but I’ve met with them, opened the process and explained how they will become power users of the 311 system, as we develop ideas to move it to the Internet. That has helped turn the tide, and now the boards are working with us to implement the new system.”

Cosgrave uses the story to illustrate a crucial point: Even in the most complicated IT scenarios, technology is rarely the primary issue. “In fact, technology is almost never the main challenge,” he says. “The main challenge is always trying to demonstrate to people that they’ve got an important role to play and that you’re not just trying to shove something down their throats.”

In addition to managing the 311 system, DoITT also manages the city’s web site (NYC.gov), its broadcast television station and five municipal cable channels, and a huge fiber network. DoITT is also overseeing the launch of the New York ...