In today's world many challenges rise from the miscommunication between the Business and the Service Provider (i.e. IT). In many organizations, those two entities are seen as rivals rather than partners. The BRM sits between the Business and the Service Provider to help ensure convergence of business values, priorities, timely escalations, and powerful communications deliveries. The BRM role focuses on the business customer and realized business value. BRM competencies can be leveraged through organizational roles, a discipline, and an organizational capability. The BRM Discipline rests on solid research-based foundations verified and enhanced over a decade of successful implementations in leading organizations around the world. Proven to be equally effective for shared services including Human Resources, Finance, Legal, external service providers and others, BRM practices have enjoyed widespread adaption in IT. The BRM organizational Role is a crucial link between a service provider and the business. In practice, the titles used by BRMs vary considerably (e.g. Business Partner, Account Manager, Consultant, Business Unit Manager, and Business Integration Manager). Building a BRM organizational capability goes well beyond just defining the BRM role and placing individuals in that role. The growing global importance of Business Relationship Management as a role, discipline and organizational capability is due to the shift from Provider ( i.e. IT department) as a commodity/order taker to a business strategic partner, as there is an increasing business demand for innovation and agility. SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY Svetlana Sidenko is the President of IT Chapter, a Montreal-based company, which specializes in IT consulting and IT Best Practices training, which she co-founded in 2003.

1. 1
Business
Rela+onship
Management
as
a
Role,
a
Discipline,
and
an
Organiza+onal
Capability
Presented by Svetlana Sidenko
MsC (Admin) PMP® , ITIL® Expert, CGEIT®
ITSM®, ISO 20000 Management Consultant
TIPA® Lead Assessor, COBIT® 5, ISO 27002
PRINCE2® Practitioner,
Certified Process Design Engineer(CPDE) ®,
Change Management Registered Practitioner
President of IT Chapter
www.itchpater.com

2. BRM
Discipline:
Introduc+on
• The
BRM
Discipline
rests
on
solid
research-­‐based
founda8ons
verified
and
enhanced
over
a
decade
of
successful
implementa8ons
in
leading
organiza8ons
across
the
world.
• Proven
to
be
equally
effec8ve
for
shared
services
including
Human
Resources,
Finance,
Legal,
external
service
providers
and
others,
BRM
prac8ces
have
enjoyed
widespread
adap8on
in
IT.

3. To
start
with:
short
survey
about
YOUR
organiza+on….
1. Is IT critical to the success of YOUR business?
A. Yes
B. No
2. Is the business in YOUR organization able to effectively and efficiently communicate what they need?
A. Absolutely, at all times
B. Yes, most of the time
C. Hmmm…Sometimes
D. No, never
3. Is YOUR IT department getting enough information in order to support strategic business needs?
A. Certainly, always.
B. Usually we are informed sufficiently
C. Often we do not get sufficient information or learn about business initiatives at the last minute
D. We struggle. Business never gives us enough of information
3

4. To
start
with:
short
survey
about
YOUR
organiza+on….(con+nued)
4. Is business in YOUR organization seeking IT help outside of YOUR IT organization?
A. Yes
B. No
5. If the business needs support and is not getting help internally, business is getting
frustrated with it’s own IT department. Business must get help elsewhere. In YOUR
organization, do they:
A. Utilize outside resources
B. Hire their own IT resources to perform the work they need
C. Use their budget to purchase services from unauthorized providers (“Shadow IT”)
D. Outsource IT to global or local providers
E. All of the above
4

5. Signs
of
broken
business
and
IT
rela+onship
Interpersonal problems
“Us” and “them” mentality
“Blame game” and finger pointing
Defensiveness
5
• Interpersonal problems
• “Us” and “them” mentality
• “Blame game” and finger pointing
• Defensiveness
• Non-constructive criticism from both sides
• Failure of both IT and business team
members to communicate critical
information
• IT is not invited to important business
meetings
Results : failure to reach expected business outcomes

6. Inevitable
shiK
Today, with the pervasive and ‘user friendly’ nature of IT, and available
access to global sourcing opportunities, IT functions and capabilities are
converging with the business and the Business Relationship Management
has to help pave the way for inevitable shift.
6

7. Let’s
start
with
Business
Rela+onship
Management
Year 2005: ISO/IEC 20000 defined Relationship Management as
a process of “…establishing and maintaining a good relationship
between the service provider and the customer…”
Year 2011: ITIL® 2011 Service Strategy defines Business
Relationship Management as “…the process that enables BRMs
to provide links between the service provider and customers … »
Year 2012: CobiT® 5 defines “Manage the Relationship” Process
as a formalized and transparent way of ensuring common “focus
on achieving a common and shared goal of successful enterprise
outcomes … using …common language and a willingness to take
ownership and accountability for key decisions”
7

8. Business
Rela+onship
Management
Ins+tute
BRMI Incorporated in March 2013 with a mission to:
“Define, inspire, value, and promote the key traits of effective Business
Relationship Management”
This mission is fulfilled through:
A learning community of BRM professionals
A Wiki collaboration platform
BRM Interactive Body of Knowledge™
Professional BRM training, development and certification
BRM research and publications
8

9. BRM
as
a
Role,
a
Discipline
and
Organiza+onal
Capability
9
• As
an
Organizational Capability
BRM
is
everything
it
takes,
both
visible
and
behind
the
scenes,
that
makes
producing
a good or providing a service possible,
meaning
having
people
with
the
right
competencies
to
play
the
roles
required
by
defined
processes,
and
armed
with
useful tools,
all
backed
by
management systems
that
create
incen8ves
for
performance
and
improvement.
• As
a
role,
the
Business
Rela8onship
Manager
is
a
connector
and
translator
between
a
provider
organiza8on
and
a
business
unit
• As
a
discipline,
Business
Rela8onship
Management
embodies
knowledge,
skills,
behaviours
that
foster
value-­‐producing
rela8onships
between
a
provider
and
the
business
units
they
serve

10. Business
Rela+onship
Management
defini+on
“Business Relationship Management stimulates,
surfaces and shapes business demand for a provider’s
products and services and ensures that the potential
business value from those products and services is
captured, optimized and recognized.”
Source:
BRMI
Ins8tute
1
0

11. BRM
metaphors
1
1

12. Typical
BRM
role
1
2
Sits
at
intersec8on
of
service
provider
and
business
partner
S8mulates,
surfaces
and,
shapes
business
demand
for
maximized
value
Member
of
both
business
and
provider
management
teams

13. The
“House
of
BRM”
1
3
The
‘‘roof’
protects
the
integrity
of
the
BRM
role
The
‘pillars’
define
the
BRM
space
in
terms
of
Core
Disciplines
The
‘founda8on’
supports
the
execu8on
of
the
role

14. Aspects
to
consider…
1
4

15. It
takes
two
to
tango
1
5
"It
takes
two
to
do
the
trust
tango-­‐the
one
who
risks
(the
trustor)
and
the
one
who
is
trustworthy
(the
trustee);
each
must
play
their
role”
-­‐Charles
H.
Green,
The
Trusted
Advisor
You can sail on a ship by yourself,
Take a nap or a nip by yourself.
You can get into debt on your own,
There are a lot of things that you can
do alone!
But ...It takes two to tango!
Al Hoffman and Dick Manning, 1952

16. Business
Demand
Maturity
and
Provider
Supply
Maturity
1
6
A tool for calibrating supply and demand maturity, and BRM role!

17. Climbing
maturity
levels
Credibility = Expertise + Trust
The elements of trust:
Similarity
Prolonged positive interactions
Appropriate behaviour (in business partner’s eyes)
Consistent behaviour – do what you say you will do!
1
7

18. Trust
can
be
earned
Not by expertise alone…
We view as experts those we trust
But we don’t necessarily trust experts!
1
8
…But by relationship management
Ac8ve
listening
Crea8ng
posi8ve
interac8ons
with
business
partners
Helping
business
partners
become
self-­‐sufficient
Teaching
and
coaching
Responding
well
in
difficult
business
partner
encounters
Avoiding
defensiveness
By
building
a
mul8year
capability
roadmap
and
delivering
or
showing
results
against
that
roadmap

19. Broken
rela+onship
can
be
repaired
In case if the problem is in lack of business partner trust due to prior bad IT
experience…
But they may not tell you that – it’s hard to diagnose….
Can’t be resolved by saying “it wasn’t me”
Can’t be resolved by improving technical performance
You must build back the relationship:
Start small;
Have positive interactions;
Give help and jargon-free information;
Locate near your business partners and see them often.
1
9

20. The
Strategic
Partnership
role
Partnership gets a lot of hypocrisy:
We want to be loved for what we’re doing now
We want them to change, not us
We want them to give it to us; we don’t want to earn it
2
0
Strategic
Partners
con8nuously
looking
for
opportuni8es
to
add value
by:
Seeing
opportuni8es
that
business
partners
don’t
see
or
want
to
see
Selling
the
business
partner
on
the
opportuni8es
Knowing
when
to
cajole
Knowing
when
to
confront
Knowing
when
to
give in
In
short,
by
political behaviour

21. Business
Rela+onship
Management
Competencies
2
1
BRM
DNA™
Develop
Nurture
Advance

22. Rela+onship
Maturity
2
2
Essen8al
Role
of
Service
Management

23. The
BRM
role
in
prac+ce
Seniority – and level of business executive with whom the BRM partners.
Purpose – especially in the balance of focus between supply (the view from the
Provider out to the Business Partner) and demand (the view from the Business
Partner back to the Provider).
Title – e.g. Business Partner Director, Account Manager, etc.
Supply side focus – e.g. IT, HR, Finance, Line of Business, etc.
Demand side focus – e.g. Line of Business, Business Process, Geography.
Team size – from sole practitioner to leader of a team of 10+.
Numbers of BRMs per enterprise – from 1 to 100s.
Career trajectory – often moving from major project or program management role
to leadership role in Provider domain (e.g. to CIO).
2
3
Varies widely from organization to organization…!

24. Common
BRM
repor+ng
and
organiza+on
structures
Reporting relationships
• Solid line to Provider lead, dotted line to Business Partner lead
• Dotted line to Provider lead, solid line to Business Partner lead
• Some BRMs report to Provider Strategy and/or Architecture lead, PMO, etc.
BRM staff
From none (BRM as individual performer)
To multi-level
• BRM Lead
• BRM Manager
• BRM Analyst
To small supply team (e.g., mini-CIO organization, ‘Shadow’ provider organization)
2
4
With many variations!!

25. How
The
BRM
role
aligns
with
Business
Partners
2
5
BRMs are typically organized by Business Unit or Business Process!

26. Rela+onship
Manager
career
paths
Gartner predicts that the percentage of IT personnel dedicated to relationship management and change leadership
functions will reach nearly 20 percent by 2016.
Diane Morello, “IT Professional Outlook, 2012 to 2016: Prepare for a Future Unlike the Past”
Optimally, BRMs have the role as a full time position
Heads of provider organizations (e.g., CIO) fill the BRM role for the enterprise as a part time role
Where Do Successful BRMs Come From?
• ITSM
• Business Analysis
• Portfolio Management
Business background, with provider acumen, or provider background with business acumen?
• Both
What types of career progression are available to the BRM?
• Path to CIO or head of provider function
• Path to Business Leader
• Path to Shared Services Relationship Manager
• Representing a broad set of shared services such as HR, Finance, and Facilities
2
6

27. The
Skills
Framework
for
the
Informa+on
Age
(SFIA)
SFIA defines 96
professional IT skills,
organized in 6
categories, each of
which has several
subcategories. It also
defines 7 levels of
attainment, each of
which is described in
generic, non-technical
terms
2
7

28. In
conclusion…some
important
points
BRM is critical organizational capability
The BRM role can be tactical or strategic – but not both
Provider supply maturity is the key factor in determining type of BRM
role
Not all BRMs in an organization will be of the same type
Business units that have greater maturity will look to the BRM role to be
more strategic
Those units with less maturity will look for tactical help from the BRM
Business demand maturity is a factor in determining how the BRM role is
deployed
ITSM plays essential role is growing the Relationship Maturity
2
8

29. To
learn
more
about
Business
Rela+onship
Management
BRMI Interactive Body of Knowledge
http://brminstitute.org/
Concepts
Processes
Templates, Forms, Diagrams
Community Support
BRMP® Foundation Certification course - 3 days + exam
2
9

30. –Bertie Charles Forbes, founder of Forbes magazine!
“If
you
don't
drive
your
business,
you
will
be
driven
out
of
business…”
30