In November of 2017, I left The Walt Disney Company after being there for 18 years. It was the only place I had worked in my adult life until then, and I quickly realized two things Disney and The Anti [now Stridepath Consulting] have in common…acronyms and values. This is probably true for most organizations today. The acronyms and values will be different, but most organizations have them.
Disney has a ton of acronyms…WDW, DAK, DHS, MK, WDPR, MNSSHP, GMR…those are 7 examples out of hundreds of acronyms. As for values, Disney defines them in different ways. They have the 4 Key Basics – Safety, Courtesy, Show, Efficient. They have RAVE – Respect Appreciate Value Everyone. Let’s not forget – imagination, creativity, freedom of expression, and a touch of magic!
At The Anti [now Stridepath Consulting], we keep it simple. THIS! Yes, we have all of our ServiceNow acronyms (is it SNOW or SN?), but one acronym specific to The Anti is THIS – Team-first, Humble, Innovative, and Smart.
As a leader of the Technical Consultant (TC) team, THIS is very important. A TC is not a “one person show.” A TC is part of the project team, and they are responsible for building out the ServiceNow instance to meet the customer’s requirements. We work to uphold THIS in the following ways:
Team-First
As previously mentioned, a TC cannot work alone. It takes collaboration with the Business Process Consultant (BPC), Project Manager (PM), Partner, and the customer’s project members to drive results. The TC needs to actively engage in requirements gathering to gain an understanding of what the customer wants their instance to do. They need to proactively raise any questions or issues that others may not have. They need to participate with the project team and contribute to the success of the customer. As it has been said, “Teamwork makes the dream work.”
Humble
Leave your ego at the door. ServiceNow is an ever-growing and evolving platform; therefore, we have to accept that we don’t know it all and we won’t always have the answers. That’s ok! I want my TCs to take a step back and say, “Let me research that and get back to you” instead of making promises we can’t or shouldn’t keep.
Innovative
When a customer asks, “Can ServiceNow do this?”, more often than not, the answer is “Yes.” However, the follow-up should be: just because ServiceNow CAN do it, SHOULD we do it? ServiceNow is a powerful tool, and we want to work to maintain the integrity and scalability of the instance. To do this, we have to be on our toes and find ways to make the system do what the customer asks for within reason. A lot of the time, this means being creative and thinking outside the box to keep the instance as “in the box” as possible. While customization is going to occur with most customers, making sure that it is minimal and manageable should be front and center.
Smart
Working with a variety of customers takes brains. You have to be on your toes, ready for anything, and you have to be able to act independently as needed. To be able to take someone else’s vision and turn it into a reality is not an easy task, and it is not something we take lightly. In being smart, you have to be able to learn, reason, and solve problems. Going into a project with open ears and an open mind is going to set you up for success as you work to deliver a high quality product for the customer.
THIS is what The Anti was founded on, and THIS is what we continue to strive for. We hold our TCs to a high standard, and it shows in the work we produce. Being part of The Anti over almost 7 years has been extremely rewarding, and I look forward to many more years of seeing us continue to grow and thrive in THIS!
For more information or to schedule a call with our team, drop a note to [email protected]!
About the Author: Holly spent 18 years at the Walt Disney Company, gaining experience in multiple areas: technical writing, technical training, business analysis, and technical analysis. Using this experience, she works with customers to document and design, develop and configure, and train users on the ServiceNow platform and HR applications. She also leads a team of Technical Consultants, working to help them to grow and develop in their ServiceNow skills.
