For IT leaders, it's easy to identify with the conductor. He is integral to creating the sea upon which the opera's story floats. When acknowledged, the conductor gives a quick wave of one hand, baton in the other, to conduct the finale. ("Glad you liked that new application we developed, but let me get back to the product launch.")

Just as a conductor runs a show within a show while managing the wide and varied elements of his "service organization," we IT leaders are running a business within a business.

Our job is to offer our company digestible "passages" of IT that our "audience" -- the employees of our organization -- can understand and use to maximize the performance of the company. We synthesize and interpret the complexities of a "score" -- the technology needs of our company -- to develop a clear vision. We work with other governing bodies to make the best decisions (just as conductors work with producers, directors and composers), and ultimately we strive for the best performance possible.

Here are three key tenets of "conducting" IT as a business that we use at Accenture:

1. Transition to managed services. In IT services, as in music, different folks like different notes. So rather than requiring your company to use a single song sheet (the traditional one-size-fits-all IT model), try providing a defined set of products and services to the business, with service-level guarantees and prices that are benchmarked to the marketplace. This approach has enabled my company to realize substantial cost savings while maintaining and often enhancing service levels.