From ritual to tradition: the semantics of IT

In a week when Hewlett-Packard's new boss Carly Fiorina - the highest ranking female leader in hi-tech history - learnt that she would receive a multimillion dollar pay package in her new role, (http://www.silicon.com/a32869 ) it seems churlish to question the existence of a meritocracy in the IT industry. But that's just what we did at Silicon.com on Monday when we published our latest 'Big Question' (http://www.silicon.com/a32838 ). And it would appear with good reason.

As industries go, the tag 'level playing field' seems more appropriately applied to information technology than any other. Fiorina's rise to the top suggests women can break through that glass ceiling while the countless stories of techies creating billion dollar operations from their parent's garage show what can be done with a good idea and a lot of hard work. And surely, the Internet will help to further break down financial, geographic and social boundaries to business success.

But what's held up as part of this ideal is actually part of the problem. You almost have to be a geek working out of a garage to succeed. A point more eloquently expressed by Net visionary, Perri 6: "IT is full of the exact rituals that you would expect of a very young industry obsessed with funny pieces of metal with buttons on, rather than with how people will use them. The breathless prose, the ridiculous business plans with the delightful straight lines and long curves - but that's what you'd expect from an industry at this stage. Of course it rewards those who play the game - those who know the rituals well."

As IT goes mainstream - electronic commerce and the Internet the most visible elements of this transition - it is increasingly important that the individuals within it learn to speak the language of business and avoid these rituals. The temptation to revert to the introspective language of the 'glass house' is understandable - how else do you protect your position in what has undoubtedly become a very desirable workplace? Three letter acronyms and a fixation with 'specs' are all part of the black art.

Understandable, but wrong and increasingly parochial. The opportunities IT presents extend far wider than the four insulated walls of the server room. But only if you adopt a language your business leaders will understand, will your profile - and that of your department - rise.

Remove the rituals, and you open yourself up to more and more competition. But if you don't, you will get left behind. And so will any notion of a meritocracy.