Quotes from Richard Hunter

calling colleagues "customers" puts a wedge between IT and the rest of the business.

We believe that executives, like everyone else, see what is brought to their attention. The costs associated with IT are brought to their attention every time they see a chargeback report or request a change in their services. Occasional failures are bound to be noticed, too. If IT doesn't make a point of bringing the value to their attention, it's much less likely to be seen and acknowledged.

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

the right way to discuss IT performance and value is to focus on IT's contributions to business performance and business outcomes, and not on the performance of IT's machines.

Lots of IT organizations have metrics that say, 'We're 99.99 percent on uptime, we're fast.' The plumbing is wonderful, but nobody cares.

Language is powerful. What we say can shape how we think—and it certainly shapes how others think about us. In this regard, calling the business a "customer" simply conveys the idea that IT is not part of the business.