I wanted to share with you an article by Martha Heller that I found both informative as well as insightful. Heller writes about the traditional CIO role and some of the issues they have traditionally faced, the problems of transitioning from one regime to another, when bad technology meets good people, etc. What takes this from a run of the mill article on the woes of CIOs are the insights into CIO strategy which occurs in the second half of the article.
Enabling is Failing!
I was particularly impressed with a quote from Scott McKay CIO from Genworth Financial who discusses the differences between being an enabler of business processes to a driver. At first glance enabling business processes does not seem like a bad goal for IT. What Scott as well as most CXOs know is that enabling a process gets none of the glory for success and is first in line for the responsibility for failure. The idea of being an “enabler” like in a 12 step program is not one that is going to get you a lot of rewards. Enabling is Failing!
View Video
For even more insights on the changing role of CIOs, take a look at this recording of one of the webinars from our Buyer’s Side Perspective series, Selling to Today’s CIOs.
Enabling processes in a company are a function of either supporting or coordinating another group’s goal or business process. As a support role it is of course critical to getting the task done, after all we all need support in one way or another to accomplish our responsibilities. The problem with being pigeon holed into this role is that it is seen more as a cost function than one of business value. As a result the phrases “how much is this going to cost my budget” or “what’s the best way we can do this at the lowest price” becomes the guideline for the “enabler”. Not only is the value stripped from the IT group but the ability to control their expenditures is moved to the original business group that is driving the process.
What You Should be Asking
The question you need to ask yourself personally is when you work with IT or the CIO which process do you lead with or support. If you talk about TCO or your ability to deliver an SLA or even talk about being a one stop shop you are supporting the CIO to FAIL. And if they don’t want to fail then where does that leave you and your ideas.
The question you need to ask is ‘What can I do to help the CIO/IT group to succeed? What value add do you bring that they can bring to their business units? How can you help them to lead and be one of the drivers of the business? Once you have figured that out you now have a reason to engage in CIO executive conversation.
If you don’t know how just ask us. After all we are a company made up of CXOs. Your thoughts?
