InformationWeek

Ask The Secret CIO

By Herbert W. Lovelace
May 6, 1997

Your letters to my print column and this E-mail forum ask some serious questions about managing information technology in today's world. Since today's world is essentially absurd, my serious responses may sometimes sound a little whimsical, and my occasional whimsical ones, serious. In any case, if you want to participate, write to me at secret@cmp.com . I'll r espond to those letters that I can. I reserve the right to edit for size and content. Just sign your E-mail the way you want it to appear online.

Dear Herbert:

Just read your column on the mission statement ( A Mission Is Our Mission , IW, Feb. 24) . It reminds me of something I read in a book.

Abe Lincoln wrote the original mission statement for the Department of Veterans Affairs. It was something like, "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan." The "modern" VA mission statement is homogenized pap that inspires nothing but contempt.

It just points out the biggest flaw of much current management theory--that you can teach anyone to manage by giving him or her the proper methods (e.g. a mission statement). The effective manager has to have character, honesty, competence in his field, understanding of people, and a vision for the company. If you don't have good character at the top, you won't have good man agement. Good tools (management methods) only work for good people.

Nick

Dear Nick,

Yeah, but keep in mind that Lincoln got shot, and no bureaucrat worth his or her management manual is going to take that risk. However, you are absolutely correct about the skills necessary to be effective and I wish people who buy into many of the current fads would realize that. Nothing substitutes for integrity, competence, and vision. It's one thing to develop the leadership ability that people have; it's another to assume that the methods take the place of the skills. Peter Drucker makes the point that management--the application of procedures -- is no substitute for leadership.

Dear Mr. Lovelace,

I read your article entitled " Paranoids Have Enemies, Too " (IW, Jan. 13) and found it very interesting. I also read an article in that same issue of InformationWeek entitled " CIO's Horizons Go Global, " which discussed the new set of skills, given the global nature of business, required from today's CIOs. I am early in my career and someday hope to secure a position as a CIO of an international company. Since you are currently a CIO of a multibillion-dollar international company, I would greatly appreciate it if you could offer any advice that would be beneficial to me in attaining my goal. This might include:

any experiences/skills you feel are required to become a CIO
any experiences you have had that have been significant to your career growth
any career-related mistakes you have made in the past that you have learned from

I have been in the workforce for just over five years and have held several positions of varying responsibility with three different employers. I am currently employed with a major systems-integration consulting firm. My hopes are that through consulting I will be able to get a better overall understanding of the benefits that technology can offer to global businesses thro ugh large-scale process reengineering.

Sincerely,

Chris M.

Dear Chris,

Let me refer you to a couple of the past "Dear Herb" columns for my comments on experiences/skills that might be useful to someone who wants to be a CIO. Try the hyperlinks (the complete list is at the bottom of this column) to March 25 , February 11 , January 28 , and December 24 .

As for my own significant career growth experiences, they tend to be the career-related mistakes that I have made over the years.

One that comes to mind was the time early in my career when I having trouble understanding why people were not interested in the technology I was using to solve their predicaments. I could not relate to how these foolish people could do their job without caring about all of the details I loved and cherished. Then, one day, I had a problem with the phone wiring in my home. The repairman was really dedicated. He spent a great deal of time enthusiastically explaining to me all the reasons why my phone wasn't working right and how difficult it would be for him to fix it. All the time he was talking, I was getting more and more irritated. All I could think of was, "Just fix the phone. I'm not interested in your problems." Then it hit me what I was saying to myself, and how many of my users were probably saying the same thing to themselves, whenever I was talking to them.

The second experience was one in which I was an observer and not, thank goodness, the protagonist. I had just received my first management promotion. One of my associates was making a presentation about the value of a new system and said it would increase productivity. The head of the business unit asked my friend to explain, which he did poorly, finally blurting out that while he could not promise increased sales or margins, people would be more efficient. The boss was annoyed and took out his pocket notebook. Taking the cap off his pen and getting ready to write, he said if sales or margins in the product line would not increase, then he wanted the names of the people who would be surplus, since this was the only other way he knew to increase productivity. The resultant silence was deafening. No one mentioned productivity around the place again for a long, long time unless they could prove what they were saying.

Dear Mr. Lovelace:

I am working on combining information systems and telecommunications here at our hospital and I am in the middle of a power struggle. Telecom currently reports to facilities management and the VP of this function has little or no understanding of how IS and telecom combined can better serve the facility. I have written reason after reason why this should occur but have not succeeded as of yet. I have no plans to give up. Any suggestions on how to approach this issue, or do you know of any good articles that approach this issue.

Thanks.

Kevin

Dear Kevin,

I could give you lots of reasons, but the head of facilities is not likely to be impressed with what I say. It could be that he or she just may not want to give up the telecommunications function. If so, you are fighting a struggle that many have gone through--and this is all in your favor. The bond between computer systems and telecommunications systems is growing tighter and tighter, so time and industry practice is on your side.

Stop writing reasons and simply do a survey of what other institutions have done and why. Summarize your findings and give the names of the people to whom you spoke, along with their titles and telephone numbers. At that point, you will have done everything you can and will have made it more politically palatable for a change--if you boss wants to pursue the issue.

Dear Herb:

I have been asked to become a "chief strategist" for our information services group. I will be responsible for finding, evaluating, and recommending appropriate information technolo gies for our business. What advice would you give someone in this position? What would you expect of this person? Since this is a new function, how would you recommend we begin?

Sincerely,

"Not Special Projects!"

Dear "Not Special Projects",

I would begin by getting my resum� up to date.

There is cause to worry about an organization in which the CIO delegates the role of "chief strategist." While you did not mention where you work, and organizations vary, it is not unlikely that you may find yourself quickly in the untenable situation of being a staff function to a staff group.

The head of systems development more than likely will feel that she has a very good idea of the strategic direction of the systems while the head of your network operations thinks he understands what the networks should use. Thus, depending on your relationships with them, you can wind up either in their face, or at best as a coordinator and collector of information for them.

At the same time, if the b ig bosses get the urge to downsize, then your position (but perhaps not you, personally) is a prime candidate for the short list. The rationale for this vulnerability is easy to see. If systems are not satisfactory or costs need to be cut, it is far easier to take it out on the people who set the strategy than on others.

Dear Sir,

I'm a member of the U.S. Air Force. I just received my B.S. in Computer Information Systems Management (It took me almost 10 years to get). I find it very difficult to keep up on the ever-changing technology. I have quite a few years of experience in personnel management. I'll be retiring from the Air Force soon, and I want to know what I should be doing to assist myself in getting a job working in the IS arena (need it from the horse's mouth). What would you, as a CIO, be looking for?

Thanks,

Brian Y.

Dear Brian,

You have said you have quite a few years of experience in personnel management and found it difficult to keep up on the technology. A t the same time, you have persevered for almost 10 years to get your B.S. in Computer Information Systems.

As a CIO looking at such a resum�, I would think about placing the individual with that experience in a job that stressed the ability to choose good people and resolve personnel problems, rather than one than was solely technically oriented. Many companies have organized along the lines of project managers who draw from a central resource pool to staff new projects. The idea is to give members of the professional staff a variety of experience while being able to bring the best talent to bear on specific problems. The people who manage that central pool are called resource managers. An ex-military person with your experience and a technical degree would be a good candidate for such a position. Alternatively, any human resource department that hires a great number of information systems professionals would find you a viable candidate as a personnel specialist.

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