InformationWeek
Defining The Business Value Of Technology
August 24, 1998
Crossing Over
Executives crisscrossing between IT and business jobs are changing the corporate culture in many companies
By Caryn Gillooly and Jennifer Mateyaschuk
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When Cummins Engine Co. decided to tightly integrate its isolated IT organization into the company's business, it put John Crowther in charge of the effort. Crowther had no on-the-job IT experience, yet he was the perfect candidate. His 16 years in sales, marketing, and finance, and his keen understanding of how Cummins worked and what its customers wanted, were the exact skills the company needed to turn its IT operation into a strategic business unit."He knew our customers and was an excellent communicator," says Kiran Patel, Cummins' CFO. "Plus, he had already established good credibility with managers. It's clear that in three months the quality of the dialog between the IT professional and customers has greatly improved."
Crowther is part of a new group of decision makers who have moved from business to IT and, in some cases, back again, leading their companies' efforts to increase productivity, solve business problems, and improve customer service. These are issues only CEOs and other senior business execs used to worry about. But the increased importance of IT in business success has created a new breed of thinker--the "crossover" manager who brings experience in both IT and business to various jobs and finds ways to capitalize on the synergies between the two.
Bert Young went from accounting and finance to become senior director of IS at his former employer, Waste Management Inc., at a time when only one of 700 divisions at the Chicago company used a customer service software application. Although the benefits of an enterprisewide customer service system seemed obvious, Young dug into his business background for the arguments that swayed top management.
"I used my experience in financial analysis, accounting, and return on investment to communicate with them on their terms," Young says. "An IS guy would have brought them the technology and, more than likely, the CEO or CFO wouldn't get it. The business guys don't get it unless you speak their language."
Crossing over isn't entirely new. Many experienced IT executives have moved on to top business jobs. For example, Cinda Hallman went from the CIO slot at DuPont to global VP in charge of setting up a services business. Denis O'Leary, former CIO of Chase Manhattan, is now executive VP of national consumer services at the bank. He moved into that role specifically to accelerate the pace of technology change in Chase's consumer services line of business.
What is new in executive crossovers is the ease and frequency with which the switch is happening. Experience on both sides is actively pushed at many companies. Computer Associates, for example, encourages employees to move from business units into IT and from IT into business. CA's Gary Quinn went from sales to IT and now runs business operations as well as IT. "Too often, there's a disconnection between the two sides," says CA president and chief operating officer Sanjay Kumar.
CA guarantees technology people who move into a commission-based sales job that their first year's salary in the new position won't be less than what they made in IT. For people moving from business positions to IT, CA provides tuition reimbursement for courses at local universities, as well as a mentoring program.
CA, as a technology vendor, may be more aggressive than many companies in encouraging crossover, but CA isn't alone. "Most companies are recommending executives spend six months in IT as part of their fast tracks," says Howard Anderson, president of the Yankee Group. "It's important because the most valuable executives are those who are cross-trained."
That's particularly true if a company has specific productivity goals that hinge on IT. That was the case for Owens Corning when it put a just-in-time inventory system in place by combining IT, customer service, and supply-chain functions into one business unit and putting CIO Michael Radcliff in charge. Radcliff, who was a certified public accountant, joined Owens four years ago and is now executive VP in charge of the new Systems Thinking Information Group at the building materials and glass manufacturer.
The new unit is "replacing assets with information," Radcliff says, by providing more-accurate information about product demand and inventory. This, in turn, drives investment decisions, he adds, and results in a more efficient supply chain and tighter control of inventory levels. So far, the group has cut transportation and other expenses by more than 10% and significantly reduced the company's need for warehouse space.
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Illustration by Grey Ivor Morris
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