InformationWeek

September 14, 1998

Executive Report: The Change Agents

By Lou Bertin

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anaging change in an organization-whether it be the technologies people use or the way the company conducts business-is more of an art than a science. After all, if it were a science, results could be rigorously tested and thoroughly proven, and we would have formulas and procedures that could be duplicated and followed.

But experience tells us that managing-and more important, mastering-change can't be reduced to distinct, definable elements. Instead, each specific case has its own idiosyncrasies, its own highly specialized imperatives, and its own cast of players who have their own interests to protect.

It's better, then, to view mastering change as an art. For example, while every IT project may have similar goals-such as speed, scalability, and, of course, success-there's no one way to accomplish them all. Every CIO works with a distinct palette, perspective, and passion. And, like all artists, an IT manager must have a unique vision to help the company sustain its competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Recent conversations with CIOs Ron Griffin of the Home Depot, James Hatch of Case Corp., E.P. Rogers of Mutual of New York, and Joe Smialowski of Sears Roebuck, show some common elements among companies that have managed change successfully. Each CIO said the success or failure of any IT effort hinges on three things: the need to maintain focus on the core businesses; the need to constantly seek new ways to innovate to stay ahead of the competition; and the absolute need for support from the business side of the organization, in fiscal and political terms.

But just as sculptors create different masterpieces from similar blocks of marble, Griffin, Hatch, Rogers, and Smialowski each produced information infrastructures that ideally reflect their users' needs. No doubt, these infrastructures-successful in their current organizations-would be dismal failures if they were swapped into environments other than those for which they were specifically designed.

A curious contradiction defines the work of these high-tech artists. They must finish their "masterpieces" by preset deadlines, yet the systems they create are never quite complete; instead, they're subject to constant refinements and fine-tuning. It's a good thing CIOs aren't too temperamental.

Lou Bertin is managing editor/industry.

"Executive Report: IT Innovators"

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