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Ask The Secret CIO

June 19, 2001

letter imageSecret CIO imageYour letters to my print column and E-mail forum raise some serious issues 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, or comment, write to me at lovelace@home.com. I reserve the right to edit for size and content. Just sign your E-mail the way you want it to appear online.

Why aren't I a CIO? I've done all the right things!
Question Dear Herbert:
I am 40 years old. Starting as a programmer/analyst, I moved up to one of the "Big 5," where I was a senior management consultant for five years. I've also worked in industry, mostly in insurance companies. I've done enterprisewide business-process redesign, large-scale systems integration, and a lot of IT strategic management. I also got my MBA. I've learned about how to play the right politics by reviewing several books (yes, I read The Prince many times) and actually have been successful.

How do I get my first CIO job? I remember, 17 years ago, when I went to programming school, everyone said that to get my first programming job I had to be an experienced programmer and I always asked, 'How do I get that experience if I'm never given a chance?' Now I have the same question about becoming a CIO. Nobody wants to even talk to me unless I've been a CIO before.

So right now, I've been very nicely parked, and I'm not being utilized to my maximum potential. You cannot imagine how frustrating this has been. Every day, I spend many minutes thinking about becoming a CIO so I can use my skills.

What should I do? I know there's no really easy answer here, but unless I get on this management track I won't enjoy my work and won't be able to make a difference.

Sincerely,
J.

Answer Dear J.:
Sometimes, when we try too hard to achieve a goal, it works against us. In sports, it causes a player to lose her rhythm and miss that important basket from the foul line, or to double-fault on a key serve. In business, wanting a promotion to the point that we spend a lot of our day thinking about it can affect how we work with others and, as a result, make people leery about our motives in their dealings with us.

Niccolo Machiavelli probably could relate to my observation. He would, no doubt, be quite distraught about how he has been personally misunderstood. After all, he wrote The Prince to explain how power politics is played, and wound up having his name become a synonym for devious behavior. On reflection, perhaps you'd be better off if you considered concentrating on another book for management enlightenment--maybe something by Peter Drucker on teamwork and leadership.

Many of us have been in the situation where we didn't get the promotion we were certain we deserved, or when we were denied an opportunity for which we knew we were qualified. It's frustrating to feel that you are well prepared for advancement in your career, only to be shut off from it continually.

However, the fact is that there just aren't enough CIO jobs around to fulfill the career plans of everyone who wants to be one. In other words, even though you may be eminently competent to handle the position, it's possible that you may not be the successful candidate for such a job in the near future.

You will probably be a happier person if you concentrate on doing the best job that you can on your present assignments, and enjoy the satisfaction that you get from seeing them completed in a quality fashion. My sense is that if you do so, you may well find that someone recognizes the leadership and teamwork skills that you have and offers you that CIO job that you now want so badly.

Reaching The Top In The Shortest Amount Of Time
Question Dear Mr. Secret CIO:
I am currently a college sophomore, and it is my dream to become CIO of a company (it doesn't have to be huge) in the shortest amount of time. Though I love all the technical aspects of IT professionalism, I feel that management would be best for me. I've already paid my dues as a quality assurance analyst when I was 17, tech support the same year, and even hardware repair when I was 18. What next? What's the fastest way for me to reach my goal? I know that aspirations and real know-how can only get me so far, so what else do I need to do?

Anxious

Answer Dear Anxious:
Based on my own experience and that of my friends, the roads to a CIO job are varied and the dues payments seem to begin the day that you get the job; everything before that is a down payment. If, however, you are insistent on wanting to become a CIO--and it can be a very emotionally rewarding job--then there are a few things that you might want to do. They may not provide you with the least time to the top, but they may increase your odds of getting there. Also, accept the fact that, for a goodly number of years, you will be competing with people who have significantly more experience than you.

In today's world, the CIO has to be able to understand both the critical needs and the dreams of multiple divisions in the company--manufacturing, sales, marketing, distribution, finance, the list goes on and on. He or she needs to blend that mixture with what is technically and organizationally feasible, add a realistic dose of what is viable based on cost, and do everything possible to communicate to all involved the importance of the result.

To prepare yourself, you should focus on working well in teams, be willing to take prudent risks, deliver on what you promise, and make sure that people can depend on you to be a person of your word. It also helps if you have a broad background in a variety of technical areas and at least some business-oriented experience. Of critical importance is concentrating on the skill of communicating clearly and succinctly, both verbally and in writing.

End Runs Around The IT Department
Question Dear Mr. Lovelace:
Your article ("Selling Around The CIO," July 31, 2000) was perfect. For the past five years I've been selling hardware and software to companies with revenue under $50 million. My point of contact was usually the IT manager, or sometimes the controller, who doubled as IT manager.

About 90 days ago, I went to work for a company whose target customer has annual revenue of $100 million to $500 million. They just sent me to a sales-training class for selling a particular business-intelligence-software product. I was encouraged to sell to the CFO or the VP of sales and to avoid the CIO. It's my new company's opinion that the CIO, and the IT department, in general, is too busy with day-to-day IT stuff to give appropriate consideration to business-intelligence software. The idea is to gain the support of the VP of sales and let him present the project to upper management. Their position seems to be that the CEO/CFO/VP of sales group determines the business needs while IT merely implements the technology.

I'm uncomfortable going around the CIO/IT director. I want him or her to be my ally within the business. At the same time, I want to introduce my products and services to the people who will benefit the most.

I'm thinking the best way to introduce a product like business-intelligence software is to approach the VP of sales and the CIO at the same time. That way, the CIO won't feel like I'm blind-siding him or going over his head. What do you think?

Kris

Answer Dear Kris:
I think that your approach will produce a higher likelihood of winning business than the one advocated by your company's sales-training procedures. Your proposal to go after both the head of IT and the head of sales, simultaneously, is an excellent one. If the IT director is truly not interested in what you have to offer, at least he or she will have no reason to feel that you are trying an end-run. If the IT director is so uncharitable as to attempt to squash your presentation to sales, the VP likely won't appreciate the interference. On the other hand, the fact that you alerted the head of IT to what you are doing may be the needed encouragement for the IT group to get involved. I really don't see a downside to your idea--except one.

You have a problem--a potentially big one. If your boss is a strong believer in the company's procedures and feels that you aren't following direction, you may find yourself in deep water. Even if you are successful, your innovative methods may not be appreciated.

It makes sense for you to sit down with the boss and discuss your ideas. If you sense any resistance, make sure to communicate that you will provide frequent feedback on how things are going. In that way, if you're able to show how well your approach is working, your boss will be more than delighted to share the limelight with you, and you will have a solid supporter in your new company.

IT People Just Don't Understand Business
Question Dear Mr. Lovelace:
While I'm in agreement with your point that IT should be brought in early into any technology discussion and evaluation, ("Selling Around The CIO") the value of most business applications is rarely appreciated or understood by IT professionals.

The driving business goal of most enterprise business applications is either cost savings or revenue generation. Both these business propositions are clearly understood by those folks who normally have the profit-and-loss responsibility. The need to understand if a product's underlying architecture and design meets internal IT standards is important, but isn't the compelling reason a company should choose a particular solution. This becomes even more important as more and more applications use a company's intranet as the main vehicle of delivery.

Functional attributes and strengths of applications are the driving force behind the success, and subsequent return on investment, delivered by most business applications, not issues related to architecture. That's what gives rise to the need for most sales professionals to interact directly with the business-process owners.

Devin

Answer Dear Devin:
While business utility rather than technical design should be the driving force behind the adoption of a system, I don't accept your premise that the people who work in information technology rarely appreciate or understand the value of business applications. I'm afraid that I have to say that your generalization probably has as many flaws in it as a $10 diamond engagement ring.

Even though some IT professionals don't comprehend the rationale behind the need for a specific business application, bear with me if I estimate that at least an equal number of business people don't recognize the negative cost and service impact on a company of choosing an inhospitable computer system. Contrary to your opinion, this problem is worse, not less important, when dealing with the Internet.

Although I think that software salespeople should interact directly with those people who will use the systems they're selling, I don't think they should do so at the cost of initially excluding the IT community. Ideally, the best situation is one in which the business leader and the head of IT work together to blend their complementary skills to pick the best packages for business success.

Herbert W. Lovelace shares his experiences (changing most names, including his own, to protect the guilty) as CIO of a multibillion-dollar international company. Send him E-mail at lovelace@home.com.

NOTE TO READERS: As I've mentioned, I am planning to put my InformationWeek columns together into a book with a little bit of additional commentary around the events and people about whom I write. If any reader would like to be notified of such an event, please drop me an E-mail. Just use the word BOOK as the subject line.


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