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Topic: Executive Leadership

Reference: Durett, Jacqueline. “Reinventing the CIO.” Consulting: January/February 2009, pp. 10-11.

With cost cutting in full flight, some senior level positions are being viewed for potential elimination. Potential job cuts are tied to a perceived lack of contribution, insufficient value, or excessive cost. The chief Information Officer (CIO) position at times fits that description because of how it is positioned, perceived, and reviewed.

Topic: Executive Leadership

Reference: Durett, Jacqueline. “Reinventing the CIO.” Consulting: January/February 2009, pp. 10-11.

With cost cutting in full flight, some senior level positions are being viewed for potential elimination. Potential job cuts are tied to a perceived lack of contribution, insufficient value, or excessive cost. The chief Information Officer (CIO) position at times fits that description because of how it is positioned, perceived, and reviewed. CIOs can be seen as high level coordinators with job duties that can be assigned to the COO, President, or others in the C-suite. Many contributions made by CIOs are not seen for extended periods of time, cost significant amounts of money, and may not yield the payoff intended by the original investment. As a result, the CIO position can constantly be in a state of flux.  While this is reflective of a short sighted view, it is often how business decisions are made. In the referenced article the commentator amplifies these sentiments and lays much of the blame for the scrutiny on failed IT projects. “Part of the problem is the notoriously high failure rate of IT projects…Overall…,in general, many IT projects are more complex than people envision, so it’s a matter of not meeting expectations…” The commentator indicates that the key is to invest in cost saving projects with a quick payback and to do the things that make things more efficient. In many cases this is easier said than done because CIOs deal with enterprise applications that cross departments and have high visibility. I believe that the better approach is to have a strategic focus that ties to the core business imperatives, improves value with each level of implementation, and expresses a return on invested capital in time savings, cost savings, revenue opportunity, or some combination of the three. CIOs don’t generally do a good job of touting the benefits projects once they are complete, or following up on the savings/revenue post launch. All of these things are important if the view of the value of the CIO function is to change. Let me know your thoughts on shoring up the CIO role.