Successful CIOs Go Beyond Providing Great Products And Services

Stephen Pickett, CIO of Penske, and Madeline Weiss, director of the Society for Information Management's Advanced Practices Council and president of Weiss Associates, offer tactical advice on CIO effectiveness. Successful CIOs know that delivering cost-effective, high-quality IT products and services is necessary but not sufficient to continued success. Holding interviews throughout last year with 16 executive-search firm recruiters and HR executives at leading companies, researchers concluded that future CIOs must be proactive in improving processes and finding revenue sources. The report concurs with the Optimize survey that the future CIO will be more of a business than a technical expert, with presence throughout the business and the top-management team. The ability to build and sustain trusting relationships with colleagues was identified as one of three key CIO capabilities; the others were business acumen and leadership. The 34 CIOs who belong to SIM's Advanced Practices Council--which includes Allstate Insurance, BlueCross BlueShield, BP Amoco, PepsiCo, and Philip Morris USA--recognize they must build their relationship skills and strategies. Tactics for building trusted and strong relationships come into play after basic credibility is established by delivering first-rate IT products and services, they say. Once this trust is established, members hone their relationship strategies and skills using two basic approaches: spending time with those on the business side and seeking opportunities to advance their colleagues', and therefore the business', success. IT-governance structures, which often include senior executive committees charged with approving IT strategic direction and overseeing major IT investments, provide continual exposure to business-unit heads. Less formal approaches also prove powerful. Several members invite business executives to speak at IT department meetings on leadership, business challenges, and how IT can help. Members also reach out to rising stars and executives who don't have positive views of IT. Such interaction not only can enhance business perspectives of IT staff but also gives the CIO a reason to interact with the executive in the course of helping the individual prepare for the event. Some members invite executive colleagues to visit vendor labs with them. The demos spark executives' interest in how the technologies might apply to their businesses. Others participate in business visits to customers and remote company locations. The best way to enhance a relationship with a business colleague is to help with a tricky problem, a charity event, or the executive's favorite project. Our members also are deeply aware that they must be role models for their staff because that's the best way to communicate the importance of relationship-building at all levels. Return to main story, CIOs Gain Influence And Responsibility