So What Does a CIO Do?

A recent hike with the family reminded me that occasionally it is good practice to take your bearings. (More on the hike in another post). That led me to think about what a CIO does and to revisit Deloitte’s roadmap 4 Faces of the CIO. The model presents four distinct roles in which the CIO functions.

1. Manager of technical operations.
2. Contributor in strategic business planning.
3. Facilitator of change.
4. Visionary for technical innovation.

In these roles, the CIO is responsible to lead the technical staff, communicate and work with other executives, departments, clients and contacts, and manage vendor relationships.

Manager of Technical Operations

Most CIOs cut their teeth on managing technical operations. The vast majority of CIOs would probably agree that the stability, security and efficient technical operations take the bulk of their time to the potential detriment of other responsibilities.

Contributor to Strategic Planning

Strategic planning can be a CIO’s tar pit. Keeping a working model of what strategic planning means to your organization may help. A simple model for technology’s role in strategy planning could include categorize objectives in one of these four ways:

1. Managing business risk
2. Accessing markets
3. Lowering costs
4. Improving efficiency.

The first two categories – managing risk and providing access to markets are classic strategic business objectives. The other two categories, lowering costs and improving efficiencies, are tactical expectations of every business unit. Often CIOs attention is fixed on costs and efficiency and leaving little time for the deep discussions of managing risk and growing markets.

Facilitator of Change

Facilitating change is a key role of the CIO. The CIO isn't really in a position to lead change - that is the function of the stakeholders deriving value from change. But the CIO can help with adoption which is the most challenging aspect of implementing technology. The lowest position of the organization chart can scuttle the most important implementation if it is not supported by top executives. CIOs can facilitate change initiatives but the degree of success will depend on the depth of organizational support for the effort.

Technical Visionary and Innovator

The CIO is a visionary and innovator. Innovation is more than attending conferences or implementing skunk works projects. Innovation works best when it follows a model that categorizes and defines technology. Clayton Christensen (see Innovator’s Dilemma) provided a model which divides innovation into disruptive and sustaining trends. Playing with innovation without an operational model can be not only expensive but present risks to the organization.

That’s what I’ve been thinking about – how about you?