Meeting Customers

A recent edit in an IT publication discussed the pitfalls of the CIO going out on the field meeting the end customers of the company’s products or services. It highlighted the fact that most CXOs wanted the CIO to stay away from the customers and not encroach on their territory. The CIO meeting customers was seen as disruptive and a threat to their relationship and the final moment of truth with the consumer. This observation was believed to be consistent across industries as well as size of the company.

A call to the Editor resulted in her portraying the reality she had witnessed on the discussion table that included some heavy weight CIOs. They were tentative in their approach to reaching out to customers; this was not viewed kindly with heavy brick-walling. A casual interaction was fine, but not continued engagement that may result in a different reality for the sales/marketing teams. Off course there were a few outlier CIOs who did systemically meet the customers and shared insights with their teams.

My reality being different from the majority, I decided to chat up with some CXOs to determine if reality was indeed that grim. I picked a few high-touch industries like retail, banking and airlines, and added some low touch ones like pharmaceuticals and FMCG where the end consumer is largely faceless. Then I started searching through the good old visiting card rolodex, my connections on social media and professional networking sites; finally adding some with help from industry bodies.

I had some apprehension if I will get candid responses, so I decided to use the research envelope which does normally get open answers; you know researchers are perceived as non-threatening since in a statistical model, there is no identity. The modus operandi worked well and my research was successful in capturing reality with high fidelity. The correlation to industry or size of company was not decisive, the general trend was however quite evident.

Marketing and Sales have over the last few years faced uncertainty due to the global economic uncertainty and the impact it has had on consumer sentiment. Corporate as well as individual spending has seen a general holding back. Do we really need to spend ? Do I really need the latest gadget ? Such decision points have resulted in pressure that has everyone looking inward more than outward. Natural reaction has been to hold on to the fragile relationships. What if the discussion turned away the customer ? What do you know about customers anyway ?

One of them quite paranoid went on to state that IT has no business prying into relationships; he had advised his team to keep everyone at bay like the pirates; auditors, information security, anyone who asked for data was turned away. Even the BI reporting was curtailed lest it be used by someone to create different conclusions. The company in question was struggling for growth though doing better than some of their competitors. In the high growth era, they were the leaders, now that appeared to be chapters in a history textbook.

Can the CIO change this behaviour ? Being an optimist I would say probably yes ! Is it worth the effort, many would say certainly not ! And I tend to agree with the collective wisdom though with a caveat. I believe that CIOs are always at the short end of disruption; so they should not back off in the face of this push back but continue the dialogue while getting others behind the cause. Different perspectives have always created new opportunities. After all, you cannot expect different results if you continued doing the same thing over and over again. I have lived by this maxim and I am still alive.

Where to draw a line ?

A recent conversation with another CXO, I came across an unusual observation from the lady, which lead to me rethink the question, what is indeed the role of a CIO in a company. Should it be limited to creatng technology projects based on business priorities and strategy or it should go beyond the "normal" definition towards being the "Change Agent" beyond IT.

The CIO drives change that is created with the creation and implementation of IT systems or lead by some technology deployment. Successful execution creates positive value for the company, whereas change when not managed effectively may result in technology lead expensive inefficient processes. The good CIOs do not wait for business to spell out the next system change or new initiatives, they create the need based on their appreciation of how the new solution may create value for the enterprise.

Some CIOs with dual roles, i.e. IT and another business function have lattitude in what they do and also the span of influence is larger. These individuals tend to have higher success with change as compared to technology only CIOs (with a few exceptions). As CIOs move up and sideways in the enterprise, their well rounded view of the functioning of each department and function creates many opportunities for being the "Change Agent".

During my discussion with the lady, I spelt out a few initiatives taken up by the IT organization towards creating efficiencies and adding to the bottom line (most of the initiatives had no technology), I was advised that in many companies other CXOs (respective function heads) would typically take up such initiatives and not leave it to the CIO. She also advised me that such initiatives will typically fail because of lack of ownership towards change by respective business units.

While some of the comments resonate with the past, I believe that the new age CIOs do not wait for such initiatives to be thrust upon them, but take on challenges and opportunities even if they may be disruptive to some. The success of such initiatives will ultimately depend on the CEO or the Management Board endorsing the actions of the CIO.

The future does promise to get exciting for an enterprise where empowerment is the norm and CXOs are free to constructively challenge each others domain to take performance to the next level. Afterall as Jim Collins says "Good is the enemy of Great".

The Digital Divide

I had a very interesting experience a few weeks back in a CIO conference organized by one of the leading IT publishing house which had a congregation of about 100 CIOs and 15 CXO (business and head of enterprise). The theme of the conference revolved around the challenges faced by the CXO and the CXO (IT) in leading through technology driven innovation. The experience was interesting as my Sales & Marketing Head was invited as a subject matter expert and held 2 sessions that were well attended.

Since this was a first for him to be called to speak in an IT conference, he was spellbound by many a facets of a typical CIO who debated, discussed, challenged and learned through aggressive interaction within the group as well as the invited CXOs. The breadth of technology solutions on display by the sponsoring IT companies gave him a perspective of cutting edge possibilities and application to business.

All our interactions in the Management Team meetings and recommendations that were endlessly debated and a few that never got off the ground created a great flashback. To him it was a revelation of sorts to see industry peers seek advice on challenges and possibilities within their organizations.

What is the point I am trying to put across ? Well, for our CXOs to get a real perspective of the talent that they possess and for them to respect you as a CIO and your views, it is important for them to be exposed to your peers and the industry at large. IT conferences offer one such opportunity that you should effectively use to your advantage. You don't want them to realize your true potential after you have decided to seek greener pastures either out of frustration or because its kind of end of the road where you currently are.

Have you attempted to get your CXOs to participate in any IT event ? Give it an earnest attempt and once you succeed, success will follow internally too. Go ahead, what are you waiting for !!