Engaging the Board (of Directors)

If you want to get a seat on the Board of Directors, then you have to think like them; understand what drives them and how they take decisions. BoD is not interested in the micro details of various initiatives or specifics of the technology solution. The discussion is about how IT furthers the strategic direction and helps the company achieve its long-term goals and objectives. Does it improve revenue or bottom line such that it creates shareholder value ?

So went the discussion to which I had the privilege of being invited that was debating the need, process, and models to engage the Board of Directors by the CIO. The panellists comprised a consultant, a CEO, and a couple of CIOs. The audience of CIOs were keen to learn from the experience of the panel, tips, insights, any pearls of wisdom that would help them forge ahead. So what does the CIO need to do to get the attention or when s/he needs to present a new initiative, how to make a case compelling enough to attain approval quickly ? Do BoD really get into the detail ?

Over the last decade or so I have observed that they do balance the strategic and the operational. Depending on the context, they have a tendency to drill down all the way to the transaction or root cause; the next discussion could be about the next 5 year growth or an acquisition. The latitude of debate varies; the composition of most Boards is normally diverse with complementary skills to cater to such swings. So is there a checklist that helps in getting an audience to begin with and then a permanent invite ? Is there a timeline that can be cast ?

Few insights that did come across were that in new age high technology companies the CIO is indeed included by design. Younger CEOs are more likely to invite the CIO to the table considering their familiarity and usage of technology. Conventional and old age industries with a legacy or history are less likely (there are exceptions though). Despite constraints that may be cultural, evolutionary, or due to lineage, there are steps the CIO can take which are listed with some input of my own.

• If you report to the CEO and s/he is not tech challenged, then take his/her help to get exposure with the Board
• Engage with other CXOs who are already working with the BoD
• Cultivate relationships with one or more Board members who are sympathetic to IT
• Create an IT Annual Report that is also circulated to the Board
• And the obvious one, talk about business and not technology even if you are the CIO of an IT company

 Despite this it is likely that your Board may be bored or uninterested in what IT is doing or how you the CIO plans to transform the business. You are walking the talk, you could keep pushing hoping that the message will get through or you convince your CEO make the pitch. But if none of this is happening, start looking where the grass is greener or be satisfied with what you have, you can always make lemonade out of it.

 

Are Boards ready for the CIO ?

Every now and then, we come across the question, “Is the CIO ready for the Board? Can they do justice to a position on the Corporate Board?” This issue has been debated ad infinitum, as some CIOs have already made it to the boardroom — even as others continue to passionately drive the IT agenda within their enterprises. Although certain CIOs are yet to evolve to a level where they equal other CXOs within their companies, the majority of CIOs have already reached a level of maturity to directly or indirectly advise their management on strategic and operational issues that have a strong dependency on the IT systems that enable their company.

While addressing a group of CEOs in an event recently, Ram Charan, the renowned management guru discussed the purpose, functioning and effectiveness of Boards. According to him, the following characteristics differentiate good Boards:

1. Boards should be competitive.
2. They should review the external environment, and not remain inward focused.
3. Board members should know other CXOs within the company, as they drive the company agenda and deliver the company’s vision to the stakeholders.
4. Global Boards have to balance growth and resources equally well. Resource allocation is a key to Board management.
5. Boards should continuously review internal and external relationship building by CXOs, and ensure that the CEO also creates a pipeline of leaders.
6. Boards should have a very clear 12 month agenda, apart from a strategic roadmap.

Now let’s look at the typical CIO and the role that he plays in the company. He provides the information infrastructure that enables his business to interact and transact with customers, suppliers as well as within the enterprise. He also analyzes, presents, protects and disseminates information assets across the ecosystem. A day without IT is unimaginable across most business units (as well as industries).

The CIO is not just the information infrastructure’s custodian or provider. Today the CIO challenges business processes, influences outcomes, and works with all stakeholders across the enterprise to automate, rationalize, and optimize. The CIO’s view of the company has better breadth and depth than that of other CXOs. Their interactions and ability to switch from Marketing to Finance to Supply Chain with ease during different meetings demonstrates their comfort levels with multiple domains. This led to an observation by a leading thinker, “IT is too important to the organization to be left to the IT staff”.

Last week, I had interactions with two mid-market CEOs. A generation gap separated them in terms of age, experience as well as mindset. The younger CEO challenged the CIO and encouraged him to challenge other CXOs within his enterprise. This initiative helped in the CIO’s integration into the management team, as well as a position on the board of directors. His words were bitter-sweet music to the ears of the CIOs he addressed. Some CIOs wistfully wished that their respective CEOs quickly reach this level of understanding. The younger CEO’s enterprise used IT and information better than peer organizations — an impact demonstrated by the company’s financial metrics.

The older and much respected CEO (also on many boards, as well as the founder of an IT company) admitted that his CIO did not have a position on the management table, forget the Board! He put the onus of this challenge on the CIO, and did not believe that he was required to provide any impetus towards the CIO’s career progression. As this Q&A with the CIO gathering progressed, it became evident that the difference in mindsets (and thereby the organizational culture), would have made it challenging for any CIO to migrate to the management team. His contention was that Boards discuss people and money issues, but not IT issues. He felt that this was the result of how his CIO has not created visibility with the Board. He found it difficult to accept that most Board members appreciate the need to be aware of how technology impacts their enterprise or can provide unique competitive advantages.

Considering that experience and wisdom (that comes with age) plays a significant role in the Boardroom’s composition, a majority of directors or independent directors belong to the latter classification. Until Boards transform themselves and induct fresh young leaders who are comfortable with technology, use it daily for normal tasks, and worry when they hear about competitors implementing new technological innovations, it will remain an uphill task for the CIO to find a chair in that room.