I don’t know how I stumbled across this
blog and hundreds of comments but it had me thinking with a gaping and wide
open mouth. Not that the scenario I read about does not play itself ever so
often in the corporate circles; it was an open discussion on strategies to
entrap the CIO to meet the next target, to close a deal, to shorten the sales
cycle. There were experiences shared, discussed, fortunately no names mentioned
of the vendors or the CIOs. I did pick up some good recommendations on fine
dining though.
Trappings of power bring with it
responsibility; with large budgets and the ability to decide in favour of one
against the other, the CIO sits in a position where every vendor big or small
attempts to find the winning formula to gain a good book and business. The
exalted chair is expected to make a fair decision (the loser may think
otherwise) to award business to the deserving and not be swayed by the drama or
influenced by ill means. CIOs I know across this globe practice unshakeable
integrity in decision making.
From time immemorial those wielding
financial power have been sought after for favours. In the old days, after the
technical evaluation, the purchase executive could turn down a decision and no
one could challenge that. The power of veto was a feared weapon. Over time
driven by trust and increasing penetration of IT, a shift occurred with the CIO
empowered to work independently. Economic cycles shifted the decision making to
where the monies lie, and the elastic nature swinging it back and forth to
equilibrium quickly.
So as I read through post after post, it
was an uneasy feeling to see tips and trick that have worked to snare a deal.
Golf course priority bookings, tickets to matches, free vacations, gourmet
dining, you name it, they had tried it. Some more than others, they found what
works for whom not leaving many who resisted all temptation. Feeling queasy
about this, I called a few old colleagues to chat and discussing this with them,
one toppled my wine by adding anecdotes of his own.
Are decisions so easily facilitated with
the lineage and vintage of wine determining the steps and time required to
close the deal ? Is this working at the conscious level or the sub-conscious
even when there is no coercion ? Is it wider in its reach and influence than we
believe it to be ? Are we becoming slaves to a system without realizing it ? Or
have we become immune to the system and now factor it in to our decision making
criteria ?
I love my red wine and some good food to go
with it; I have enjoyed many evenings out with friends and family. Occasionally
vendors seek relaxed meetings “outside of workplace”; I know many have been
careful to take a few colleagues along for comfort and keep the meeting a
strict business one. It keeps the discussions easier and the environment
lighter with no obligations being created on either side. A few CIOs also pick
up the tab rather than leave even an iota of doubt. I would assume that each
vendor would have classified data on what works and what does not for every
tagged CIO.
The play now is universal; every vendor
uses some leverage or other to go beyond the normal decision making cycle.
Direct or indirect, these influences are here to stay as long as there are
multiple vendors offering similar solutions or products. Wine and dine is part
of corporate culture, the CIO and for that matter other CXOs have to work the
fine line between undue influence and socially acceptable behaviour keeping
their personal and corporate values above everything else.
