When Tom Trainer started his career, IT was MIS and the CIO’s job wasn’t even a gleam in anyone’s eye. Today, after 25 years in the business and IT leadership jobs with PepsiCo, Seagram’s, Rebook, and Eli Lily to name a few, As the executive chairman of BTM Corp.’s Global 2000, Trainer is working to help other CIOs navigate and understand the role that has become perhaps the most complex and challenging c-suite job ever created.
Granted, the CEO still probably has the overall toughest job—the buck’s got to stop somewhere. But, as IT continues its relentless domination of every aspect of business, the CIO today is tasked with not only understanding some of the most complex systems ever devised but, also—as all c-suite exec’s must—being an effective navigator of the often uncertain and confounding seas of business.
It’s not that CIOs are particularly inept when it comes to business, it’s just that most of today’s CIOs have come from a technology background. Up until the beginning of this decade, that was just fine. IT was there to improve processes and take orders. Now, however, IT and the technologies that support it are in the vanguard—driving business forward in ways that were hardly contemplatable just 10 short years ago.
So, in that light, what does it take to be successful as a CIO today? Well, outside of some inherent smarts and a deep understanding of the IT systems (not necessarily the software or hardware, mind you) that support the business, it takes the ability to lead, says Trainer. The ability to get disparate and often contentious groups to talk to one another and—dare it be said—agree on a course of action. It takes someone with a thick skin who is not afraid to do what needs to be done.
“Where does one begin?,” says Trainer. “What it doesn’t take is someone who is in love with bits and bytes and the buzzwords and all of that stuff. What it doesn’t take is someone isolated in an ivory tower somewhere.
“What it does take is someone who can communicate in the English language, speaking of the Western world, and communicate and listen to what the business people are saying they need and working with them to determine the possibilities. Without that communication void bridged, it’s just a repeat of old history.
“What it takes is a level of maturity, first and foremost. Truity of thinking. Poise and presence. The ability to communicate very well both within IT to explain to the people what and why and when and how and what’s in it for them. The CIO is very much a bridge between the business and IT. In most companies, or more and more companies, the CIO is a member of the executive committee or the operating committee or whatever—is a colleague, should be a colleague, of the other functional heads of the business.”
Buy In
Perhaps, most important of all, it takes a company that understands IT’s new role in business. Without this, all the head banging in the world isn’t going to morph your existing operations into world-class. For the sake of this discussion, we are assuming you find yourself in a organization looking to IT for transformative change and business innovation, i.e., he CEO’s on board and is backing your play.
According to Trainer, upwards of 80% of companies today are still struggling with a ’80’s and ’90’s mindset: that IT is there to simplify and support business processes, not lead the way into new frontiers. “However, the world has changed … particularly in this decade in terms of the vast capabilities that can be brought to bear and these companies, the 80%, run the risk of being left further behind.
“I think it’s fair to say that over the last few years … there are more CIOs around who are able to (be bridge builders). We’re still transitioning from the era where the head of IT is the person who started as a operator. There are few that have (solid leadership skills) and, those that do, are making millions of dollars and are in great demand. So, there’s an evolution that has begun and the evolution will continue.”
If you’re not one of the ones already making millions then, to begin this process, you need to have good staffing skills as well as communication skills and vision. You can’t do this alone. You have to get the right people doing the right jobs. You need to also put in place a team that will allow you, as the CIO, to get away from the day-to-day. Once this is done, you get out into the company to see what your customers really think about and need from IT.
Trainer’s Personal Journey
Trainer’s success as a CIO hinges on the concepts he shares here, but he didn’t come by them overnight. It took years for him to work his way through the morass of corporate culture and figure out what really worked. Finally, he was able to set his own terms when taking on new positions and that is when he could put his money where his mouth was.