The CIO Should be the Janitor

It’s time to take the word “information” out of Chief Information Officer. In fact, its time that the role of the CIO be reimagined.

The original role of the CIO was more akin to being the steward of information and enabling the movement of that information through technical means. Either through organizational neglect or just a plain lack of imagination, the CIO has been reduced to being the “computer guy.” Worse than that, he’s more like the guy in the red shirt on the away team mission. The CEO says something like:

“Ok. We’re rolling out a new product line. I’m going to need Operations (Kirk), Marketing (Bones), Finance (Spock), and . . . ummm [snaps his fingers several times trying to think of the name] . . . uhhhhh and Jim in the CIO! (Random guy in the red shirt and first to die when our product team encounters the lava monster).”

Their job was to connect people to data. Now their job is to ignore people, their business requirements, and generate metrics which ensure the survival of the CIO function. They drain money like a 2-year old goes through a juice box, but somehow they continue to be seen as an important function within the business world. But maybe not for much longer . . .

Hero Making

Look at the resume of a typical CIO. We’re talking about someone:

With a computer science degree, perhaps a Master’s in business administration

Has some technical pedigree or claims an “achievement” that involved thousands of servers, vendors, and consultants

Has been promoted based on the size of their budget, not the quality of their service

Who yearns for the days of UNIVAC punch cards

It seems the way organizations treat the appointment of a new CIO is like they’re celebrating the return of a war hero. Why? Especially when the role of the CIO is increasingly less important.

I’m sorry, but I don’t care about how many servers you manage. I don’t care if you successfully read a report on how to reduce power, space and cooling costs. I’m also not interested in supporting the next release of your pet platform that the vendor oversold you on.

How is the value of a CIO calculated today? Cost savings, return on investment, or some other fiscal metric. This is an easy way to measure success, but its not the metric that matters most.

Getting the Hero Metrics Right

You want to be my hero?

Reduce my e-mail traffic by 80%. Deploy a mash-up tool that enables new analytic and customer delivery solutions. Deploy a prediction market that encourages our enterprise to look forward.

Measure your success on the number of failed deployments under $50,000. Measure your customer service by the relationship, not by the number of closed trouble tickets. Measure your progress by the number of supportive comments on your blog. Finally, don’t call yourself the Chief Information Officer anymore. You are only the “chief” because you have (inappropriately) been given fiscal responsibilities. Being the gatekeeper should not be what makes you important.

If you want to stay relevant, focus on business operations and the positive outcomes you can deliver with technical solutions. Your job is not about “information.” Its about relationships and connecting the siloed functions of your business. Think of yourself as a janitor in a hospital. You might not make as much money as a surgeon, but the job of keeping the OR clean is just as important as holding the scalpel.