Turnaround CIO

Being a turnaround CIO has its good and bad points. First there is the excitement of trying to fix things and implement process and procedures that are currently not in place. You come into a company with a fresh set of eyes and the eagerness to get things done and functioning. All eyes are on you to show change.  You are a shiny new penny.

The bad points. You do not know how bad the situation is until you get in and rollup your sleeves.  Issues seem to be superficial until you begin to peel back the layers and discover the core is rotted and you cannot fix one issue until you fix the multitude of issues around it. Your 30 day plan morphes into a one year plan with all the tasks becoming critical for success.

You have to turn around an underperforming department and make it a high performing value driven group.The pressure is on you to show immediate value and change. You have to answer the question, “Was hiring a CIO the right decision?” Or the more pressing question, “Was he/she the right person for the job?”

You have to sell yourself and your ideas. Remember in a turnaround situation, the previous IT managment was not getting the job done. That is why they hired you. However, there are still people loyal to the previous regime and that is yet another hurdle for you to overcome.

Being a Turnaround CIO is not for the weak of heart. There will be plenty of long nights, debates, hand holding and disappointments along the way. Take it one day at a time, one issue at a time….Take a deep breath and remember they hired you to make change.

Turnaround CIO

“IT is broken, and it needs fixing…”

So you want to be a turnaround CIO? You want to go into an enterprise and turn around performance and create a sharp improvement in delivered value from IS.

Turnaround CIOs require deep IT experience and the ability to come into a chaotic situation and make things work.

What are the characteristics of a turnaround CIO:

• Deep IT experience
• Ability to rebuild
• Knowing how to prioritize
• Ability to recognize inefficient business and IT processes
• Ability to hire/fire staff

How to be a turnaround CIO:

1. Keep it Basic. Stay with the fundamentals and make sure your decisions are aligned with the business objectives.
2. Listen. Listen to the business. Listen to your peers and other members of the executive team. Listen to your staff.
3. Communicate. Let everyone know realistically the costs, the timelines, and the expectations. Communicate often and openly.
4. Evaluate your staff. Make sure the knowledge is there is to support the organization.
5. Stay close to and know your key employees. Identify them early. Nurture them. Grow them.
6. Inventory. Know what technology is in place and how it aligns to your key set of applications. Understand what monitoring systems are in place. Review the knowledge base of the help desk to see where there are the opportunities.
7. Renegotiate licensing and maintenance terms with your vendors.
8. Get your applications under control. Understand what guidelines are already in place, adapt and communicate your standards and manage to that expectation.
9. Institute a sound governance model. Ensure that the demand funnel matches the capacity of the organization and is communicated in a standard format. Utilize strong project management principles.
10. Continually assess and evaluate. Don’t sit still. Make appropriate changes along the way. Every challenge is different.