CIOIN

We live in a changing world and we need leaders who believe in change. The way CIOs position themselves needs to change because a CIO can make a difference and be an effective leader. Having been a CIO for many years, I know that it is often difficult to move out of the traditional role of managing technology. However, we must realize that we have to be more than just technology managers, we have to be business managers and business leaders. Although some CIOs are very happy being in charge of IT, most would like to move beyond that role and put themselves in a position where they can actually be involved in the business in a much larger way. CIOs have reached the level of chief because they have leadership qualities and they can put this quality to use in other departments as well. But it depends on them: whether they can actually become a transformational CIO by taking on the bigger role of a strategist or remain a functional head in charge of IT.

Companies are going to give the CIO greater scope if he can prove himself. It is all about proving to the company that he can be a functional head beyond IT and that he can run technology properly by meeting his KPIs. That way the CIO's role will be seen as a transformational one and the company will not hesitate to make him responsible for solving real business problems. Once the CIO proves himself, bigger opportunities will automatically come to him, where he could be responsible for actually managing business rather than just IT in business.

Leading from the Front

The most important function of the CIO is to lead staff. He has to envision the goals of the company and then empower his staff to actually move towards that goal. He also has to ensure that the IT vision of the company stays alive when the going gets tough. When there is a client vision that you find difficult to achieve, it is your duty as a CIO to keep your staff motivated so that they can deliver. However, you need opportunities to deliver. If you are irresponsible in your attempt to be bold you are never going to get the opportunity to deliver. It is absolutely important to be rational.

You need to plan what you are going to do. If you don't, you are never going to get to your goal. Being bold does not mean being irrational and irresponsible. It means being forceful because you see the future in what you are doing. It means having a grand vision and taking a calculated risk to implement that grand vision. All grand visions and good ideas do not see the light of day because these ideas and visions are not presented as good business cases.

The CIO has to leverage his own strength in terms of his own team and his own company. He has to figure out how he can make a business out of IT by using it to make business smarter or earn it more profits. There's no way that the management is going to be convinced of a project if the CIO says it's a good idea. He has to be able to put forward a business case which will justify the investment. The management has to be convinced of returns from the project. At the end of the day, companies are out to make money and that aspect has to be looked into by the CIO. There are many good ideas but the ones that get approved are the ones which are convincing in terms of returns.

Getting to a ‘Yes’

Getting to a 'Yes'

The Canberra Technology City, which is the most challenging, bold and ambitious project of my career, got approved because I could present a good business case. It is a Rs 12,000 crore gas-powered datacenter project. It was a challenge to convince the board of the project and find investors willing to spend that amount, apart from finding customers for the datacenters. However, I convinced them that it was going to get them business returns and it was environment-friendly. By manufacturing power at the site of the datacenter, we were reducing transmission losses and aimed to save Rs 60 lakh on power annually. I believe these days green IT is something we should all consider seriously. I made nine speeches on green IT last year. I hope the hype around green IT, which I call sustainable IT, delivers results. Sustainable IT actually brings benefits to business. It reduces your costs across the board. There is a price for carbon and if we reduce the cost of carbon, we reduce the cost of IT.

Green IT not only reduces expenses but also shows the world how sustainable we are and what we are doing for the environment. Going back to my project, because it was environment friendly, it was easier to convince people about its advantages. But we ignored one aspect and we had to pay a heavy price for that. We did not communicate enough about the benefits of the project. The CIO has to ensure that all the key stakeholders understand the benefits of the project. One of the most important lessons I have learnt from the CEO of the company I have worked for during the last nine years, is that we have a social responsibility and we can prosper only if the community we live in prospers. With this philosophy in mind, we managed to deliver profits year after year.

As the bold CIO tries to make an impact, he has to keep certain things in mind. You have to have respect from your managers, like the CFO and the COO. If you do not have respect then you cannot succeed. To get that respect you have to go back to the fundamentals. If you are a new CIO start with something small, start with something that you know you can manage so that you are on time and on budget. This will help you build trust and respect. After this, you can move on to bigger projects. That way you will no longer have to sell your projects on your own, you will have the backing of other departments to sell your projects. One of the key lessons I learnt as a CIO is that a small company can take on the big guys if only you dare to be bold. So, be bold and make a difference, not just for yourself but for your organization too.