The Five Secrets to CIO Success (Part 1 of 2)

Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.

 

As a CIO for nine years, I discovered a few things that might surprise you. My tenure in the CIO hot seat was the most challenging, perplexing and stressful time in my life. I did so many things wrong, it's a miracle I survived.

Yet I overcame the obstacles that threatened to cut my career short after only 18 months. I have boiled them down to five basic ideas, and now I am sharing them with you. So if you are an aspiring CIO or a CIO who is struggling to survive, read on.

The five secrets are embodied in the following five principles:

• Relationships are more important than technology
• Reporting to the CEO is mandatory for success
• You are only as good as your last promise
• Own nothing, facilitate everything
• Lose the propeller on your head

Most likely, these were not the five secrets you were expecting. Trust me, in 1990 when I started my CIO odyssey, they would not have been mine, either.

Let's take them one by one.

1. Relationships are More Important than Technology

You would never guess this to be true if you read the ads for CIOs and CTOs today. But don't be fooled by the ads. Do you have to appear to be a technology wizard to get the job? You bet. It's expected you are competent in your profession, so you get no points for it after you are hired. What matters now is not "What You Know" but "…

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