CIOs: Going, Going...Gone?

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.

  Strategy  

Do organizations need a “C” level executive on their leadership team who knows how to use information and technology to leverage operations, improve competitive advantage and drive growth in a way that is aligned with its goals and objectives? A CIO? You bet they do.

Do other “C” level executives intellectually and emotionally believe they need a CIO at the leadership table? Maybe, maybe not. Before exploring these and other questions regarding the future of the CIO, it is important to understand a little history about how the position evolved and the factors that have influenced the opinions and bias of corporate leaders regarding IT professionals.

In the beginning (and by that I mean the 1950s through the mid-1970s), there was no IT or MIS. Instead, there was EDP (Electronic Data Processing). The leader of that area of the company was usually the EDP manager, whose job was to process large batches of data through rooms full of specialized equipment (sorters, punch card readers, tape drives, processors, decollators, etc.) in order to produce output (green bar reports, magnetic tapes, punch cards, paper tapes, etc.). In those days, most EDP applications were financial based (payroll, payables, billing, receivables and general ledger) and thus most EDP managers reported to the controller or finance director. Data, usually taking the form of …

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