Winning Over the CEO: What CIOs Can Do

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.

  Leadership   Strategy  

It’s hard to believe that here we are in 2015 and there are still so many CIOs that have not figured out how to garner the confidence of the CEO and other C-suite executives. I know, pshaw you say, but it is truly one of those inconvenient truths.

Don’t get me wrong: Much of the time, the disconnect between the C-suite and the CIO is not all the CIO’s fault. The lack of inclusion in business plan development; the unwillingness of the CEO, CFO and others to partner with the CIO on anything but their own terms; and more contribute to this age-old love/hate relationship with IT. There is a tendency to view the CIO as the head of IT and not as an integral part of the leadership team.

Yet more than ever, organizations are relying on information technologies for success. Social media, data analytics and ubiquitous global commerce are just a few of the lynchpins that organizations look to as staples in their ability to grow and prosper.

At the same time, CEOs and other organizational leadership hate the embarrassment and liabilities that plague the cyber world. They can’t understand why CIOs can’t deliver bullet-proof environments or why cyber security seems to be a money pit with no end in sight.

Here are some other typical laments of CEOs:

• “Why does IT need so many people that cost so much?”
• “Why is IT so overly …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.