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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Lance B. Eliot, Feature Editor, Eliot & Associates

Helping CIOs To Become CEOs

by Lance Eliot, Feature Editor

I recently attended and actively participated in the first session of a new executive education program that seeks to broaden Information Technology executives into becoming general managersțin essence, aiding CIOs to become COOs and CEOs. The new program, called the S.I.M. Executive Exchange (SEE) is sponsored by the Society for Information Management (S.I.M.), a prestigious professional association for Information Technology managers.

As I have stated in many of my previous columns, I believe that CIOs should be striving to not only be the best at their present position, but they should also be striving to move further up the corporate ladder. Organizations are now realizing that well-rounded, management-focused CIOs are excellent candidates for the top slot in a company, especially companies that view information systems as an essential element of their competitive edge.

My own experience at the kick-off SEE session, and the comments of the attendees, leads me to conclude that this new program is useful, important, and a worthwhile opportunity for CIOs seeking to broaden their outlook and their career choices.

A program such as SEE helps techno-centric I.T. managers become as equally focused on issues of management, organizational, and leadership areas as they already do concerning I.T. issues. Using a combination of lectures/discussions and clever mental exercises, the SEE program actually helped change individual behavior of the participants via introspection and the introduction of new approaches to managing.

It also served as an outlet for CIOs to express their views in a non-threatening setting, and debate topics that led them to crystallize their thinking in all areas of management activity.

Some Details About SEE

The SEE program is a one-year, executive study program that is formally defined as a program that helps senior I.T. managers to broaden and deepen their business leadership capabilities. The program was created by S.I.M. to help I.T. executives gain increased enterprise-wide acceptance and influence as managers and leaders.

Participants select three of five special sessions held throughout the year, and attend the sessions to engage in highly focused, interactive, peer-to-peer discussions. According to the designers of SEE, each session is carefully designed and facilitated to maximize the participants' learning experience, including intense discussions and debates led by speakers that are internationally recognized CEOs, CFOs, and CIOs. Periods in between the sessions are spent by doing outside readings, communicating with the other SEE participants and facilitators, and reflecting upon the sessions to incorporate new techniques and perspectives in daily work lives.

According to Dick Dooley, the SEE program founder and S.I.M. Vice President for the Leadership Development Institute & Working Groups of the Society:

This program is for successful senior managers who firmly believe their future hinges on developing broader leadership capabilities, as well as building on a solid knowledge and skill base in all business management practices.

Each session is held at a different corporate site in order to aid the participants in understanding how different, world-class I.T. organizations operate. A local chapter of S.I.M. also meets with the participants for evening activities.

One of the more remarkable facets of the program involves the open sharing of personal and business experiences by the participants, facilitators, and speakers. In the April session that I attended, numerous personal stories of triumph and failure were shared among the attendees.

Some of the sessions, themes, corporate sites, and coordinating local chapters planned for the remainder of 1997 include:

  • ``Shared Benchmarked Support of Competitive Prices'' to be held at Amoco with Chicago Chapter evening activities.
  • ``Holistic Organizational Focus, Globally, with Growth, Aided by Technology'' to be held at the Church of Jesus Christ with Salt Lake City Chapter evening activities.
  • ``Product Technology and Cycle Time in the Global Marketplace'' to be held at Motorola with Wisconsin Chapter evening activities.
  • ``A Large Enterprise Focuses on Consumer Mass Markets, Supplied by a Complex Distribution Network'' to be held at Kraft Foods.
  • ``Technology in Business and the Business of Technology in Your Future'' to be held in Boston.

We Need More

Further details regarding the SEE program can be found at the S.I.M. Web site:

http://www.simnet.org

In fact, the SIMNET Web site also serves as a vehicle for ongoing communication among the SEE participants during the periods between the various sessions. SEE participants are able to use a special SEE discussion forum, can send e-mail to each other using the SIMNET universal e-mail capability, and can otherwise access and make use of the SIM Web site.

I applaud the initiation of programs such as SEE. As a profession, we need to do more to help I.T. executives to ``walk and talk'' like any other top level executive. Whether this program is used to accomplish such a feat, or some other comparable program, I urge all CIOs to discover their own inner strengths and weaknesses as managers, and seek out ways to improve their management acumen. Even if the CEO slot is not attained for now, being a better manager will still pay-off while enjoying the harried role of CIO.

Remember that your input is welcomed. If you have projects addressing the information technology area, and you would like to share this with the readers of "Information Technology," please contact me.