Too many tech fish in the C-Suite

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(Source: Stockfresh)

6 August 2015

Implementing disruptive innovation that would give a company competitive edge requires time, research and effort — enter the CINO, who can identify areas for innovation and work across business units to ensure ideas are turned into actions, balancing the usual innovation-killing culture of traditional corporates.

The role is technically not new — as far back as 2012, 43% of large companies had a formally accountable innovation executive in place, according to a Capgemini survey. But the overlap of the CINO into the remit of IT has naturally increased as technology becomes the basis of all business operations.

One company that has taken on a CINO is marketing and communications firm, Bastion Group.

CINO
Bastion’s digital innovation strategy is headed up by Hugh Cameron, former head of digital with carsales.com.au, as part of an overall strategy to change and upskill digital leadership in-house, while choosing to outsource most of their IT systems.

“We’ve changed the IT leadership role in Bastion Group significantly over the last six months after identifying some key areas in our business that we wanted to grow,” says Michelle Cox, Bastion’s chief operating officer, who oversees IT.

“First we put me into the COO role across the whole group. Now we’re working to be more digitally and social savvy as a business, wanting to be at the forefront of changes in our industry. We had to upskill our entire business around that social and digital space, and we went out there to look for an expert and found Hugh.”

“Learning to collaborate with all these new roles and partners is critical for CIOs who want to foster business growth, but also to remain relevant as times change”

Cox says Cameron’s remit as CINO is to work across the four companies under the Bastion Group, and he is expected to come up with new ideas, tools and strategy for each individual business unit, as well as maintaining a group-wide gaze.

“I try to make sure he has time for big picture thinking, so there’s no clear idea on a solution that we need for the business, it’s not targeted to a particular business unit or company, nor a specific client, it’s actually just stuff he comes up with or comes across that could really change our business overall, whether it’s structural changes or overhauling the website, and so on.”

Tearing down boundaries
Learning to collaborate with all these new roles and partners is critical for CIOs who want to foster business growth, but also to remain relevant as times change.

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ fifth annual Digital IQ study found companies with collaborative relationships between the CIO and other c-suite executives are four times as likely to achieve business results such as revenue growth and high profit margins, as well as earning a higher ‘digital IQ’ overall. C-suites characterised as strong collaborators typically link their IT road map to corporate strategy, the study says.

The reality is collaborative relationships are proving difficult to maintain, however. In IDC’s latest LOB Sentiment Survey, 47% of LOB leaders said their CIO was fighting a turf battle with at least one c-suite peer, and 54% agreed that non-IT departments view the IT group as an obstacle to their mission.

“There’s a threat that CIOs are feeling in terms of the proliferation of other people who claim the technology base and who also have a ‘chief’ title,” says Hillard.

“The CIO should be playing an active role in innovation, but not trying to protect their turf. The reality is you need a mindset that is, ‘how can I apply innovation and technology to achieve great things for the organisation?'”

Indeed, allowing others to take over certain responsibilities can take the pressure off CIOs expected to champion innovation, freeing up time and head space to commit to developing business strategy.

CIOs should highlight their unique vantage point by bringing their skills in IT methodology and cross-business purview to the executive table.

“There’s more than enough room for everybody to play, and the CIO will be seen as an enabler and will reduce the risk of them being seen as a blocker.”

The message across the board is that digital-ready CIOs do not just focus closely on driving growth, but also the relationships they need to support this, and are far more open to taking advice and trying out new ideas.

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