Acing the first 100 days as CIO

Mabvuto Palale, of the Mining Qualifications Authority, says in most cases, the reason an organisation brings in a new CIO is because they need someone to hit the ground running and start fixing ICT issues or setting things up immediately.

---

The first 100 days that any professional spends in a new job should be concerned with getting to know the environment and laying the foundations for future projects. However, whether they are promoted internally or headhunted from another organisation, CIOs seldom get the luxury of being able to create a strategic plan for their new positions.

Brainstorm spoke to three South African IT decision-makers for their advice on how CIOs should establish themselves in their new positions in their first 100 days on the job.

"The first 100 days for a CIO taking on a new role should be a journey of learning and discovery," says Mabvuto Palale, the Business Systems manager at the Mining Qualifications Authority. "The reality is seldom true. Indeed, in most cases, the reason an organisation brings in a new CIO is because they need someone to start working yesterday, hit the ground running and start fixing ICT issues or setting things up immediately."

The new CIO is generally brought in because of a glowing resume or great history of success in the industry. "For the new CIO to replicate his past successes, he will have to fully understand the new environment that he finds himself in. This should be done by separating the new environment into three distinct contexts so as to support the journey of learning and discovery."

Palale says that defines these three contexts as 'self, internal and external'.

"Understanding oneself is an ongoing activity that we might not even realise is happening. Key here would be to understand what made one successful in the past or previous appointment and try to sharpen those attributes when assuming a new position," he says.

The next step, he says, should be to learn and understand the organisation internally, which involves understanding the business, the levels of technology maturity, the business' appetite for technology, the role that technology plays in contributing to the achievement of the business' strategic goals, and the technology user community, to better position him to deliver what the business needs.

At the 60-day mark, the review meeting should focus on assessing progress towards the goals of your previous 30-day plan.

Robert Boccia, Lion of Africa Insurance

And finally, the new CIO needs to understand the external environment in which the business exists. "He should understand the role of the organisation's technology assets as they relate to customers, suppliers, strategic partners, competition and the general public."

Palale adds that it's only once you have a fair understanding of these three contexts that you can effectively manage technology in the organisation and be a success in the new role.

Robert Boccia, the CIO at Lion of Africa Insurance, believes that the first 100 days of a CIO's tenure should be split up into 30-day chunks, with a 90- to 100-day plan detailing what the role will involve.

"Key outputs at the end of the first 30 days will be a diagnosis of the situation, identification of key priorities, and a plan on how to spend the next 30 days," he says. "This plan should address where and how you will begin to deliver early wins, and build credibility."

He says that the CIO's review meeting with his or her boss should focus on the situation and expectations conversations, with an intention to reach consensus about the situation, clarification and buy-in to the plan for the next 30 days.

"In this phase, you must evaluate the plan weekly," he says. "At the 60-day mark, the review meeting should focus on assessing progress towards the goals of your previous 30-day plan. You should also discuss what is planned for the next 30 days."

By focusing and reporting on these incremental chunks, Boccia believes that a CIO's performance can be established and understood almost from the outset, and lay the foundation for continuing success.

The CIO role is so diversified that, according to Mike Ilsley, the executive manager of IT at Comair, any new CIO's first step should be to clarify their role and expected delivery in clear detail, so that they can be sure of what the organisation expects of them. "Before you do anything, you have to understand the basic principles."

He suggests taking stock of the organisation's information management culture - how formal or informal it is, whether the company subscribes to ISO standards, and where the organisation is in terms of information management and security. "This should give you an idea of your role and deliverables," he says.

Then, he recommends trying to spend some hours each day with staff and management to learn their goals, to pinpoint what the new CIO needs to deliver for success.

"You then have to understand the macro environment in which the organisation operates, and what factors affect it."

And, he says, if you've got more than that done in 100 days, you've done bloody well.

The feedback from these three IT heads makes one thing clear: the CIO role is complex. As with any job, but possibly even more so given these factors, the first 100 days should be spent getting to understand the role and the organisation's expectations.

First published in the June 2014 issue of ITWeb Brainstorm magazine.