Lungile Mginqi, Sasol Group CIO, has some advice for technology professionals trying to digitalise their businesses.
Delivering the keynote at this year’s CIO Banquet at the Inanda Club in Sandton last week, Mginqi said that if CIOs are not failing, they’re simply not trying hard enough. The event saw a preview of Brainstorm's 2021 CIO Survey results.
“For CIOs, if you’re not failing enough, it means you’re not ambitious enough,” Mginqi said.
When it comes to unlocking the value of what a digital approach offers, he suggested that the IT organisation needs to modernise its interactions with the business, deliver valuable solutions faster, and modernise its architecture, tools and technology.
At the same time, he advised business executives to listen to what the IT department requires to enable value for the business at large.
“The most important thing is to show the business the value that transitioning from a traditional organisation into a digital one will have.”
He doesn’t think it’s a good thing to have too many participants being involved in IT procurement decisions, because a person about to sign off ‘might take leave, and then you’re stuck’.
He also had short shrift for the waterfall model of development, saying: “If you’re not struggling along the journey of getting rid of the waterfall (model), it means you’re not trying hard enough.
“My team and I want to be a transformative partner with the business, which means we’re going to take the hardest punch possible in order to make the change. All changes are very messy at the beginning, very painful in the middle, and towards the end, you might just feel the success.”
He also spoke of the importance of a cultural change: “Without the right culture, you are dead to begin with because you won’t be able to have serious conversations with your own organisation and you won’t be able to collaborate proactively with your business.
“You need to consider product portfolios, transaction and delivery modernisation, modern architecture and culture – culture is as important as the technology. Without that, you have nothing to fall back to.
“Don’t be afraid of a punch in the face. Come back tomorrow, and you’ll get another punch, but come back again. The more you take the punches, the less painful it will be.”
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