LEADERSHIP TRENDS

by Steve Andriole, Senior Consultant, Cutter Consortium

Every time I speak to people about what it takes to be a good CIO or CTO, I hear myself talking about the same things -- as I watch my audience respond with weird body language, like maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about (or maybe, just maybe, it's 2025 and I'm boring the audience with what everyone already knows is true).

So let's assume for a moment that it's 2025. Who are the legendary CIOs? What skills did they bring to the job? How did they get famous? Do they still exist?

First, they're not geeks -- in fact, it's hard to find geeks except behind the curtain (that some people call the technology "utility" company). Instead, they're creative business professionals who happen to know more about technology than their senior management counterparts (who know more about marketing, finance, accounting, and HR than they do). In other words, the distinction between technology and business is long gone, just like the distinction between marketing and business was long gone by the 19th century.

They are "architects" of the highest order. They think holistically. They see the world as multiple dimensions where technology plays several roles, but mostly impresario, making everything work together. They understand the impossibility of distinguishing among hardware, software, communications, processes, workflow, transactions, service, revenue, and profit -- and loss.

They are superb negotiators. They can squeeze efficiency out of inefficiency, gain from loss. They are charismatic. They are as glib as they are smart. They can write persuasively. They are excellent communicators. They have wide and deep professional networks. They can call any number of "fixers" to solve problems quickly, cost-effectively and, when necessary, discretely.

They're better program managers than project managers. They trade in blocks of projects, not individual ones. They draw no distinction between projects, programs, portfolios, and strategies.

The legendary CIOs became famous not by reducing costs, but by generating more revenue, increasing market share, and -- especially -- profitability. Sure, when times were lean they tightened their belts -- just like everybody else, but they made their bones with profit. They championed mergers and acquisitions. They were players.

CIOs and CTOs in 2025, by the way, probably don't exist. It's hard to imagine anyone with a title like "Chief Information Officer" or "Chief Technology Officer" in 2025, just like it's hard to imagine titles like "Chief Marketing Officer" or "Chief Learning Officer" (though "Chief Compliance Officers" will probably survive). Arguably, our need to differentiate people that know about digital technology from others will yield to roles that respect the intersection of business transactions with all transaction enablers, including technology.

So where will we find these "Chief Transaction Enablers" (CTEs)? Will they be formally educated? Will MTEs replace MBAs? Or is all of this just a complicated way to describe a trend that began about 10 years ago? Clearly, CIOs and CTOs will become less and less geeky and more and more business savvy over the years. They will become members of the senior management team because of their business acumen, not because they know how to design zero latency networks. The way they enable transactions will become more and more integrated with other enablers. Their unique contribution to the business will become absorbed and diluted by all of the other "unique" contributions to the business (which have, over time, become absorbed and diluted). This is the trend that will explain the success of future CIOs and CTOs.

-- Steve Andriole, Senior Consultant, Cutter Consortium