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Most would agree that the role of the chief information officer has changed significantly over the last decade, but the bigger question is, has it evolved or progressed? Art Langer, for one, doesn't think so.
In fact, Langer, who is best known for running the IT mentoring program at Columbia University, believes the CIO profession has perhaps taken a few steps backwards since the heady days of the dot com era. Too many have sipped from the Kool-Aid served up by Nicholas Carr in 2003, with his controversial article IT Doesn't Matter, he argues, and allowed themselves to be relegated into a business supporter role, rather than that of a business driver.
As a result, he believes the CIO profession is facing a crisis.
"Too many CIOs are getting up in the morning and worrying about how they're going to keep the lights on," says Langer. "What they should be thinking about is what they can do to help drive the business. If CIOs are not thinking strategically, then they are not creating value for their organizations."
Part of the reason Langer is so concerned about the changing role of the CIO, is that he feels a great opportunity is being lost. During the dot com era, CIOs were given an opening to assert their power and influence within organizations. Chief executives turned to their CIOs to help them understand the Internet and how their businesses could take advantage of the new medium.
While a handful of CIOs achieved superstar status during that period, with some like Compaq CIO Michael Capellas eventually rising to become CEO, many more were unable to take advantage of the opportunity. Langer feels they lacked the skills to understand what the business truly needed as well as the ability to communicate effectively with business unit heads and senior executives.
Langer recalls conducting a survey with 40 CEOs during the height of the dot com boom, and discovering that 90% were disappointed with the performance of their CIOs. They were looking for their IT executives to lead the charge onto the Internet, but instead found they were too focused on operations.
"Most CIOs came in with the attitude of, 'tell me what you need and I'll get it.' They had no real focus as to what was required strategically at that time," he says. Out of frustration, many CEOs reported they were forced to turn to their marketing executives for leadership.
In the years since the dot com crash, Langer fears the CIO's influence and ability to communicate to the C-suite has diminished. And now, with a recession in hand, he fears CIOs will be pushed further into a supporter role unless attitudes and strategies change.
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