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How CIOs are like poker players, becoming CEO and more
Q&A: The Naked CIO

By Naked CIO

Published: Monday 12 January 2009

This week silicon.com sits down with the Naked CIO to find out how to survive the recession, what makes a good CIO and whether his kind are meant for the CEO's office.

silicon.com: How can CIOs weather the recession?
Naked CIO: The big question is whether CIOs can survive the storm. Companies are looking at tactical measures to keep the lights on and CIOs are as vulnerable as any resource under this short-term strategy.

I believe many CIOs will be cut over the next 12 months. The impact of this will mean that strategic and process-oriented improvements will cease in organisations and the effectiveness of the IT foundation within many companies will be reduced.

To weather the storm CIOs must be bold and lead - come up with ideas and solutions for companies to reinvent themselves and drive cost reduction and increase revenue through innovation. If there is time to push the power of innovation it is now.

What makes a good CIO?
I was watching a poker game on TV the other night and thought that good poker players are not unlike good CIOs. It is strange but true. You have to "know when to hold and know when to fold them".

CIOs often don't know when to call it quits on a project or confront hard situations head on - they wait hoping it will change and it does not. Likewise sometimes you need to speculate and you need to take a chance. Maybe I should play poker more often and become a better CIO.

In all fairness CIOs need to be process-oriented without being oriented by process. They need to be financially driven without being driven financially. They need to be project managers without being managed by projects. They need to be for the business, by the business and with the business - and not for technology, by technology and with technology.

Most importantly they need to have the ability to stand out and stand up - otherwise in today's business they will be stamped out and stood up.

What advice would you give to people who aspire to be a CIO?
Listen and learn. Understand methods and practices, and what works when. Concentrate on being adaptive.

There is no script for being a CIO - flexibility is key to achieving deliverability and getting teams to perform.

Don't be seen as a technocrat even if you are one. Build consensus yet ensure you are decisive. Know how to develop people around you and under you. Be aware of the strengths your team has and play to those.

CIOs are only as good as the people around them and you need the trust and capabilities of many to succeed. A good gardener needs to understand the soil and climate to know how best to plant. CIOs need to know the business they are in in order to perform. Never underestimate the value of knowing your business - you will gain respect and admiration from outside your technology circle.