Quantifiable data is perhaps the most important way to convince CEOs of an initial large outlay on a necessary or experimental project, and to show that IT is in alignment with long-term organizational financial goals. Costly delays without adequate explanations can create the impression that IT is a drag, regardless of how justifiable the reason. For example: "The worst day in Joe Eng's career was the day he told his CEO that his company's most important IT project -- a $500 million, state-of-the-art global network that is among this decade's most important IT initiatives in the financial services industry -- would be three months late...With only a week before the two-year rollout of SwiftNet was scheduled to begin, the network monitoring software was not working reliably." (Holms, 2005) In this nightmare scenario, the CIO's expectations of the projected date of completion would not be realized. However, by preparing the CEO for the magnitude of the project beforehand, as well as his own staff, the CIO was able to engage in an effective personal and professional disaster management plan, and the fallout was kept in check.
Communication within IT departments regarding organizational perception is also necessary. The IT department must understand the overall organization's vision statement, in terms of how the projects they are working on will benefit the company, as well as simply have an idea how a project impacts the IT department specifically. The CIO must provide leadership to understand where the organization is heading,...
CIOs must manage interdepartmental expectations, and ensure that technological research and testing of new models is as cost and time effective as is possible, while still ensuring system integrity.
By its nature, technological innovation does not always proceed at an orderly pace, and IT often has, as its main concerns, bringing a project to a workable conclusion, circumventing potential bugs, and developing ideas for the long-term, rather than to fulfill revenue expectations on a quarterly basis. This future-oriented perspective should not be abandoned, but IT must speak the language of projected shortfalls, benchmarking, and profits so it can understand the perspective a CEO is likely to bring to a project. If it cannot communicate, IT departments run the risk of being undervalued, despite the considerable value IT has brought to modern commerce.
Works Cited
Holms, Alan. "The Four (Not Three, Not Five) Principles of Managing Expectations."
CIO. Retrieved 7 Nov 2006 at http://www.cio.com/archive/110105/expectations.html
Overby, Stephanie. (1 JUN 2005). "How does turn IT doubters into believers? CIO. Retrieved 7 Nov 2006 at http://www.cio.com/archive/060105/itvalue.html
Ware, Cosgrove, Lorraine. (30 Jan 2003). "The Balanced Scorecard is another way to manage an IT strategy and objectives." CIO. Retrieved 7 Nov 2006 at http://www2.cio.com/research/surveyreport.cfm?ID=52
