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Building the CIO Brand
By Anoop K Menon
 Aligning with business is a reality today, mused the CIO of an outsourcing services company I spoke with recently. As technology evolves, it’s compelling CIOs to understand how the business operates. Of course, their responsibilities put them in a position that provides a unique perspective of the entire organization.
So what should be an ideal checklist for the business role? It starts with understanding where the business is, where it’s going, and how it’s going to get there. CIOs should listen, ask and relate what IT is doing and how that will help the rest of the company. They should solve business problems that matter and drive complex projects from idea to value realization. They should drive revenue opportunities directly or get first hand customer experience by building a business - inside or outside the company - because no other task builds up executive skills faster.
CIOs should look to acquire expertise in disciplines outside IT, such as marketing, corporate planning or operations. Side by side, they should master the requisite communication skills to put their point across, logically and clearly, to business, stakeholders and management.
But it is one thing to ask IT to align with business needs and another thing to create opportunities that will allow the CIO to engage in serious business activity and create value for the organization.
I would suggest you to put things in a reverse perspective. Will your organization’s mindset allow you to create business value through complex projects and interact with your executive peers and learn from them? Is your organization ready to walk the ‘business’ talk and entrust you with revenue generating opportunities?
If not, it makes sense to go out and search for the ‘right’ environment where your aspirations can be met, instead of struggling with an opposing mind set, day in and day out, in the current environment.
Push on to greener pastures.
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