7 commercial skills each computer leader needs to succeed

The days when CIOs could slip into a long -term career based solely on their technical capacities are quickly struck.

“It is no longer enough that IT managers are technology experts,” warns Bob Hersch, director of Deloitte Consulting. Today's best ISDs are also commercial affairs, using their knowledge to integrate it as a service capacity.

“This company-centered approach integrates them into a global commercial strategy,” he adds.

The best way in which any computer leader can increase their current technical knowledge – and strengthen their long -term career prospects – is to commit to acquiring the seven essential commercial skills.

1. an entrepreneurial state of mind

CIOs, whatever the size of their organization, must act as entrepreneurs, operating with speed, agility and ever higher passion, empathy and creativity levels, advises Ram Nagapapan, CIO of the BNY Mellon Pershing world investment society.

Disturbance is the new constant. “Competition comes from all corners of the market, with financial technologies and startups moving at light speed,” says Nagapapan. To meet the competition head on, CIOs must think like entrepreneurs and act as change agents. “They must constantly think about how their business could be disrupted at any time and how they can creatively deploy technology to get ahead of potential disruptors and future business,” he suggests.

2. Solid leadership skills

Leadership is a basic competence that opens the way to a successful technological transformation. “To really direct, you must have a business sense in addition to technical understanding,” explains Richard Cox, CIO at the Cox Enterprises media conglomerate. “Our jobs really consist of taking advantage of technology to release the potential of the company, and you must simply understand the commercial landscape to exploit these opportunities.”

Leadership is a combination of internal and external engagement. The problems that CIOs face today are becoming more and more complex. The future is ambiguous and the answers are often not clear or simple. “The only way to sail in … These unexplored waters is to build an environment that allows people to bring ideas, perspectives and contributions to solve problems,” explains Cox. “The creation of teams that create an aligned empowerment is more important today than ever.”

Poor IT leaders often make the mistake of defining project plans, gate opinions and delivery dates without educating the IT team on the WHO, what, when and why the way the effort will help the company, says Harley Bledsoe, CIO of BBB national programs, a non-profit organization that supervises more than a dozen self-regulation programs that establishes commercial and privacy practices.

“Bringing the team to the trip as they run on their deliverables is essential to develop an effective solution,” he explains.

3. A consumer focused home

Technology has never been so powerful and accessible. Most employees – technical and non -technical – now have easy access to a range of device tools, software and sophissted network. CIOs must ensure that work and home work technologies at least follow the pace of consumer products and services. Employees will be quickly frustrated if technology and corporate services are more difficult to use than their home counterparts, warns Hersch. “When perceived as an obstacle, the whole department is in danger,” he says.

Shadow, it generally emerges when company employees are dissatisfied with the tools provided by IT. “These alternative IT capacities decrease the IOC and its role,” explains Hersch. “Over time, this can create the perception that central IT service is an expensive and consumable infrastructure that does not allow the organization of growth.”

4. Financial acuity

Once a CIO recognizes and understands the different factors that influence their business finances, they can more precisely identify technological investments that promise to make the greatest impact.

“It is extremely likely that technology can help solve major problems or develop new opportunities,” said Martin Christopher, CIO of the insurance provider Cuna Mutual Group. “There may be access to data for analysis, to speed up products on the market, growth or optimization of channels, or (provides) automation and AI for better customer experiences, but inevitably, there are tangible ways of technology can help.”

Christopher recommends spending time working with the company planning and analysis team (FP & A). “Too often, CIOs limit their objective to their own budgets and can only have a general meaning of what causes changes to the quarterly performance of the company,” he said. “Your FP & A teams will often have the best sense of what is happening” below the flotation line “, which could lead to a greater impact on business performance, positive or negative.”

Christopher adds that commercial unit heads will generally be grateful to see the interest of the IOC in what makes their business vibrate and how technology can help accelerate the delivery of their objectives.

For CIOs working for a regulated industry company, such as insurance services or financial services, Christopher suggests spending time with the governance, risk and organizational insurance team.

“The CIOs who poorly compensate for the framework of external requirements in their business will find it difficult to honor commitments to their business partners,” he said. CIOs that are not fully informed about regulatory issues can also discourage creative thought inadvertently, unconsciously fearing that innovation can, in a way, violate a regulatory mandate.

Bill Vancuren, Vice-President Director and CIO of NCR, estimates that IT leaders should have at least a certain official accounting and financial education. Most importantly, he adds, maintains close collaboration with the CFO team to examine the costs and other key financial problems.

“You must also facilitate formal comparative analysis of your IT costs and follow-up services for comparison with best practices in your industry and more broadly,” he recommends. “I personally participate in profitability analysis examinations to stay up to date in the place where IT investments are positioned throughout the business.”

5. Strategic thought

IT leaders should never stop refining their skills in strategic reasoning capacity. “CIOs must consider the future state of their business, spearhead of strategies that create new commercial products and models and influence change,” explains Thomas Phelps, Laserptiche, a supplier of business content management technology and auxiliary professor at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. “To do this, you need an in -depth understanding of your business, your industry, and to be ready to try daring new ideas.”

CIOs are more and more awaited in advance on existing and emerging technologies and assess them in the context of commercial objectives. “They must work more closely than ever with the CEO and all the business enterprises of the company,” said Nagapapan de Bny Mellon Pershing. “They must bring their commercial knowledge to the table as well as the creativity necessary to deploy technology to advance commercial objectives and to offer a higher and more transparent customer experience and greater efficiency.”

6.

A technician has a basic knowledge of the principles and applications of general technology. A technologist, on the other hand, is someone who is fully aware of current and emerging technologies and its impact on commercial operations and services.

“It is more than understanding technology – it is also really to understand business,” explains Alicia Johnson, director of the transformation of technology of the professional service company Ernst & Young.

A successful IOC must be able to define the IT management of a company while planning a future expansion. “To do this, they must be transparent, present solid communication skills, associate with other commercial units, develop a reliable team and demonstrate a vision of the company,” explains Johnson.

A major challenge for CIOs is how to do more with less, especially when planning budgets. “If a CIO can logically reflect on the management and growth plans of a company, it will be able to understand the most important available budgets and investments to achieve global commercial objectives,” explains Johnson. “This competence is essential, because it will help CIOs to succeed with regard to commercial investments, partnership with the company, communication, the definition of expectations for stakeholders and the development of teams.”

Being able to articulate a clearly defined future vision will also help to strengthen confidence within the IT team as well as with corporate peers.

7. A strong commercial communicator

A computer leader must express ideas and concepts in a way that business colleagues can easily understand. “Losing the S-Speak,” advises Seth Harris, partner of the Management Research Company on Partners.

CIOs should speak in terms of a non -technical expert can understand and, as far as possible, use measures that mean something for the company. “For example, do not talk about upgrading a web platform, talk about the generation of income via electronic commerce and the critical components necessary to get there,” suggests Harris.

Being an active listener goes hand in hand with solid communication skills. “To meet and overcome customer expectations, mutual understanding is essential, which can only be achieved thanks to a solid relationship built thanks to open and active communication,” said Bledsoe de BBB National Programs.