BLUE CRAB CIO and CEO CONSULTING

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If your organization is large enough to have a Chief Information Officer or the equivalent, you may need executive level Information Technology studies such as Business Process Re-Engineering or IT Assessments.

Unfortunately, because CIOs come from the technology side of the organization, they often get in trouble in subtle ways having more to do with the executive suite than the technology. Often we are called in by a CEO who thinks the CIO is underperforming, but who isn’t sure because he or she doesn’t entirely understand what the CIO is doing. IT jargon can be difficult to understand.

We provide an independent view that balances the technology review with an understanding of how the CIO needs to function in the executive suite. This is a unique perspective–our principal for this, Paul Barkley, has 40 years of experience, extensive IT and project management credentials, and an MBA with an executive orientation. We can often salvage a situation by getting everyone back on track. In the absolute worst case, we can help the executive suite evaluate replacement CIO candidates, but our preference is to help the current CIO function better in the organization.

Like all our work, we tailor these engagements specifically to each client. They can range from as little as 50 hours for a high level overview, up to 300 hours or more for an extensive in-depth review, where we interview executives, managers, and workers from each department that interacts with the IT department, review all the system documentation, analyze the Help Desk and server room, and address other aspects of IT that may be unique to an organization.

Most CIOs believe they are doing a good job, and in fact most are doing an excellent job in around 90% of the areas in IT. However, sometimes that 10% that doesn’t work well is the most visible, and the area that causes the most friction between IT and the rest of the organization. We can help CIOs fix that and improve their usefulness in the organization before the CEO realizes there’s an issue and calls us.  There’s a reason why the average tenure of a CIO is 5 years and 1 month; many CIO positions repeatedly turn over in one to two years.

All IT Assessments are highly confidential and very discreet. We deliver the facts to our client, whether the CIO or the CEO, as well as our analysis and recommendations for action.  The findings are often “sanitized” and delivered in smaller pieces to the appropriate executives and managers in the organization for further action.

We recommend that an independent IT Assessment be conducted every five years to make sure the IT department is supporting the mission and goals of the organization, and to look for ways to further leverage the organization’s investment in Information Technology.

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