How to Build a Management Team – Part 5 of a Series

Subtitle: The Chief IT Officer (CIO)

Choosing and identifying a talented Chief Information Officer (sometimes titled Chief Technology Officer) can seem like a daunting and challenging task for an entrepreneur who is not up to speed or conversant when it comes to new technology … and we all know IT is changing and expanding constantly. That is exactly why it is important to have a smart and well informed CIO as a key player on your management team as early on as possible in your new company as it is growing and expanding its footprint.

Requires Big Picture Thinking

Once you start thinking about filling this position it is important that you assess your company’s short- and long-term technology needs and objectives. You will need to identify the areas where your technology is strong, as well as your vulnerabilities. You need to ponder the job description for a while seeking help from other entrepreneurs you know (friends), management, and possibly an outside consultant or recruiter that specializes in IT. You need to determine your No. 1 Goal … will it be to build and maintain a website (or series of them), or to manage and protect a large volume of valuable customer data or engineering data, etc. Will this position juggle software development projects and new product launches or will you outsource these functions … also hardware needs for the future, etc.? If you answered yes to most or all of these possibilities, then maybe you need to take extra time rethinking and resetting your priorities since getting your startup up and going. This is an important and expensive decision that needs big picture thinking while considering short-term goals and long-term objectives.

One of the “unspoken” areas of concern in this area is will this person have more control of the company than you do. And this is not an unusual thought process and should be addressed openly with forthright understanding with everyone who is helping you as well as the person you decide to hire. One important thing you need to remember when it comes to hiring for this position is that you should not expect this person to be a superhero … if so, they most likely will never meet your expectations.

Clearly Depict Your Vision

You must keep in mind that the key to producing great results in IT depends in large part on your ability to chart a strategic vision for the business. This requires you to be able to set and explain a clear interpretation of your vision of what your plan is for the company to achieve in the next 3 years … 5 years … 10 years … and what technology you envision to accomplish these goals. This will be hard but very important when investing significant dollars in technology for people, hardware, software, systems, programs, consultants, etc. for achieving your goals and objectives for the company.

Confident and Excited

When you take the time to make the right choices and decisions you will be confident and excited for what you have put together and will look forward to hiring the lead IT person and implementing the system/hardware. The right decision for the CIO position will be as big as any decision you make in choosing your management team. I always suggest that when hiring key management positions (actually for any position); look for work ethic as the number one ingredient. Someone with work ethic is a worker, a doer, a fixer, and a thinker who is always scheming how to do better with a commitment for excellence and teambuilding. A good IT person should be able to put IT terminology into easy to understand layman terms. Don’t expect yourself or other management team members to adjust to the IT lingo … look for a CIO who can confidently explain and communicate. Do not settle for anything less.

What has been your experience when hiring the top IT person?

Next: Part 6 – CEO

© Phil Hoffman 2012. All rights reserved

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Tags: business, Chief Information Officer, Information technology, Senior management

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