CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 37

program managers, organizational change

Ultimately, I've found that, in this job, the soft

experts, solutions designers, technical architects,

stuff is the hard stuff. I know my teams can

and business intelligence professionals. We

figure out anything technical, but the difficult

outsource all of the development to our IT

part is getting everyone lined up behind you to

services providers.

embrace the change.

Incidentally, I would never be able to tell my
team members how to do their jobs. I've never

Doing the Thing That Scares You

programmed a thing in my life or configured a
system. But I know how to gather facts, how to

I love big, transformational projects because I

listen, and how to stretch and support people.

like seeing the significant impact they have. But,

And I have learned enough to be able to challenge

in the beginning, they were scary. I didn't think I

certain assumptions and to stretch others to think

knew what I was doing. I was worried about what

outside of the box.
I also have been able to leverage my financial
background to create the kinds of business cases
The financial approach has been a huge factor in
the success we've had. And I know how to deliver
projects. That's my reputation.

The Soft Stuff is the Hard Stuff
I've learned a lot from the leaders around me,
both as role models and in some cases as mentors
who have coached and guided me. I've learned
how they deal with challenges, how they deal
with conflict, how they influence. That's been
particularly important because, in my role, I need
to keep everyone going down the same path
without it feeling like I'm hammering them. It's
important to take the time to learn from how
successful people do these things.
One of the biggest challenges we had was a
post-merger project that sought to centralize
and standardize systems and processes for
what had been three operations - U.S., Canada,
and Europe - that had run independently. This
represented a big cultural challenge. Ultimately,

"

I love big,
transformational projects
because I like seeing
the significant impact
they have. But, in
the beginning, they
were scary. I didn't
think I knew what I
was doing.
I was worried about
what would happen
to my team if we failed.
I wondered what would
happen to me if I
couldn't deliver.

"

that get big transformational projects approved.

I was able to work with the CEO, who helped us
engage some of the division presidents to garner
support among their peers toward this bigger
company mission. Driving change at this level was
another stretch opportunity.

37



CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8

Contents
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Cover1
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Cover2
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 1
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Contents
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 3
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 4
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 5
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 6
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 7
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 8
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 9
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 10
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 11
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 12
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 13
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 14
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 15
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 16
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 17
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 18
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 19
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 20
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 21
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 22
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 23
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 24
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 25
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 26
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 27
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 28
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 29
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 30
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 31
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 32
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 33
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 34
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 35
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 36
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 37
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 38
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 39
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 40
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 41
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 42
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 43
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 44
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 45
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 46
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 47
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 48
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 49
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 50
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 51
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CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 75
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Cover3
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Cover4
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