Arindam Singha, Roy CIO - East India Udyog Ltd.

“My planning process is a systematic approach to strategic planning and a way of managing progress towards achieving the vision and strategic goals of the organization.

It aligns the strategic objectives with the IT resources and action plans needed to make them happen. First of all understanding what the vision is, it is the vision that creates clear strategies and tactics. Secondly I design the strategies and tactics to help us move towards that vision. Which are projected annually.

Thirdly metrics are define that determines what needs to be measured, to ensure that the effectiveness of those strategies are working towards a common vision with Key Performance Indicators to ensure that they can measure correctly the performance of those tactics.

Fourthly the Master Schedule is done for a clear project plan that identifies the actions required to deliver that. There is a periodically, Master Schedules check which measure the effectiveness of that plan. It ensures that everything is ‘on-plan’ and ‘ontrack’ to deliver that project. Having good clear process monitoring and review helps to identify if there are any issues or ‘back-spikes’ to the Master

Schedule.

Lastly where there are any ‘back-spikes’, or the project experiences any road-blocks or issues, then kick-start a Problem Solving process to help solve those issues for business goal.

Leaders are accountable to assemble teams and lead them to optimal performance outcomes. An effective leader recognizes the importance of embracing differences in people and knows how to connect the dots amongst those differences to get the best outcomes from the team. Most companies continue to assume that innovation comes from that individual genius, or, at best, small, sequestered teams that vanish from sight and then return with big ideas Innovation begins with those people who touch the business across all functional and departmental areas. They take the time to analyze their competitors and the evolution of industries, brands and the emerging role of technology. Innovators are those who can see, sow, grow and share opportunities. We all need to be revitalized in a manner that inspires hope and evolution in order to propel innovative opportunities for growth, prosperity and sustainability. Opening our minds to innovation is critical to creating a workplace environment that allows people to thrive. The innovation process begins by identifying –

• how people want to lead and be led;

• the function they can best serve to add value;

• and the required tools to adapt to change in positive and meaningful ways

Sharing an example, the management adopted a strategy to grow the business through acquisitions. IT Team recognized the need for a solid integration plan and execution process and developed an operating model that identified Merger and Acquisitions integration as a component of the core work. Then identified the competencies needed to support the work, identified an optimal organizational structure and hired and trained accordingly. We acquire tools and technology and create an integration process that enabled us to ingrate new businesses efficiently and successfully integrated them into the IT operations. The strategy worked because it was translated into practical terms designed innovated by the IT Team. This operating model allowed us to align the company’s tactics and strategies to meet its objectives, thus delivering value.

The CIO role has traditionally been an enabling role. With IT moving away from enabling business strategy to defining business strategy, CIOs role need to shift. They need to bring unique perspective to the table, which is not technology. They need to have end to end view across the company. He should not have only support business strategy. He needs to be the company’s critical capabilities champions. CIO’s can look up and out at the future of the company. In place of ‘how’ executives who are enabling the business, they need to be ‘what’ executives who are defining business strategies.

Some points to be noted:

Take down walls built around IT and become an influential enterprise leader who just happens to also manage the IT function. Address head-on the legacy challenge facing every organization, managing the old while introducing the new. Embrace the opportunities unlocked by the rise of digital technologies. Leverage your unique end-to-end horizontal view of the organization to create business value. Shed the role of enabling business strategy in the digital age and take the lead in setting it, focusing on what to do, not just the how. Find ways to deliver products and value at a breakneck pace, without sacrificing security or quality. Learn to spin the memorable tales that are much more effective than an architectural schematic when it comes to selling abstract technology concepts to a wide array of stakeholders.”