CEOs - mind the gap!

The CEO has a brilliant idea for catapulting the company forward. The technology director can deliver the platforms and services. The marketing director knows how to take it to the customer. But the radical change somehow doesn't happen.

It’s a familiar cry across many boardrooms that there’s a gap between the great triumvirate of CEO, CMO and CTO, and it’s getting louder as the new digital era disrupts even the sturdiest of industries.

 The problem is that the CEO is dealing with leaders in different divisions, each working hard to deliver but not inter-connected. No one has a grip on all the aspects of change needed.

 Take digital as an example. The CEO wants more customer engagement and a greater online or mobile presence. Both need marketing and technology to change the supply chain and target the right customers. But what is eventually delivered does neither because managing such big change is a job in its own right.

 For frustrated CEOs, this might be the right time to call in a board level change agent.

 I’m not talking covert or ‘cloak and dagger’ but someone whose role is simply to manage and advance large-scale change. A person who has industry experience of business and technology change  management and methodology. Someone with a track record in digital technology, who is also able to work at board level on strategic planning, stakeholder, financial and resource management.

Such talent is pretty rare. A good example is Henry Cohen, brought in as the interim CIO at The Telegraph Media Group, and assigned a board level role to take the company from print to digital using the best technologies and working across all operations and divisions.

 He has credibility and heavyweight experience, coupled with the ability to inspire and lead change. The fact his role is interim means he doesn’t have to worry about corporate politics or positioning internal relationships for a longer-term career . As a neutral party with no axe to grind he  can just get on with the job of facilitating the changes required with senior executive management, staff and stakeholders .

I also had the pleasure of hosting a panel a few years ago and listening to Steve Clifford, MD and Head of Change at JP Morgan Asset Management. His track record for driving change is impeccable, during what has been a constantly challenging time for the asset management industry with new regulatory frameworks and the onset of digital apps and disruptive technologies.

It’s tempting to have a project manager further down the corporate food chain trying to deliver the changes required, but my advice to any business that sees disruption and turbulence  on the horizon is to get someone senior in to manage change. Someone with credible experience, who is persuasive, a strategic thinker and a good communicator.

 Faced with finding such an ideal person, most CEOs turn to recognised and respected consultancies to deliver big change. This can sometimes be the best option. It’s certainly preferable to just tagging change on to the responsibilities of the COO or CTO.

Consider instead how much your company might benefit from a board (or equivalent) level change role in its own right. It would certainly put change on everyone’s agenda, and give your company the opportunity to deal with constant change as Steve Clifford has done in his tenure at JP Morgan or Henry Cohen has delivered within many blue chip organisations.

 Take a look at your company board and ask yourself: “Is there actually a missing link  between the CEO, CMO and CTO to provide a catalyst for the changes we need to apply?”

If the answer is yes, then there’s no time like the present to start looking for the right person - either interim or permanent - to fill the gap.

 Barnaby Parker is CEO of Venquis, the leading provider of Change Management expertise at all executive levels. Feel free to comment, like, ask questions etc....