The Machiavellian CIO

Getting execs and employees to do the right thing where technology is concerned is often a battle; therefore, CIOs should be fully versed in the art of war.

This is according to Gartner analyst Tina Nunno, whose “maverick” research into using war tactics in the boardroom has gone mainstream. Speaking at last week's Gartner Symposium, in Cape Town, she explained that these approaches are extreme, but added, “when you're in extreme situations, ordinary tactics don't work”.

Niccol`o Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat, army general and philosopher. He is well known for his two great works “The Art of War” and “The Prince” (a "how to" book on being a dictator, that Nunno says is often read by CEOs).

Machiavelli believed that no leader deserved to be in charge in peace time if he didn't know how to wage war to protect his people.

“Machiavelli's insights and advice can help CIOs run campaigns critical to the execution of large, complex and controversial IT initiatives,” Nunno said. “CIOs must be able to effectively deal with organised resistance, and potential enemy targets.”

Even though Machiavelli's work, “The Prince”, is about dictatorship, the man himself believed that dictatorship “destroyed men of wisdom”. Alliances and federations are better environments for nations and, said Nunno, for the workplace. However, CIOs are often asked to undertake tasks that others within the organisation may feel impinge on their territory, change company culture, or threaten to change the way they go about their work. They may, in such cases, be less than enthusiastic about co-operating.

While it is necessary for CIOs to have the qualities of a loved leader (worthiness to lead, discipline, and decisiveness), they must not dismiss the qualities of a feared leader (being opportunistic, ruthless and adaptable). It is a combination of both that wins wars.

While it is easier to defend against invading forces (because you know your position, it's easy to see the outcomes, it's easy to know when you've won), Nunno recommended that CIOs instead focus on “mastering offensive wars of expansion”.

Nunno gave some further tactics favoured in Machiavelli's literature that can work in workplace politics too:

Get reports from a trusted leadership team, but ensure there are not too many within that team. The Machiavellian CIO must be able to keep track of each individual and if there are too many people within leadership they may form coalitions against the CIO.

Sometimes it's worthwhile for the CIO to play down his or her own abilities within the enterprise so as to appear benign. Nunno used the example of a CIO who pretended to have no idea what was going on so that he could bring about revolutionary change within the company while no one was looking.

Gain cooperation from key stakeholders before final decisions are made. The more stakeholders there are in the final decision, the more controversy there is likely to be. Nunno said the Machiavellian CIO won't have meetings about a controversial issue until he or she knows how everyone is going to vote.

Beware of becoming too close with external consultants, because it's to their benefit if you fail (they need to maintain their income by advising you on how to recover). Nunno drew the analogy of mercenaries in times of war. War is preferable to the mercenary, because it guarantees employment.

Manoeuvre for the most strategic assets. Be aware that others within an organisation may be biased or have their own motives for insisting the CIO should focus in a particular area. The CIO should think strategically about what responsibilities and projects to take on.

Sometimes it's preferable to “stage a coup” rather than engaging in a long, drawn-out battle. Because coups are speedy and targeted, there is often very little collateral damage. One example of such a coup in an enterprise situation would be a CIO getting the auditor on his or her side. The execs are more likely to give the CIO what he or she wants immediately if the bottom line will benefit. Going around someone or over their head can be more effective in the long run provided that the CIO knows for certain the results will be worthwhile.

Wait for the right opportunity to bring in outliers. Sometimes letting the outlier stakeholders do things the way they want first and letting them fail is a good tactic. Nunno cautions, however, that the CIO must not step in to save them once they've created a mess, but only after they've been held accountable for that mess. That way the CIO does not inherit the responsibility for the disaster that the outlier may have created, but can get the credit for fixing it.

Choose your battles: sometimes it's preferable to give up ground in the short term to win in the long term. It's not always possible to win. Sometimes discretion really is the better part of valour. “Winning battles at all costs usually results in destroying that which we were fighting for to begin with,” Nunno said. A good CIO is aware of the collateral damage that continued war can cause and is willing to make peace to protect other employees and business interests in the short term.

Most importantly, Nunno advised that CIOs should be disciplined as discipline requires knowledge, skills, training and experience.

“With these, Machiavelli felt that virtually any target was attainable. The same is true in IT, where knowledge, skills, training and experience can make the difference between success and failure.”

She also cautioned CIOs to use a diverse array of tactics and “think multi-dimensionally” as few strategies work every time.

“There is nothing simple about love or war,” she said.