The CIO and CTO titles have been around for a bit…
And I can sympathise with that, after all IT used to be something magical hard-to-grasp stuff for many in the upper echelons of the organisations. And much of that obscure technology was brought in the door and had to be operated by somebody in-house, so better have some focused expert for that.
But does that still apply? IT is fast becoming just a component, a rather boring component, of some service that brings value to the organisation.
Cartoon by Hugh Macleod of Gapingvoid fame
So here's the obvious question:
What about those other technologies that are important to our organisations? Motors? Paper? Electricity?
Do we have CMOs? A Chief Motor Officer who has the final say when anything incorporating a motor is procured or used. Who oversees the Motor Department and spends half his time visiting motor conferences and worrying about what quadrant that new engine for his trucks has been assigned.
Or a CPO, a Chief Paper Officer? The chap who impresses the other managers flaunting terms like paperweight, basis weight, blotting, and bristol and tag. The chap who spends his days on paper strategies for the organisation and who has the final say on what caliper to procure for the copy machines.
Just wondering…
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