Transcript
What’s the role of a bank CEO in transformation, and what role should they play in that strategic initiative?
Tony, good question. I think four things come to mind.
First, they need to own the initiative. I think the days of a CEO saying, “Oh, this is an IT project,” and just kicking it over to the CIO are long gone.
Yep.
Technology and transformation is a shareholder issue.
The second thing that comes to mind is to create a sense of urgency throughout the organization. These enterprise projects can just die from lethargy and resistance to change. So the CEO needs to be in there pushing the team forward, literally every step of the way.
The third thing that comes to mind is I think the CEO needs to lead the effort to define in advance, with the project team that’s going to be working day to day, the measurable objectives that are going to define project success, so we know when we’ve arrived where we want to be.
And that doesn’t have to be the very end game. There need to be interim measurable objectives.
Milestones.
Exactly.
Lastly, in addition to being the CEO, I think the CEO needs to also be the cheerleader-in-chief and keep up the team optimism. These enterprise transformation projects can be lengthy, they move people’s cheese, and they can create internal friction.
So the CEO needs to be the voice of optimism, always talking about that end game in sight and what the future state will be that will be better for customers and internal stakeholders.
So those are the four things that come to mind.
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