Have you been toying with the idea of a new IT career path? Julia
Vowler talks to former IT chiefs who have found success by
transferring their skills into other areas
Elite chairman, David Rippon's comment that "There are currently
more IT directors out of work than has ever been the case before,"
is not the sort of thing you want to hear in the festive season -
or any other. But there is a world beyond the IT department - and
it does not have to entail temping as Father Christmas.
Mike Winch, supplier
Former IT director at Safeway
Mike Winch crossed the floor into IT supply just over two years
ago. He is now director of logistics and fulfilment software
company, Metapack.
Winch has kept to his subject specialism - the exploitation of IT
for business advantage in a retail environment. As a former user,
he says, he brings to the supply side "an understanding of what
really makes a difference in business", rather than suppliers
saying they can answer your problems with software
He also knows how retailers think and work from the inside and has
17 years' worth of contacts. "Networking does help," he says, "But
people move on, so you need to make more contacts."
Compared with running IT at Safeway, "The big difference is that I
can see a much wider spectrum of businesses. But I do miss being as
emotionally involved as I was at Safeway, and I miss the teams of
support staff.
"But I could not go back [to being a user]. I have been there and
done that, and now I can pick and choose." It is no tougher being a
supplier. "The reality of plc life is that you have to deliver
bottom line results," he says.
Winch believes those best suited to life in IT supply need to be
more extrovert and less technical. "There are a lot of good
technical people [working for IT suppliers]. But you need to bring
a business focus, not knowledge of a latest release of technology,"
he says.
"Do you have the confidence, the vision, the belief in how a
solution can be applied? Can you communicate well and work without
teams of support staff?" These are the questions IT directors must
ask themselves. "You can make a lot of money as an IT supplier, no
question," says Winch. "But it is a matter of lifestyle. You cannot
do it just for the money - you have to like what you do."
David Rippon, academic
Former head of IT at commercial
property management company Land Securities, David Rippon is now
visiting professor of IT infrastructure management at
Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College.
"I am bringing 30 years of experience [in applied computing] to
people researching computing," says Rippon.
However, in some ways there is no difference from running corporate
IT, he says. "I am running a research centre so I need a business
plan about what we will produce - students - and to show where the
income is coming from, what I will spend and what my outcomes will
be."
His corporate background comes in useful for dealing with the
university's finance and personnel departments and so on, as well
as other colleagues.
"I find I can communicate better across functional silos, and can
live within budgets and plans, an experience you do not always pick
up as an academic alone," says Rippon.
His business background also helps when it comes to obtaining
research funding from local businesses, as Rippon can speak their
language.
But unlike in corporate life where IT is a service cost, his
current job is wealth generation for the university. "We bring the
students in," he points out.
To thrive in academia, says Rippon, "You need to be open to new
ideas and willing to show your work under peer review.
"Most IT directors are content in their silos and not willing to
learn and share, nor take the initiative very publicly and make
their results known.
"Only go into academia if you are naturally curious, and are
prepared to do something new, share knowledge, stand up and speak,
and publish," he says.
"Do not assume it is an easy life or that you will not have to
bring in money [to the university]. Do not assume that you will
earn as much as in corporate IT. A top-end lecturer gets about
£30,000 a year, a professor about £40,000."
The best aspect of academia, says Rippon, is that you have much
much more freedom. "I can nominate my own areas of research in
applied IT, and I get seven weeks pro rata leave."
The worst aspects? "No question about it - pay and conditions."
Steve Winslade, legal mediator
Steve Winslade has had a
highly varied career, as a police officer in Hong Kong; air force
officer; and consultant at PA, as well as managing
multimillion-pound IT programmes. He is now a legal mediator.
"A friend suggested it when I left PA," says Winslade. "I did a
course for £2,000, the accreditation assessment for £700, and then
pupillage to join a panel of mediators."
Legal mediation is one step before arbitration. His task is to get
opposing sides to reach agreement voluntarily. Although mediation
is still new, there are increasing numbers of IT disputes where
knowledge of the industry is an asset.
While the amount of work is limited at present, success rates are
high: "80% of those going to mediation reach a settlement," he
says, and because it costs only a few thousand pounds, compared
with the hundreds of thousands to go to court, the prospects are
good.
Not all his cases are between unhappy ITusers and suppliers. "My
technical knowledge is useful, but the real skills I need are
people skills. You are not making decisions - even when one side is
obviously wrong. You are facilitating. You need to be able to talk,
and reason, and move people in a common direction - but they must
own the solution themselves. It is like requirements analysis in
IT, where the business has to own the solution.
"You need to be good at listening, and not jumping to conclusions.
Teaching IT is good experience - finding another way of explaining
something if one student gets stuck."
The best thing about the work, says Winslade, is serving the
community. "You can mix and match it with consultancy, and there is
no retirement age. You can also move on to become an arbitrator. It
is not as well paid as corporate IT - you get less than half the IT
rates. But it is good for your portfolio."
Colin Beveridge, interim manager
Interim management
can be seen as an ideal half-way-house between being in or out of
corporate IT.
To thrive as an interim manager, says Colin Beveridge, you need
flexibility, experience, and ability to assess a situation quickly
and take positive action. "But knowing when not to do something is
as important," he says.
"You need to understand the brief: are you there to stir things up
or be a safe pair of hands?"
The difference from normal management is that you seldom see the
fulfilment of what you do. But, reminds Beveridge, you have to
behave as if you will. "You have to 'think permanent' and 'act
interim'. If you had to live with the consequences could you do so?
"You need to have sufficient presence to command respect quickly,
hit the ground running and carry on as if you were permanent. You
have to be able to act the part and immerse yourself completely -
there can be a bit of play acting."
But some people are not suited to interim management, such as
people who need security, says Beveridge. "People who like too much
routine, who do not like a lot of travel. It can be disruptive for
family life.
"The best aspects are the variety and the breadth of experience you
can gain in an relatively short time by picking up the best of what
you see. The worst are that you can be the whipping-boy for 360
degrees of the organisation."
Some remits are tough to execute. "Disbanding an IT department is
not popular," he says. In some posts there has been open warfare,
with staff refusing to speak to one another, he recalls.
In bullish times, you can make money, says Beveridge. "Potentially
it is extremely lucrative, paying about twice as much as permanent
work. If a permanent IT director gets, say, £70,000 a year, an
interim could get £140,000."
But postings do not last for ever. "You need to have a backfill for
the slack periods," says Beveridge, and you will need to tussle
with the joys of IR35.
In tough times, like now, with companies pulling back on spending
and exporting headcount, it is a buyers market, warns Beveridge.
"Rates have collapsed. Eighteen months ago you could expect between
£750 and £1,500 a day. Now, due to the sheer number of good people
in the market, rates are 50% down. The premium is gone.
"You will need to register with a good intermediary, watch the
Internet bulletin boards, and have a portfolio approach to keep
sufficient paid activity," he says.
John Mahoney, analyst
Formerly IT director at the
British Library, John Mahoney is now a research vice-president at
Gartner.
"The nature of the job is different [from being IT director] in
specifics, but I do not see it as a step-change in my career," says
Mahoney, "because as a chief information officer and member of the
executive board I was dealing with leadership and strategic issues,
and I am dealing with those issues here.
"I am not running a business but I am working with other people in
providing advice about the use of business technology. I can now
leverage my industry expertise and insight to address a broader
canvas."
But however closely he works with clients, one of the principle
differences is that the absence of staff management and leadership
accountability. "I do miss that because it is very satisfying to
work with a team and help them," he says.
"At Gartner I have to be adept at dealing with issues in much
shorter soundbites, and have to focus and deliver within crisp
timescales. That is enjoyable because it helps me to see results
and grow personally."
Compared with in-house leadership, as an analyst you have to be
able to let go, and be prepared to be self-effacing and not take
the spotlight from the client, he says. "You have to be able to
demonstrate and sell your capabilities across a wide variety of
clients, and build recognition very quickly. You have to make a
mark early on, and demonstrate that you have the appropriate level
of capability."
One unexpected pleasure of working for Gartner has been, "looking
again at my life-work balance," says Mahoney. "I am working harder
than ever - and I was not taking life easy before. Gartner is a
global, virtual organisation, so although I have spent about 60% of
the past year travelling out of the UK, the reward is that I can
also work from my holiday home in Devon as well."
Not everyone would suit life as an analyst, however. "It is not
suitable for people who like having direct and visible authority
and power, or who are seeking to develop their expertise," says
Mahoney. Analysts are, after all, expected to know more than their
clients.
Roger Ellis, consultant and conference organiser
Former IT director at Blue Circle, Roger Ellis now runs consulting
firm Black Raven.
"We are former FTSE 100 IT directors; we are not theorists or
straight out of management training; we have a wealth of experience
at senior level," says Ellis.
"Our work is usually overseeing projects, or mentoring other IT
directors, but I have also worked with suppliers who do not know
the right thing to say to IT directors and try and sell 'solutions'
for problems they do not have.
"Consultancy cannot be for everyone," he warns, but those who have
run IT at FTSE 100 companies will be articulate, able to talk to
all levels of the organisation, able to see the bigger picture, and
have the ability to sell. When you have been an IT director of a
large organisation you do not do it by command, you have to sell
yourself and your function to your peers, who do not have to use
you or trust you."
Consulting is not, he points out, for "DP managers who are good at
running their teams and getting projects done".
Confidence is important, as well as the right level of expertise,
both for yourself and your clients. "You have to sound convincing
and give a good account, and be prepared to listen," says Ellis.
Networking is crucial. "You cannot operate by yourself, you need to
keep on the circuit, which is 10 times more difficult on your own.
I set up a six-weekly club at the Institute of Directors. You need
to keep yourself visible and up to date, and look the part.
"The best aspect of being a consultant is your degree of
independence. Within reason I can decide who I work for, and when.
It is great working with people and understanding their problems.
The worst is that you do not belong any more: there is no coffee
machine gossip," says Ellis.
You have to set yourself up as a legal business entity, without the
support of a corporate personnel, finance or legal department, he
warns.
As for earnings, "You have to be flexible," says Ellis. "It is not
an easy market now. But you should expect between £800 and £1,500 a
day, though it is no good saying you deserve the top rate if the
company cannot pay it and it means you are not working five days a
week. But you should turn down under £500 a day."
Black Raven also runs conferences, with the first, IT Governance
for IT Leaders, coming up in the new year. To survive on the
crowded conference circuit and in tough times Ellis is running
conferences four times a year, "targeting a niche market with
absolutely topical subjects and high-level speakers," he says.
"You need to know a lot of people and have a clear marketing
campaign. You have got to be clear on your topics and be able to
get speakers. It takes a lot of selling and cold-calling.
"You can make money at it and there are rewards to be had, but you
can also risk losing the initial outlay - you have to be prepared
to gamble," he says.
Rene Carayol, industry guru
Rene Carayol used to be IT
director at IPC magazines. Now he is an industry guru. He says his
defining moment in making the transition came when he joined the
board. "I was turned on by the day-to-day running of the business.
It is only when you get to the board that you understand strategy,
what making money really means.
"Being an IT director is a very limiting role," he says. "You get
to the board with your functional expertise and find it is
irrelevant. You have to own a profit-and-loss account. IT does not
take you into the commercial world."
Carayol moved into that commercial world when he headed IPC's early
ventures into electronic publishing, and his elevation to guru
status came in 1999 when he spoke at the CBI to 300 chief
executives of UK companies at the conference where Tony Blair
declared the UK "open for e-business".
Seeing that few of the chief executives understood the Internet, "I
turned off my slides and spoke for 40 minutes about why e-business
was important. It went down a storm," he says. Now he has his own
platform, writes books, such as Corporate Voodoo, and is
non-executive director of several firms.
Being a guru is not for the shy or the habit-bound, he says. "I
love innovation. I am a story-teller," says Carayol. "You have to
love being on a stage, being given an opportunity to perform, but
you must have something to contribute." He cultivates a "virtuous
circle", being invited to give companies a push which then gives
him the insights and examples he needs to illustrate his
presentations.
"Chief executives love contemporary case studies," he says. But do
not give too much, they won't retain the message. It's 60% image,
30% delivery and 10% content: 90% content would be 'death by
Powerpoint'."
The downside of guru status, says Carayol, is that it is lonely. "I
miss the tribalism part of corporate life." The upside is, "It's
the most exciting role I've ever had."
As for remuneration, "I am a brand, and I am 'reassuringly
expensive'."
That was a lesson he learned the hard way. He spoke at the CBI
conference for free, and at his own expense, then he discovered
other speakers were getting £30,000, Concord tickets and two weeks
at Claridges.