Brian
Jones kicks off a series of commentaries by chief information
officers about the lessons to be drawn from initiatives they got
right and where they had problems. He explains how he handles
contracts and projects, and how he promotes information technology
as a critical business enabler
BEST
DECISION
When I joined
Allied Domecq in 2002, I inherited one particular operational
outsourcing contract between Allied and EDS that was far too
imprecise and was failing both sides.
That single
contract pointed to a wider problem that was soon inescapable: few
of the various IT functions being carried out within the group –
either internally or involving outside suppliers – were properly
thought out or integrated.
With this gap in
mind, I decided to create a new role within the group: IT
commercial director. I wanted an individual and a department whose
remit was to renegotiate all major IT contracts, to create
partnerships with major suppliers and to begin to tap into other
sources of global expertise.
The tricky part
about arriving at an IT contract that suits all sides is to bridge
the communication gap that often exists between the legal team that
is involved and the IT team.
When I recruited,
I made sure the commercial director was selected for her experience
in achieving the kind of value I was seeking – namely, agreeing
deals on the best, most productive terms for the company.
More quickly than
I had dared hope, that appointment and the commercial department
that followed proved a huge success. An early triumph was the EDS
contract itself, which was renegotiated for the benefit of all.
Another hugely
significant advance was the partnership the department forged with
AT&T for the networks group to become Allied’s global network
provider. Along the way, 43 contracts with AT&T in Europe alone
were replaced with just one worldwide deal.
Within months, the
good work of the IT commercial department was being recognised
across the organisation as offering an example of best
practice.
On the strength of
this, I was invited by Philip Bowman, Allied’s chief executive, to
lead a company-wide transformation programme taking in our supply
chain and manufacturing group to apply the principles we had
established in IT to help create a global indirect procurement
category.
Under the
stewardship of my original IT commercial director, this also proved
a success – all of which helped to make Allied an attractive but
costly takeover target for Pernod Ricard when it made its approach
last year.
The other equally
important aspect of the success of the IT commercial department I
established lay in self-promotion. It helped that in Bowman Allied
had a chief executive who understood that IT was a critical enabler
of the business, but to really bring home the message that IT is
making a difference I have found that you need to keep your story
simple and shout it from the rooftops.
To get things
moving, I made sure than the department’s quick wins at the outset
were well publicised. I think this really helped to get people
engaged and enthusiastic – and it gave the programme the necessary
momentum and boardroom backing it needed to keep going through any
sticky patches.
WORST
DECISION
I have learned the
hard way over the years to make sure you pick the right battle. Put
simply, before you embark on trying to achieve something, make sure
it really is worth doing.
When I was working
for IBM, I had responsibility for a contract with a broadcasting
company to supply a digital technology solution. By the time I came
to it the contract had gone bad. It was over budget and badly
managed.
My response to the
situation was to try to solve the commercial problem I was facing.
I really wanted to avoid litigation and started off by dutifully
scrutinising every aspect of the project management.
In fact, teams on
both sides got involved over several months in this process of
trying to get the commercials right.
But I am afraid to
say I had overlooked something far more fundamental – namely, the
solution itself could not work as defined in the contract. It seems
amazing to say it, but the technology simply did not exist.
Altogether it took nine months of hard work before I realised this
fundamental point. And there is no escaping it: that really is an
awful lot of wasted effort by a great many people.
I have never made
a mistake on that scale since, but it was a costly lesson to learn.
From where I sit now, I believe that if projects or programmes are
overly complex there is a good chance they are simply wrong. Before
you embark on something, it is crucial to ask yourself, “Am I
chasing the wrong dream here? Is this simply the wrong solution?
And is spending this money that has been allocated for IT really
the best way to achieve the desired outcome – or might we be better
off, say, just hiring someone to carry out this function?”
It is worth
remembering that the role of CIO is a strategic one, but that
strategic thinking will not always be something you share with
those who work alongside you. Technologists are in the business of
implementing things and, in my experience, that is something they
generally do very industriously and creatively. So it is a crime of
management to waste those people’s efforts by giving them tasks or
projects that are ill conceived or doomed to failure.
To make sure a
project is likely to succeed, these days I like to keep things as
simple as possible. If you break down projects into neat milestones
and deliverables, it is much easier to keep track of what is
working and what is not – and to keep your staff motivated,
interested and engaged.
One other general
point is worth making, which is that CIOs are inevitably the change
agents in corporations. Being a CIO is all about managing change.
By comparison, the service delivery part of the IT department is
routine. This means that the CIO has to be at the heart of the
business strategy, otherwise the IT function is reduced to keeping
the lights on and tinkering around the edges of the business.
To ensure that
does not happen, IT needs a leader whose voice is heard in every
part of the business, with credibility across the organisation and
in the boardroom.
CV: BRIAN
JONES
Brian Jones was
formerly global chief information officer of drinks manufacturer
Allied Domecq, where he was responsible for all aspects of IT and
financial shared services prior to the sale of the business to
Pernod Ricard last summer.
During his time at
Allied Domecq, Jones executed a highly successful IT transformation
and was then invited by the chief executive to lead a global
cross-functional initiative to improve the operational performance
of the business as a whole.
Jones has more
than 17 years of IT and business management experience, primarily
in the retail and consumer packaged goods industries. He joined
Allied Domecq from IBM, where he was responsible for developing the
European distribution sector services business, sat on the
company’s European client executive certification board, and was
featured in numerous corporate marketing campaigns.
He is currently
leading a large-scale business transformation in a global retailer
as well as providing consulting advice to other organisations. His
own company, Atlantic Cedar, specialises in IT, procurement and
business transformation.