Shake things up
The first day you go to work as CTO start rumors that you are going to re-organize the whole department. This does wonders for morale and productivity. Your knowledge workers will become confused, bewildered and start their own rumors that will build to a crescendo. From this you will receive wonderful ideas on how to actually reorganize the department you are now in control of. Write these down, some will be jewels and worth serious consideration. The resulting activity will guide you to the perfect work environment and will point out to you the weak links in your work force.
Chain of Command
Make sure you break the chain of command and that you totally confuse the people that are beneath you. As a "made guy" you have complete control over this. Make it acceptable for managers of one group to tell the workers in the other group how to do their jobs. This will result in extremely productive competition between the different groups. What you eventually find out is who has the most influence in the department. Once this is determined reward this person and make sure he is seen in your office on a regular basis. Chain of command is old school. You want to encourage competition as well as mentoring.
Holding Meetings
Make sure when you hold meetings that they are free form and stream of consciousness. This is YOUR platform and main instrument of management. Meeting agendas and sticking to that agenda is meaningless these days. You want to encourage out-of-the-box thinking and behavior. Always bring in a large electric coffee maker and encourage the drinking of the 'Think Drink'. Discourage breaks during the meetings and encourage long. off topic discussions. It is amazing what interesting ideas will come from this. Only a few of these ideas will be worth their weight in gold. After these meetings put a considerable amount of pressure on increasing productivity.
Reports
One of the critical management tools at your disposal are the TPS reports. Make sure your managers are familiar with these. Regardless of the quality of these reports the main purpose is to make sure that they are long and detailed in every respect. These should be filled out by every member of your staff and then compiled by the department secretaries. In addition to the TPS reports, require all your managers to also compile Gantt and PERT charts and then insist on achieving to them. Do not allow for any excuses for non-compliance. Make sure they include monthly Project management reports done in MS Projects.
Hiring and Promotions
Great attention must be made to hiring and promoting people in your department. AVOID at all cost hiring or promoting from within your company UNLESS it is someone from HR or Finance departments. This includes your own department. There are exceptions to this rule that should be followed. You will see that certain people are exceptional at finishing and completing the TPS reports. These people should be encouraged to apply for promotions and positions. Keep an eye on them and mentor them. They will be key to your own future. Occasionally, hire people that are marginally capable of performing the job. Especially those that have survived past layoffs.
Firing and Mass Layoffs
There are times when the nasty business of firing someone or laying off a number of people will be necessary. NEVER do this yourself. This is extremely important. Most IT workers are off center in today's competitive job market and business environment. Many are ADD or have other mental illnesses. Personally firing people yourself can be extremely hazardous. Always have someone else do this. Hopefully, your company is large enough to have its own security people. Get the largest men from security to march them out of the office and out of the building. This must be a total surprise and secrecy is critical.
If you are lucky you live in an 'at will' state which means you can fire anyone for any reason or for no reason at all. Giving no reason is your best approach. Other workers will see this and the marginal ones will straighten up and be more productive. Remember, labor is your largest cost. Get rid of older workers frequently and arbitrarily.
Professional Development Policies
This and the next section are career enhancing and could be a career path to CEO of the company. You would be wise to pay attention here. New technologies come out daily in IT. You must rely on vendors for the new and exciting innovations. There is always something new and better. First make sure you subscribe to trade magazines that feature vendor innovations and then latch on to them and embrace these new technologies. Pay no attention to your staff after all they are only concerned and are comfortable with what they already know. Learn key buzzwords and then implement on a department level key new technologies.
REQUIRE that the employees that will be associated with these key technologies learn them on their own time. Next to labor the most expensive cost is training your staff. You want to see who the go-getters are especially those that have begun using your new buzzwords.
LISTEN TO VENDORS
Vendors are another key to your success. If it costs a lot of money it must be good! This is especially true if they also offer critical support for their product or service. Phone support is very important here. Call centers are run so cheaply these days adding on 24/7 phone support to the service contract is always negotiable these days and much cheaper than in the past. Vendors also are invaluable for obtaining junkets, swag and dinners at key times during consideration of awarding the RFP. It is to your advantage to take great care with this and nurture it well.
Outsourcing and Offshoring
This is your ace-in-the-hole; your trump card. One of the most effective and useful tools is the threat of outsourcing or off shoring (off shoring is now the preferred term). Outsourcing has become old fashioned and no longer efficient. Off shoring is not only cheaper but much more efficient in terms of scale of economy. Take advantage of it if your boss making mutterings regarding cutting costs. Most IT departments are full of fluff and cruft anyway. This one guide alone can save your career and it is almost guaranteed to earn you a promotion. There will be a critical mass moment in your career as CTO you do NOT want to work again in HR should costs spiral out of control in your IT department. Use this wisely and use it often. The CFO will put in a good word to the CEO and Board members.
Following these simple rules will put you on track to being a successful CTO. It will advance your career and those above you will notice you and the efforts you make. In today's IT environment these rules and guidelines will allow you to achieve the lifestyle you want and the satisfaction you need. The road might be long and hard but once there, the rewards will be paid tenfold to those who understand the concept of BOHICA*.
*BOHICA - Bend Over Here It Comes Again
