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5 CIOs talk about the toughest decisions they took

 

ETCIO spoke to 5 top CIOs to understand what were the toughest decisions in their careers. Here's what they have to say

In today’s VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) world, technology leaders are confronted with making tough choices. Taking tough decisions isn’t easy but making them at the right time surely paves the way for success. 

ETCIO spoke to 5 top CIOs to understand what were the toughest decisions in their careers. Here's what they have to say


1. Convincing stakeholders:

As the results of most decisions are not visible immediately, it becomes difficult to justify taking them and whether or not they will yield the desired results. 

“As a CIO, tough decisions are on the table all the time. Whether to build or buy, outsource or insource are all hard decisions to take. The toughest decisions are the one’s when you have to convince the key stakeholders of some key long-term benefits which may not be visible immediately” says Abhishek Chandra, CTO, IIFL - Wealth Management.

2. Planning, strategising

Deciding what projects to work on, and which approach to take is not an easy choice for any CIO. 

"One of the toughest decisions I faced was while deciding whether to take a phase-wise approach on upgrading the platform for all our branches in a planned manner or whether to take a Big-Bang approach of going live with the upgraded system for all branches at one-go" says Anup Purohit, CIO, Yes Bank.

"Since this could have impacted the whole bank process, it was necessary to be taken early on the planning phase of the program. And I made the decision to take a Big-Bang approach and we not only made it happen but were successful in creating a bench-mark in the Industry" he adds.

3. Controlling Cost 

CIOs face a constant dilemma to introduce the best-in-class technology but within the constrained budget.

Revealing her toughest decision, Shweta Srivastava, CTO, Paul Merchant says, "Cost control is the key agenda in all business meetings and it applies to IT as well. The difficult part is to convince the management on real value achieved by adopting an exclusive technology infrastructure and to deliberate that a cheap service is worth nothing without reliability and security"

4. Changing mindset

Convincing people to use the technology and keeping them motivated while the transition period is imperative and equally tough. 

"One of my biggest challenges which ultimately became a big achievement was to change the ways of working of the technology team. The team was encouraged to broaden their thinking beyond functional hats, breaking the barriers of conventional protocols of providing technology support, and cultivate personal leadership in the larger scheme of business,” says Praveen Nagpal, CTO, Shell.

“This cultural shift also requires some restructuring in the organisation making it a tough call to make. The challenge is to keep the team motivated. Ultimately, this resulted in better productivity, efficiency and enhanced personal leadership of the team that benefitted both the business and individual members" he adds.

5. Managing talent 

Moving upwards on the technology ladder calls for some tough choices about who to retain, upskill and let go. 

"While we are on the journey of strengthening our talent, as a leader I am a proponent and a strong believer in the power of small teams that gives nimbleness and effective decision making. Taking a hard look at capabilities currently within the system has by far been the most challenging" comments Bhargavi Sunkara, CIO, BNY Mellon.

 

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Economic Times