How to hit the ground
running as a new CIO
The CIO’s first 100 days
Uwe Michael Mueller, EMEIA
Performance Improvement Leader
at EY gives insight into preparing
for CIO interview’s and making the
right impact once in the job.
Magnus Graf Lambsdorff, Partner
at Egon Zehnder International,
a global executive search firm,
adds some useful tips for those
CIOs preparing for a new role.
“You can give yourself a
huge jump-start if you’re
more aware of what you’re
getting into.”
For tips, tricks and insight to
help you get ahead, read the
new CIO’s bag of tricks blog
cioblog.ey.com
First impressions count. New CIOs need to get to grips with two pressing challenges very quickly. First, they need to
establish exactly what it is they want to achieve in the role, both for themselves and for the organizations they serve;
second, they need to begin developing strong relationships with those individuals in the organization who can help
them to realize those ambitions.
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Start by thinking ahead of time. In practice, the CIO’s opportunity starts well before the first day in the office, says
Magnus Graf Lambsdorff, Partner at Egon Zehnder International. “You can give yourself a huge jump-start if you’re
more aware of what you’re getting into.”
CIOs have not always planned ahead in this way on accepting new appointments. But if you’re taking up a new role,
it is more crucial to do so today than ever before.
How to prepare for your CIO job interview
CEOs and their boards are looking for more than just technical expertise
when they’re appointing a new CIO. They’ll expect you to know the relevant
technologies inside out, to demonstrate your capacity for both day-today operations and project management, and to explain how you’ll get
the most out of IT on limited resources; but they need other qualities too.
Leadership talent and strategic ability — both areas where CIOs sometimes
concede their skills fall short — will be high on their lists. At your interview,
expect to be asked about such attributes, and be ready to provide tangible
examples of where you’ve shown the qualities required. Plan your answers
for 10 questions likely to come up:
• How would you describe your leadership style?
• What was the most significant difference you made in your last role?
• What will you achieve in your first 100 days as CIO?
• Can you give an example of when you persuaded a diverse set of
stakeholders to embrace a technology initiative?
• What are the best ways to measure the value of the IT function?
• How can you maintain performance while coping with smaller IT budgets?
• What should the balance be between spending on IT maintenance
and innovation?
• What’s your approach to setting out the long-term technical direction
of the IT function?
• What is the largest non-IT initiative you’ve lead?
• How did you measure the success of this initiative?
• Assess the team you’re inheriting — look at the strengths and weaknesses
of the IT department you will be running
• Think about the immediate impression you want to make — what will your
message be during the first few hours and days in the job?
Read more: cioblog.ey.com/2013/09/23/how-to-prepare-for-your-first100-days-as-cio
How to make the right impact when you start
a new CIO role
A CIO who makes an immediate impact in their new role stands a better
chance of achieving long-term success in the appointment. But while you
need to get it right from the word go, your first weeks and months in the
post need to have balance: you’ll certainly want to begin communicating
your vision, but you’ll also need to listen to, and learn from, colleagues
across the business. Strategies that have worked elsewhere may not work
here. The goal should be to establish yourself as both a technical expert
and a rounded business leader capable of adding strategic value. Start by
focusing on five key areas:
• The market environment — your organization’s current trading context
and its future strategy
• Your colleagues’ expectations — what they’re hoping for from IT
• The organization’s capabilities — what your function can currently do
and how that compares to what is needed
• Compliance issues — the regulatory framework within which you
must operate
Read more: cioblog.ey.com/2013/09/16/how-to-prepare-for-your-ciojob-interview
• Risk — the dangers to which IT is potentially exposed, or to which IT could
How to get ready for your first 100 days as CIO
Read more: cioblog.ey.com/2013/09/30/how-to-make-the-right-impactwhen-you-start-a-new-cio-role
The first 100 days in your new CIO post will be vital, so the more you can
do to be ready to hit the ground running, the greater your chances of
success. The period you have before taking up the post represents a golden
opportunity to really prepare for day one. Think carefully about how you’ll
do that — you may prefer a less formal approach, meeting with key figures
over lunch or a drink after work, or something more formal. This might even
mean spending a day or two in the office before you start the job.
Your objectives during the period before you formally take up the role
should be to:
• Understand the organization’s strategic direction — aim to acquire a
clear picture of where the company is now and where it wants to go
• Get to grips with its culture — judging the mood and tone of the organization
will be crucial as you work out how to approach it
potentially expose the company
Why preparation is everything
Getting the best possible start to your new CIO role — from the interview to
the first 100 days, via good preparation before you take up the post — will
make a huge difference to your chances of achieving your long-term goals
in the job. Miss the opportunity and there is a good chance you’ll spend
months or even years playing catch-up, struggling to set a clear vision, let
alone to persuade colleagues to help you get there. You may never have the
opportunity to achieve what you had hoped for.
CIOs can’t afford to take that risk. The job is simply too demanding for you
to get the start wrong. This is your chance to set your own roadmap for
success, and to win friendship and influence among the key players capable
of helping you along the journey.
• Identify the key stakeholders — work out which executives you need to
prioritize relationships with
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