Why is it that our CIOs, no matter how much overtime they put in, working day and night, always seem to have an endless amount of work? Why is it that no matter how fast this "locomotive" represented by the CIO runs, the effectiveness of the company's information management never seems to improve? Many CIOs are currently facing this dilemma: on one hand, feeling frustrated for constantly playing the role of a firefighter, tirelessly putting out fires; on the other hand, struggling to find a way out.
In fact, this is a phase that technical personnel must go through when growing into a company’s CIO. It just takes longer for some people and shorter for others. As a CIO, one must learn to break through this bottleneck; otherwise, they will not be able to handle the responsibilities of the CIO position.
The author has also gone through this step-by-step process. During my personal development, I also spent some time as a “firefighter.” Regarding how CIOs can break through this “firefighter” role, I do have some insights. Below, I’ll share these insights to offer some help to those who need it.
1. Third-rate employees, second-rate managers, first-rate processes.
The saying goes: third-rate employees, second-rate managers, and first-rate processes — this is the classic philosophy behind the success of many foreign companies. Take KFC or McDonald's, for example, why are they so successful? In reality, their employees don't necessarily have high levels of education. However, the reason they are so successful, in my opinion, lies in their excellent process management. Let me elaborate...