What the CIO Wants You to Know (Part V): Reporting from the del Coronado

What do Marilyn Monroe, eleven U.S presidents, Charles Lindbergh, the Prince of Wales, and a humble DeveloperDotStar blogger have in common? They were all guests at the famous Hotel Del Coronado, built in 1888, located near San Diego. However, only the latter can claim to have visited during a CIO 100 Symposium. Shoulder-to-shoulder with the tasseled loafer set, how could I not be inspired to post another installment in this series? I might add that my attendance at a conference targeted to the technology elite was not happenstance. After sharing CIO perspectives here for almost a year, based primarily on daily interaction with one CIO in particular, I was pleased to be attending the conference to witness his acceptance of a CIO 100 award on behalf of our organization. Our organization was a speck among giants and it was all I could do not to be intimidated, especially since everything about the venue contributed to the aura of grandeur. L. Frank Baum (Wizard of Oz author) penned some of his books at The Del (as those-in-the-know fondly refer to the hotel) and designed the chandeliers in the Crown Room. The room is aptly named, as each chandelier is an illumination fit for a king (or CIO). The edifice itself conjured thoughts of a murder mystery, with an endless maze of hallways, massive staircase, proliferation of gleaming wood, and quaint elevators that enclose guests in a cage and justify numerous headcount to sustain operation. The CIO 100 awards night was a black-tie event that felt like Technology Oscars. Fortunately since there were 100 awards to be presented, recipients weren’t allowed to give a monologue of thanks. The company name was announced, followed by polite clapping. Occasionally rowdy clapping, if the organization brought along a table-full of employees. Heralding from the south and meeting most of the criteria for being called educated red necks, we made as much noise as three people can in polite company, with a little help from stranger-CIOs at our table who were rendered somewhat more enthusiastic by the free-flowing beverages. Speaking of stranger-CIOs, I went expecting a stiffer and less friendly set. Yes, occasionally I encountered the CIO, who upon learning you were an award recipient would ask rather bluntly, "What did you do to deserve the award?" followed by "What's special about that?" after hearing your elevator pitch. That was generally the exception. More often the CIOs were eager to share their own stories – like the fellow who was the top-tech for an au pair company, and another for a health supplement outfit that bore the name of NSA – a sure conversation starter. I couldn't help wondering why conferences are held at such beautiful resort locations. I suppose to get you there. So they get you there, and then you have no time to take a dip in the Olympic-sized pool or dredge your toes in the cool waters of the Pacific or gold-specked sand…unless you blow off some of the sessions. I missed precious few sessions, feeling it my moral obligation to attend and absorb. I will draw the substance of this post from the first morning's keynote, as I considered it the highlight of the first day. Bill Walsh, Professional Football Hall of Fame Coach, walked onto the stage while speakers blasted strains of Queen’s We are the Champions. His topic was "Embracing Innovation to Sustain Success." Skill Matters One might wonder to what degree professional football relates to the job of a CIO, but software developers might assume the link to be even more tenuous. I was astonished by the relevance of the speaker's advice. For example, the man responsible for leading the San Francisco Forty-Niners from Sport's Illustrated's list of worst to best sports franchises in a span of 5 years said this: "If you have skill, people can use you. If you don't and you fake it, you will be found out." "At one time if you knew the right buzz words, had an attractive spouse and attended the right dinner parties, you would get promotions. We've matured as a society and now people like this hit a brick wall by age 40." "If an employee is motivated to improve their own skill and expertise, they’re a good employee." Walsh described an elaborate effort to boost ticket sales shortly after he was hired for the Forty-Niners. A public fun-day was planned, including every kind of free food imaginable, donkey rides, games – every conceivable attraction to lure families to the site. Red bows were attached to the seats already sold and staff were on hand to help customers hand-pick their own seats. At the end of an exhausting day, Walsh looked for his marketing guy to get the final tally, only to learn that they sold a whopping 5 seats. Walsh bought 5 more himself just so he could report that they sold "in the double-digits." The moral of that story? It doesn't matter how you package it (or yourself): if you don't have a good product, people won't buy. Improve While You're Losing Walsh, who led his team to win five Super Bowls in 11 years, described a pivotal moment in his career when he broke down and cried quietly on the bus after a game. He felt he was instructing the team wisely and they were doing all the right things, but they continued to lose. He decided to finish out the year before resigning. Shortly after the lowest moment of his career, the wins started coming in, one after another. He explained simply: "We were improving while we lost." That's a hard one to process. In a society that expects instant gratification, sometimes it's hard to tell that you're on the upswing of the curve; that you're getting better, even when improvement feels like failure. Suppress the Ego Walsh's proudest achievement is that his leadership ultimately produced 14 men who later became head coaches in the NFL. He said, "If you're a CIO, you have to suppress your own ego to listen to the people who work for you or with you..." But this series is What the CIO Wants You to Know. Walsh's next statement was for us, the working stiffs who report to the CIO: "...And they have to suppress their ego when we don’t implement every idea they have." It Takes all Kinds Relating to the theme of innovation, Walsh admitted, "Whatever innovative ideas I had, I was probably over the edge most of the time and had to be reigned back in. I was thought of as the crazy professor a lot of the time. And likewise sometimes I had to respond to people on my staff with, 'That's a good idea, but there's a federal law against that.' If you have 10 employees, one or two will be creative but one or two might be institutional." It's good to have both employees who can envision the bright, crazy ideas, but also those who can provide a dose of reality when it's needed." Have a Contingency Plan, or Two, or Three "Pre-plan with contingencies for every situation you can think of…and openly discuss the plans. It's critical." The temperature was well below freezing and the opposing team’s fans were screaming expletives through megaphones pointed in the general direction of Walsh’s face. His mind was a blur with the cacophony. He couldn't think of any plays…all he could think about getting out of the cold. What saved him (and helped the team win the game) was having a contingency plan that he’d carefully developed before the game. This vivid image of work stress was not unlike the feeling in the pit of a technology worker’s stomach when facing a hard system failure: bad memory, suspect database, fried motherboard. Whether contingency planning involves football strategy or how to sustain business continuity during a disaster or what to do if a critical system isn't delivered on schedule, the formula is the same: preparation. Beware of Success Is failure your biggest fear? Consider the alternative. "We lost nine players out of 45 because they couldn’t handle euphoric success," Walsh said. "People can self-destruct when they’re ultimately successful." So what is the remedy? To fail? "The more success we had, the firmer a leader I was and the more I expected from them," said Walsh. Focus is critical, and never more so than following success. Lead Authentically "The players followed me because I knew what the h&*% I was doing. Leadership comes from being an expert in your field." Independently develop every employee so they feel like they can be the best there is, at what they're assigned. And change their assignments eventually. "You cannot influence people's minds – develop an attitude/atmosphere by giving one talk, or sending one memo. Today's leader must continually influence." Play Intensely "Don't be awed by the competition – by the stadium you're playing in or the team's reputation. Worse than that is having contempt for the competition. Play with the same intensity regardless of the score." These are Bill Walsh's words (more or less, considering the error-factor of a note-scribbler). Personally I am a huge admirer of software developers, CIOs, or housekeeping staff who "play intensely," at whatever task is at hand – not adjusting the effort expended to the importance of the client or how they're feeling that day. It's a tall order when you have more work than you can ever do. But if you're going to accept the responsibility of going out on the field, then play (code, manage, clean, work) intensely. Next Up I would love to report next on other highlights from the CIO 100, including a presentation from the CIO of Circuit City who encouraged the audience to "celebrate failures," and a rocket scientist (chief engineer, planetary flight systems for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory) who made the audience feel collectively dim-witted by contrast.