CIOs – Don’t fall for Greed Computing

For decades, IT has made Enterprises more performing by processing Information, automating processes, opening new opportunities channels, capturing real-time data, improving the collabaration of business partners, developping online value added services. This commitment of performance was driven by the necessity to be competitive, and beat other players in the same field of business. Being performant is contextual by nature as it is defined by the current market expectations. By and large, performance could be approached in term of market reach,  Product innovation, productivity or customer wealth.

The deregulation of financial markets have made Enterprises more focused on the immediate wealth of their shareholders, leading to define performance thru the financial value of their stock. If yesterday we could assist to executive meeting addressing new comers in the market, pricing strategy, product innovation, it is today more or less a matter of cash. The focus is not business anymore but money. As this statement could sounds like an old say, and something like “nothing new here”, it makes all the difference.

I’m a firm believer of passion at work, only passionate people accomplish incredible things. To lead a successfull business, you have to believe in it, fight for it, leave by it and eventually get money out of it. If money is the ultimate objective of business, what drive people to create and grow a business is the opportunity to leave an exceptional experience, what drive them is passion. If this is not the case, don’t waste your time as a business leader, go to the stock market, your passion might be money. This change in focus, from Business to money has created a new profile of the executive team leading to conceive businesses as a portfolio of share and considering the human factor as the major risk.

IT leaders have during years serve Enterprises for better business performance, this is what make them wake up every morning and fight for them. Today they are facing an important challenge: reducing the workforce thru IT, and eventually being considered as an important cost to curtail. Does it sound like passion anymore?

Related post: Creation of value is a true responsibility

Creation of Value is a true responsability

Any business leader working in Profit-organization is focused on value creation. However in these difficult times it could be useful to define precisely what it means, and check if we are not loosing sight of the reality.

According to several MBA books, creation of value is defined as a positive NPV (Net Present Value). Mainly driven by shareholders consideration, organizations have developped an incredible ability to satisfy them. And when the goal of these investors is becoming more and more short termist, organizations are following their expectations.

If, at the end, other parties are potentially receiving value ( customer, employee, community), “the Goal” of business is and stays money . If we can admit, in free markets, that it is legitimate for anyone who is ready to risk his own money to expect substantial return, we can feel uncomfortable if it is done with the destruction of value for other parties.

The current financial crisis exacerbates the conscequences of individual decisions. Within our global economy, and the associated restructuring and offshoring of operations, millions of people have lost their job and the possibility to find others opportunities are decreasing day after day. This, in return creates greater fragility of our economy and our ability to consume, hence decreasing our potential for growth.

Every leader has a responsibility whilst making an individual decision. Creation of value happen today in a world fully connected. If we are not thinking outside the shareholder paradigm, the conscequences of our actions could destroy more value that our generation has created.