Fostering Innovation

28What Should I Work on First?

Around 10 years ago, I was at a CIO networking event, and there was a newly minted CIO in the room. He was new to his company and new to the role of CIO. Before we were even seated for dinner, someone casually asked the new CIO what he was working on. His answer made us cringe: “Oh, everything. It's a mess. We need a new ERP, a new POS, new marketing tools, and on and on.” A grizzled and well-respected CIO confidently replied, “You shouldn't do any of that in your first year. It's too much to take on when you're new.” The veteran CIO continued, “When it goes wrong, they're going to blame you.” The new CIO was incredulous and asked, “Well then, what should I do first?” The answer made me laugh and changed my perspective forever: “You should get your executives Blackberries.”

We've already explored the role IT has in delivering value to an organization. To succeed in creating value, we need to build credibility, limit how much we take on at once, and properly sequence projects so that logical prerequisites are completed first. Today's equivalent to “getting executives Blackberries” is creating value with low-risk, high reward projects. Prioritizing a project that benefits the executive team or your new business partners is ideal; this will help you establish essential relationships and build trust.

Use the matrix shown in Figure 28.1 to evaluate projects.

Figure 28.1: Project Prioritization Evaluation Matrix

If a project has low reward and ...