The Transformational CIO: Leadership and Innovation Strategies for IT Executives in a Rapidly Changing World

Demonstrating Value

Rebuilding and restructuring his leadership team sent an important message to the rest of the IT organization—and to the business leaders in the company. At Kimberly-Clark, however, Ramón knew that he had to do more to change the company's general perception of IT.

In the old days, IT would just send someone to work in a business unit and the business leader would have no say in choosing that person. We decided that before placing IT people in the business units, we would ask the business leaders to participate in the selection process. That way, the businesses would have skin in the game and they would know that we were serious about creating value for them.

I remember the first time that I sent e-mails to the business presidents and I said, “I have some folks lined up for you to interview.” I got e-mails back from the presidents—they couldn't believe it! They said, “You want us to be part of the selection process?” And I said, “Yes, that's how it's supposed to work. That's how we operate.” The business presidents were amazed. They found it very refreshing. It was a big step forward for the IT organization.

Ramón also knew that it was critical to re-establish the credibility of IT as a trusted business partner. “We needed to demonstrate that we could execute on projects on schedule, on time, and on quality,” says Ramón. “That last part, ‘on quality,’ was the most important.”

In other words, being a true partner wasn't just a matter of sticking to budgets and ...