“Why don’t they pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting anybody from learning anything?
“If it works as well as prohibition did, in five years Americans would be the smartest race of people on Earth.” —Will Rogers
I was talking to the CIO at one of our client banks the other day and asked him how it was going. His response was, “I’m at a full sprint 24X7 to avoid getting any farther behind.” When I commented that he sounded pretty overwhelmed, he laughed and said he left overwhelmed behind about six months ago.
I don’t think many CIOs we work with would say anything much different. Fraud issues/required investments … vendor management regulations … a multitude of system releases/upgrades … acquisitions/mergers … new technologies … mobile employees … information demands … oh, and it’s going to be a lean year so can you keep the budget at 5% over last year? Man, it’s enough to make you want to shut the door, head for a remote southern hemisphere beach, close your eyes, assume the lotus position, try and remember your mantra from college days and take a serious stab at finding that elusive chakra.
To say the least, there has never been less time for CIOs to get away for seminars, schools and other means of learning about everything new on the technology front. It has also never been more important to do so, and (ironically) it has never been harder. The reason I say that is because many of the key areas where CIOs need better knowledge are those where the technology is so new the “experts” that run the seminars are still in the process of figuring out the whole subject themselves.
So, what should a CIO target in terms of education for the next 12 months? What are specific areas of knowledge and new skills that are at the top of the list? Here in the Land of Gonz, we have done some pondering and would humbly submit a CIO Curriculum for 2008 (or what’s left of it). In no particular order of importance:
Where to get it? Probably conferences, particularly those sponsored by or with heavy participation from the regulatory agencies.
Where to get it? Again, it’s probably conferences dedicated to the topic and meetings with core/Internet banking vendors.
Where to get it? Probably from vendors via conferences and other education opportunities, then peers for success stories.
“Now there must be a better way to educate, cause this way ain’t working like it should.
Can’t they just invent a pill or frozen concentrate
that makes you smarter … ”
—Twisted Sister, “Be Chrool To Your School”
Where to get it? There are several training groups and professional organizations that are focused on project management and the related skills/methodologies required.
Where to get it? Local colleges, professional organizations, maybe the local bar association.
These are five suggestions we would make based on our travels in the bank world. If you want to give this list the stink eye, fine. Just come with up with your own list and pursue it.
We all know there’s no time for this, and we all know that there’s no better time for this. To the CEO reading this article – make your CIO spend at least 10 days this year just on education. Make them.
Because we all have the same vision, one that was so eloquently uttered by Dan Quayle: “We’re going to have the best-educated American people in the world.” ’Nuff said.
—tr