I used to be the Chief Punch Card Officer, Now I’m the CDO. Cool, right?
It’s the first half of the 20th century and punch-card based computers are showing some promise at providing fast solutions to math-based bureaucratic problems. You—an ambitious, forward-thinking individual—decide to align yourself with this technology. You see how your organization has a Chief Executive Officer, a Chief Finance Officer, and a handful of other “Chiefs” in the top management ranks. So what do you do? You position yourself as the Chief Punch-Card Officer.
A logical decision that pays off… until the 1940’s arrive and all those punch-cards you aligned yourself with are replaced by vacuum tubes.
Now you’re in a tough spot. Thankfully the solution is clear—just change your title to Chief Vacuum Tube Officer! Good call. You’re now safe for about 10 more years… until transistors are all the rage. But wait, after transistors have their time in the sun, along comes the integrated circuit, which quickly loses its luster to the microprocessor, and then… OK, OK, I think you get the point.
The world of IT keeps changing, and narrow systems-based identification only helps you out until the next hot-new-system hits the scene.
Our forbearers in the world of IT leadership saw this trend-based trap clearly. That’s why instead of identifying themselves with a single system, they chose to call themselves Chief Information Officers. The tech they implemented has come and gone. But information remains the cornerstone of what we manage. I suggest you hold this wisdom in mind—as well as the above facetious fictional chain of events—the next time you hear about a hot new management title for IT leaders. (Read more about the “CDO” title here.)
And for those of you without management ambitions, but who still want to thrive long-term in the world of IT, the message remains the same— some skills stick around, some skills go obsolete quickly. Sign up below for a free copy of my in-depth on the IT skills that will still be relevant 5, 10, and 50 years from now.
