Jennifer Scanlon is Vice President and CIO of USG Corporation, and one of the winners of this year’s “WITI Excellence in Corporate IT Leadership” Award in Chicago. As CIO, her responsibility is to establish the technological vision of her company. Yet it takes more than just a tech savvy knowledge base to do this. It entails leadership responsibilities as well.

“Technology alone does not comprise a vision,” says Scanlon. “Leaders understand that a single tool cannot provide a vision. It is what a leader plans to do with the tools in his or her arsenal that becomes the vision.”

However, executing a vision is not an easy process. It requires determination, communication, planning, and patience. Scanlon learned this first hand at USG through the management of LinX. This was a four-year project that positioned USG to improve customer satisfaction and increase operational efficiencies across manufacturing, sales, supply-chain, and customer service functions. LinX implemented Oracle-based solutions across over 70 North American sites.

Through projects such as LinX, Scanlon has accrued significant knowledge on just how to implement a vision. Recently, she reviewed her practices and was able to outline them into a five-step execution process.

Large Projects Leadership: Vision and Execution

Leadership requires a call to action and a sense of urgency to support the vision. The vision has to articulate an aspiration that people want to attain. The simpler it is, the better it will be. This is especially true concerning technology topics, which few people outside of IT really want to hear.

A single page can become a simple story of how technology could be used to fulfill an aspiration. A single sentence should clearly illustrate the situation: for example: “Our customers have high expectations. Not only do we need to meet them, we must exceed them.”

Often the single page can become “the million dollar slide.” Every IT leader in corporate America needs a “million dollar slide.” It is the slide that can be referenced time and time again to demonstrate and justify why the requested funding is needed to fulfill a specific vision and deliver specific results.
Of course, once the million dollar slide is achieved, a simple vision statement must follow. The Vision Statement should fit on a 3x5 card. There is comfort in three ideas distilled into three bullets. I worked for a visionary leader who insists that there is magic in threes and always explained her vision in threes. There is elegance in simplicity. The simpler the vision is, the better.

Many people like to point to JFK’s vision statement of “a man on the moon by the end of the decade” as a prime example of simplicity and clarity. The task and execution were anything but simple; however, the statement was short and to the point.

While setting the vision, the opportunity to brand the project arises. Quite frankly, whatever name you choose to call the project is a relatively benign decision. However, not naming a project will haunt a leader. A leader does not want his or her vision to be named after someone or something else. Allowing a visionary project to be labeled “Jenny’s project” or “the Oracle project” or “the IT of the future” will kill interest in it before it is even off the ground. A colleague who was president of a large insurance entity once said to a group of us “you gotta name the dog, to love the dog.” I agree – a vision deserves a title.

Execution

It sounds easy. And typically, vision is much easier than execution. The real leaders are the ones who can get it done.

Execution Premise #1 – What problem are we trying to solve?

I ask this question so often I like to think that I originated it, but I didn’t. At every step of a project, your team will need to know exactly what problem they need to solve. A good leader keeps them focused only on solving the problem. A weak leader will let the team ultimately meander and nothing will be solved.

It is imperative a leader directs a team by articulating and quantifying what problem it is they really want to solve. This is not hard – there are a lot of techniques. The simplest technique was taught to me at IBM 15 years ago and was probably titled “Solution Selling 101.” It’s not magic – it is asking “why?” five times in succession.

Five “whys” is usually the most it takes to identify the real problem. Then, the team needs to quantify what it is worth to the company to solve the real problem.
At USG, we developed a set of project objectives in 2003 for LinX. These objectives never changed. We reviewed them at every executive committee meeting and board meeting. We used them to remind our teams why we were working on the project. We ignored everything else that did not help us achieve one of these objectives.

Objectives must be definable and measurable. Leaders define and measure. That is how you keep score during execution.

Execution Premise #2 – “Vendors Lie. Software doesn’t work.”

I say this a lot. I know that everyone in IT thinks it. The phrase came from my husband years ago (and I don’t always remember to credit him). Let me explain: you might think that a simple problem should mean a simple solution. It frequently doesn’t. For example, to implement three basic software modules that supported six clear customer satisfaction and operational efficiency objectives, we required over 200 reports, interfaces, conversions, and extensions – all expensive custom code. It is rarely a simple turnkey solution when dealing with the scale of a Fortune 500 company. Don’t let any vendor convince you, your staff or your peers that their software alone solves all of your problems.

Execution Premise #3 – “Trust one who has gone through it.”—Virgil. This is also subtitled “you don’t gets (SIC) to be a saint for being stupid”.

Complex projects require a lot of talent. It would be naïve to believe that one partner or one firm could or should provide a single source of talent. I believe it would actually be dereliction of duty to only use one source. Real leaders understand this and are not afraid to surround themselves with people who are smarter than they are. Real leaders also know how to get the top talent to work together.

Execution Premise #4 – “Bad News Can’t Wait”

I learned this phrase from one of my best role models. Every leader experiences at least one pivotal moment when the game plan is not working and needs the facts and the information ASAP. That is why as a leader I tell people all of the time “bad news can’t wait.” People frequently walk into my office and say “do you want the good news first or the bad news first?” I always respond with “the bad.” Even more importantly, if your team or your sponsors aren’t aware of even the potential for the bad news, YOU AS A LEADER HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO TELL THEM – HONESTLY AND DIRECTLY. This isn’t fun or easy. I have found the team members and co-workers whom I count on the most are those who come to me to tell me something that I need to know, but didn’t really want to hear.
Execution Premise #5 – “The Soft Stuff is the Hard Stuff”--Michael Hammer

This sounds trite, but it really is true. Large projects are not just technology projects. They are strategic business projects with a significant technology component and significant organizational change management.

As leaders you need to respect that the “soft stuff” can and will blindside you. You need to find ways to keep your finger on the pulse of your audience. You need a well orchestrated communications plan. You need clear training documents that train people how to perform business processes, not execute a software module. You need feedback mechanisms for your audience to raise issues. You will also need to be able to respond quickly when a mutiny occurs, because they are so common. The best leaders anticipate them occurring and take steps to prevent them from happening.
As leaders, find experts who can educate you in recognizing an impending mutiny before it occurs.

Conclusion

Daniel Burnham, the brilliant architect behind much of Chicago’s history said “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will themselves not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die.”

As leaders, you need to think big. Once you get it done, then think bigger.
Real leaders are unfulfilled if they envision and execute the next big thing. And remember, a good friend and mentor says “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.”