A Practical Approach to Presenting to the Board of ......This presentation, including any supporting materials, is owned by Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and is for the sole

CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARYThis presentation, including any supporting materials, is owned by Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and is for the sole use of the intended Gartner audience or other intended recipients. This presentation may contain information that is confidential, proprietary or otherwise legally protected, and it may not be further copied, distributed or publicly displayed without the express written permission of Gartner, Inc. or its affiliates. © 2018 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Ian Cox

A Practical Approach to Presenting to the Board of Directors for CIOs

1 © 2018 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Objective:

Avoid "Bored"

Diplomatic

Brief

Open

Accurate

Relevant


Key Issues

1. How can CIOs respond to the board's increased focus on

technology as a competitive weapon?

2. Which CIO communication practices are most effective with

the board?

3. How can CIOs both steer and respond to the board's strategic

questions?


Key Issues




the board?


questions?


CIO guesses or gives them what they asked for, but did not want 2

Board avoids CIO or asks a minimal

number of questions

Board feels uncertain about technology; CIO feels uncertain about

the board

1

Board and CIO discomfort increases;

cycle repeats itself

4

Boards and CIOs Often Fall Into a Vicious Cycle of Communications …

3


In 2017-18 Growth and Technology Are Top CEO Priorities

n = 388, CEOs and Sr. Business Executives

[Ranked by Mentioned Within Top Three Mentions — Percentage of Respondents]

Growth

58%

IT-Related

31%

Corporate

23%

Product

20%

Marketing

8%

Workforce

16%

Financial

16%

CostManagement

11%

Sales

6%

QualityImprovements

7%

Customer

21%

GRC

7%

"Please tell us about your organization's top 5 strategic business priorities for the next 2 years (2017-2018)."


Board Rule for Messaging:

The Board Only Cares About Three Things

But boards can be challenging to engage in quality conversations about these subjects:

Operating or nonoperatingincome

Enhance nonrevenuemission objectives

Revenue/Mission

Future cost avoidance

Immediate decrease in operating expensesCost

Regulatory complianceand security

Infrastructure reliability Innovation Brand

Risk


Key Issues




the board?


questions?


The CIOs Approach Will Vary Based on the Category of Board Meeting and Objective

Secondary

Objective

Primary

Objective

Level Full Board

Funding Direction

Request for Approval

IT Overview

Project

Status

Education Co-Creation

Strategic Discussion


Board Rule for Approvals:

Decide What You Want

Determine if your board is a one-stage or

multistage board or situation

State the specific request first, not last

Do not make the sales pitch bigger than

the request

Don't sell past the close

What Are You Requesting and Why?

Funding

Request for Approval

Direction

Lay the groundwork

Present options as a cut/choose

Finalizethe ask


Board Rule for Status:

What Do You Want Them to Feel, Remember and Do?

Feel: It is not the CIO's job to be objective, it

is the CIO's job to tell the story

Remember: If they remember nothing else

from your interaction with them, what one

thing do you want them to remember?

Do: What actions do you want the board or

executive team to take as a result of your

interaction with them?

Board Presentations Are Not About What the CIO Wants Them to Think

ITOverview

Status

Project


Board Rulefor Feel:

Never Show the Board Data Without Interpreting Itfor Them

What Kind of Story Is This?

Good

news or

bad? Getting

better or

worse?High or

low

impact?


Board Rule for Remember:

Always Show Data in Context

Revenue Trend

What Is the Story Over Time and Players?

Headcount


Board Rulefor Do:

After Reporting Bad News, There Should Always Be an Ask

What do you need to get to green and can the board actually help you get it?

What Will You Ask for If theStatus Is Red?


Board Rule:

The Answer to Most Board QuestionsIs a trade-off

Example Board Question: "Are We Secure?"

Technology and

Practices

Insurance Coverage

Resiliency Fund

Risk Mitigation Portfolio


Key Issues




the board?


questions?


Strategic Discussions

The board's questions have evolved along this path:

Then they ask the CIO to tell them what their question means.

The CIO-Board Conversation Journey Toward Digital Business

Education

Strategic Discussion

Co-Creation

Why is IT so expensive?

Are we secure and compliant?

Why can't IT move faster?

Why can't we have competitive advantage from IT?

Why can't we be a digital company?


Boards Need CIOs to Explain the Meaning of Their Questions

Question the board asks What they mean Answer and use pre-emptive tactics

What is X, what should our

approach to X be?

We don't know what bad, good

or great looks like

Definition and big picture representation of what

the enterprise currently has, and specifically how

it got that way

Interpreting and answering board questions is a process

Why do we need X, or why

is X that way?

We don't know how to make

decisions about this

Map business capabilities to X and describe

limitations of the current state

How does X work? Tell us how it works so we can

tell you what to do

Educate, demonstrate, and create framework

story to guide the conversation

What are our options

regarding X?

Help us figure out the flexibility

and levers we have

Co-create and negotiate the strategic story,

through a persistent focus on cost/value/risk

tradeoffs of the different options

Strategic Questions

about X

We are now comfortable and

know how to have a quality

conversation about this

Reinforce the strategic story by asking and

answering key strategic questions that drive

toward the co-created business outcomes


Guide Digital Business Board Conversations Along the Path

Question the board asks What they mean

What is digital, what should our approach to becoming

a digital business be?

We don't know what bad, good or great looks like.

Digital conversations illustrate the full transformation of IT from service provider to business partnership and leadership

Why do we need digital, or why is digital that way? We don't know how to make decisions about this

How does a digital business work? Tell us how it works so we can tell you what to do

What are our digital options? Help us figure out the flexibility and levers we have

Strategic Questions for digital We are now comfortable and know how to have a

quality conversation about this


Remember the correct spelling of “Board”

Connect everything to the three things the Board cares about:

– Revenue/Mission

– Cost

– Risk

Recognize the type of interaction and apply the appropriate rules and

techniques

Recommendations


For more information, stop by the Experts Desk in the CIO Lounge.

Recommended Gartner Research

A Board Narrative to Transform Operational Risk and Cybersecurity Into a

Business Service

Paul E. Proctor, Jeffrey Wheatman and Others (G00329451)

Board-Ready Slides for Cybersecurity and Technology Risk Sample Narrative —

Progress Update

Rob McMillan, Paul E. Proctor and Jeffrey Wheatman (G00319141)

CIOs Emphasize Value, Not Technology, When Communicating Strategy to

the Board

Heather Colella (G00337499)

Digital Business KPIs: Defining and Measuring Success

James Michael Anderson and Paul E. Proctor (G00341667)

A Practical Approach to Strategic Thinking on Enterprise Value for CIOs

Tina Nunno (G00317301)

https://www.gartner.com/document/3731517





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A Practical Approach to Presenting to the Board of ......This presentation, including any supporting materials, is owned by Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and is for the sole