Many CIOs in large companies operate according to a simple principle: don’t make any mistakes. This ‘safe-my-ass’ strategy may secure their position in the short term, but in the long run it poses the greatest threat to the company and their own career.
Why? Because it leads to stagnation.
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Those who only introduce technologies once they have long since become standard lose any chance of differentiation.
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Those who rely exclusively on the big vendors avoid criticism, but make themselves dependent and replaceable.
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Those who avoid risk at all costs do not create innovation – they create bureaucracy.
Enterprise Architecture as a prime example
Nowhere is this mentality more evident than in enterprise architecture.
Many CIOs reflexively turn to TOGAF: monolithic, complex – and above all, ‘everyone knows it’. It sounds like security, but it is often the opposite: a cumbersome approach that pays little attention to the individual reality of a company. Even if I only use certain aspects or ‘orientate’ myself towards it, I am already caught in a pseudo-pattern.
The big players in the market are also pushing for consolidation: anyone who buys there can be sure that no one on the board will question the decision. But this means giving up independence and differentiation.
The opposite would be a suitable meta-model for your own company. Not an off-the-peg template, but a framework that truly follows your own value creation logic. Such approaches still occupy a niche existence today – yet there are long-standing motivating examples of how pragmatic, lean EAM models can quickly take effect.
The truth is that real added value is created precisely where you have to use your brain. CIOs who dare to use niche approaches not only achieve faster results, but also gain a strategic advantage.
Why courage is the better strategy
Courage does not mean taking risks blindly. Courage means:
- asking uncomfortable questions (‘Why are we doing it this way?’)
- consciously working with smaller, innovative partners
- venturing into pilot projects where failure is not a stigma but a learning experience.
Peter Lieber calls for more courage from CIOs
The reward?
- The company gains speed and a competitive edge.
- The CIO himself becomes the driver of transformation – and remains relevant.
The biggest risk is not taking the courageous step – the biggest risk is irrelevance.
CIOs who only want to secure their own jobs will ultimately lose them for that very reason. CIOs who are bold in their approach create value – and a future.
So: less safe-my-ass. More courage.
