The IT leaders who make up the CIO Executive Council are finding themselves more often called upon to address their companies’ boards of directors. For many this is an alien environment, full of high-powered, short-attention-span execs with little affinity for technology. CIOs want to learn how to be more effective in their communications with the board. We turned to some of our more board-seasoned members for insights in wowing the board.
1. Know the players. Jeff O’Hare, senior vice president of enterprise information technology at $2.3 billion business process outsourcing provider West Corp., researches the background of each board member and then uses this information to frame his board presentations and follow-up conversations. O’Hare focuses his information gathering on areas like functional experience; industry; company size; and comfort with risk. "For example, when I was making a presentation to a board with heavy finance and operations experience, I made sure to include an appendix of highly detailed financials", shares O’Hare.
It’s also wise to learn the director’s particular hot buttons - what particularly gets them riled up, adds Marc West, former CIO at H&R Block. West recommends the CEO as a good source for backgrounds on members.
2. Develop ongoing personal relationships. Pamela Rucker, vice president of IT at PSC, LLC, holds pre-meetings with individuals from the PSC executive board to learn about their points of view. She also uses the pre-meetings as an opportunity for them to ask questions and air any concerns in a private setting. Rucker estimates spending 20 percent of her board interaction time in these one-on-one meetings. Due to their regularity, she can then treat the formal board presentation as more of a status check. "The actual board meeting can’t be the first time that you’re telling the board about changes or plans, or they’re going to feel blindsided", she says. "Sometimes, I may have to present information three different ways in three different meetings in order for everyoneto get it", Rucker notes.
How does a CIO get the attention and time of individual board members? For directors who are executives from her own company, the face time happens in monthly IT Steering Committee meetings they attend. For board members from outside the company, Rucker first watched for their particular interests during board meetings, then established a rapport with them around those topics. She also leveraged third-parties.
David Webb, formerly CIO, now chief operations officer at SVB Financial Group, also feels strongly that engaging the board isn’t just a quarterly, formal interaction. "You need to want more interaction and find ways to do so. If you don’t, you won’tbuild that relationship", he says. Access to board members becomes easier over time. "The first call is always the hardest. If you have difficulty making a cold call, have the CEO clear the path for you", he recommends.
3. Get feedback from your board buddy. Twila Day, CIO at $33 billion food company SYSCO, has developed a sounding board within the board. She pings a couple of select board members prior to her presentations to give them a preview. Day went to meet one-on-one with a new board member that had a strong technology background. When a second member was appointed with similar technology experience, Day asked if she could send both of them her presentations ahead of time for their input. This peer review helps Day make sure her message is getting across in the right way.
4. Get organized. O’Hare’s primary objective in a board presentation is to get across the right message to each board member. He has found that buy-in is usually stronger when members feel that they have actively contributed to developing the solution. "This way I can demonstrate that an objective and thoughtful approach was used in resolving the problem", he explains. "I’ve also found that having different ways to solve a problem is a good way to prepare for the eventual questions."
5. Get to the point. When Webb begins to construct his board presentation, he thinks to himself: "How do I get my point across so board members understand in the first thirty seconds?" Day is not big on PowerPoint presentations and strives to keep her presentations concise. She uses bullet points and makes sure not to get into the weeds on any one topic. O’Hare also abides by the "less is more" sentiment. He uses an executive summary at the beginning to grab the board’s attention.
West advises that presenters focus on only the top five things that matter. Keep it to a 10 minute discussion, he suggests. "Understand when you‘ve closed the sale - and then shut up!", says West.
6. Profitability is the end-goal. "CIOs really have to think like a CEO when presenting to the board", says O’Hare. "For example, it’s not IT cutting costs; it’s about how this cost savings idea fits into the overall cost model and positively contributes to competitive margin." This is what board members want to hear about. As a career development tool, O’Hare regularly involves senior members of his team in prepping for board meetings and providing input on the presentation. One of O’Hare’s senior vice presidents commented that he has learned more in one year of such high-level involvement than he has in 5-10 year spans of his career. O’Hare says: "Focusing on the thought behind the message and how to position it to the board is a skill that will give my team ahead start on future strategic positions."
Carrie Mathews is senior manager, member services, for the CIO Executive Council.