What Time Is It in Tokyo?
Globalization ensures that IT departments work around the clock. As companies diversify into foreign markets, business leaders expect CIOs to manage systems at remote locations just as they would those at home. Overseeing work in multiple time zones increases not only a job's travel requirements but also the length of the workday. According to work-life consultant Yost, this can be particularly problematic for CIOs.
"A CIO is tasked with using constantly changing technology to achieve a corporate strategy that is most likely global and therefore 24/7," says Yost. "The primary question is: 'How do I manage technology and time zones to get my work done and have a personal life, instead of technology and time zones managing me?'"
Tom Conophy, executive vice president and CIO at the InterContinental Hotels Group, has logged plenty of flight time. InterContinental has hotels in 100 countries, and Conophy handles technology and operations for all of them. He's responsible for 750 IT professionals worldwide and regularly works between 80 and 90 hours a week. Overall, Conophy estimates that he's logged more than 1 million air miles since he joined the company 14 months ago. His most common route is between his office in Windsor, England, and the company's US headquarters in Atlanta. He also flies regularly to properties in the Far East. Conophy stays on top of his responsibilities by staying productive in the air (see "Leaving on a Jet Plane", sidebar at end of story). He works on his laptop until the batteries run out, then he catches up on his work-related reading. He also sketches on graph paper; he says some of his best system designs have been created in the air.
"Airplane time is quiet time since the phone isn't ringing and e-mails aren't pouring in," he says. "Of course, once I get to where I'm going, I jack in, upload what I've accomplished and get moving at full speed all over again."
The Expanding Manager
As IT moves from supporting the business to driving its growth, CIOs and other senior technology leaders have taken on more responsibilities. It's not uncommon for CIOs to act in another executive capacity, perhaps as COO or CSO. For these leaders, a 50-hour workweek won't suffice.
Sometime around 5am, well before the orange sun crests the blue horizon east of Massachusetts Bay, John Halamka rises to begin his day. From his home office, the physician and CIO of both the CareGroup and Harvard Medical School logs on to the corporate network, checks his e-mail and dives into work. By 8am, he has gobbled his breakfast and penned concepts for a strategic plan. Then he heads for the office.
Halamka's responsibilities have grown exponentially over the past few years. He is now responsible for 40,000 users, 110 terabytes of data and 16,000 computers. He multi-tasks wherever he goes. During a recent interview, he shared a photo of himself at the top of a 4000-metre mountain with his BlackBerry, handling a major controversy about personal health records standards during a break on a hiking trip.
"Being a CIO is like being an actor in a play; you never step out of character," he offers. "I can never say: 'It's Saturday at 3am and mission-critical systems don't exist.' So I've learned to work responsibilities into my everyday life."
He heads home most nights around 6pm for dinner with his wife and 14-year-old daughter but fires up the computer again after 8pm, answering e-mail and working for two more hours before practising a Japanese flute to wind down for the night. It's a 16- to 18-hour day. He says he wouldn't have it any other way.
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.