Would I like to be a COO? Sure... why not?

I asked myself a question - Why can I not be a COO? 

This further raised a plethora of related questions -  How am I different? Am I not expected to have all the traits as any category "C" business executive? Am I not considered to be a business executive? Am I not expected to understand and contribute to the business? Am I not held responsible for the business outcome? So... how am I any different than any other category "C" business executive? Why am I treated differently?  

Well... today, as a CIO, I am expected to run IT as a Business and NOT Cost Center. I am suppose to charge back for all IT Services and Systems to end users / verticals / business units across the organization. I am suppose to convince ("sell") the IT Services charge back. Run it (IT) as a Business... I am told. 

If I run IT as a "business" with defined Service Level Agreement (SLAs) with my users, rather let us call them customers; if I classify my customers as "Class A", "Class B" and likewise and define the response time and issue resolution time based on the customer class; if I measure, monitor and publish the SLA performance on a routine basis (very similar to the quarterly results that the COO is responsible to delivery), also measure and monitor the performance of the other components of the "business" - networks availability, server availability, minimize unplanned downtime and maximize uptime; if I provide solutions and services (applications and infrastructure) to my customers to satisfy their need to carry out their businesses effective and efficiently (again very similar to the COO); if I am expected to respond to the changing needs of my customers (well the customers call it business changes, another similarity to the COO / CEO's role) and for me "change" in constant then am also I not playing the role of a Chief Operating Officer (COO) or maybe even a Chief Executive Officer (CEO)? 

Am I not responsible for the IT Business in the similar manner as the CEO is responsible for the success and failure of the organization as per the expectations set by the board of directors. Am I not the CEO of the IT Business though it is internal in nature?

Well... one can argue.. - but then I do not have the "feel" of the "real" customer of the organization. Well... do all the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) have that exposure to the "real" customer of the organization, perhaps not everybody, but the number of CFOs promoted to COOs and CEOs is much more, is it not? Of course....the COOs and CEOs themselves "acquire" the requisite  understanding / knowledge over a period of time and so would the CFO, right? Then why not the CIO too can acquire the same knowledge domain?

It is an accepted business truth today that, IT is expected to be more receptive to changes than others parts of the organization. Now this exactly works in the favor of the CIO,  this orientation toward change allows a CIO to take a complete fresh look and new perspective at areas of operations wherein  the CIO can actually drive down or even drive out the cost and deliver better service to the "real" customer. Also, is the CIO not expected to "document" all the "as-is" and "expected-to-be" business processes in the organization?

The fact is - with the cloud computing and mobility and all the consumer technology, technology will continue to move to center stage. Furthermore... today with all the discussions / events / conferences around "BIG Data" and storage, database structure, data extracting tools which are beyond the available and traditional conventional database structure, the role of the CIO is expected become complex (traditional CIOs be happy that there CIO role is not going away), but for the more adventurous CIOs this an fantastic opportunity. The business needs - to  understand the real customer better, of extracting customer insights, of mapping the customer preferences, to be able to cross-sell and up-sell products and services, the need for effective, efficient and more importantly flexible business processes, can make the change. So, data is business and the key success factor for the business - about world-class internal and external processes, about customers, about employees.

So, why cannot the custodian of the data and this key success factor for the business have a shot at the COO role in an organization? It is only CIO who can deliver all of the above to the organization / management and board of directors. 

If the CIO is able to deliver the business results (the probability of doing so is the same for any other  category "C" executive) then I, the CIO, deserve to be given a chance. So... it is time to change, change this time in the attitude and approach by the management / board of directors at looking at the CIO role. There is no point in just saying as most management do - "change is a ONLY constant".

Then where is the problem? Well... the problem is - CIOs simply do not volunteer to take over additional responsibility, additional roles in the organization. Now, is it the fear of rejection or is it the fear of been the "first" of the CIO kind to ask for it or is just the top management or the board of directors's perspective that it is too silly for a CIO to even make an attempt at ask to be a COO?

Would I like be a COO? Sure.... why not? I am willing to take up the challenge and keep things running while realizing the vision for the future. The question is - would you like to give me a chance?