Moving from cost-cutter to an entrepreneur is tricky, warns Gartner

The analyst advises that the recession has had virtually every IT organisation operating in 'keep the lights on' mode for the last two years, and warns that many are now ill-equipped to support growth. "For IT leaders, entrepreneurial growth, and the shift from a problem-focused organisation to one that is opportunity-focused requires more planning and execution than simply changing the organisation chart," states Jorge Lopez, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "Entrepreneurial IT organisations must maintain a dual focus: achieving ambitious growth, while running the current business. Both are critically important to the mission of the organisation," he adds. Gartner identifies "two key tools" that CIOs should employ to satisfy companies' increasing ambitions for growth. First is the 'Entrepreneurial Scope Assessment Framework', a tool that enables CIOs and others to evaluate the magnitude of the opportunity and helps them to understand the scope of the task facing IT. Second is the 'Strategic Change Road Map', which helps managers to assess priority tasks as they change business focus. It delineates today's situation, compared against the desired future and identifies the changes that will transform today's organisation, infrastructure, processes and mind-sets into tomorrow's state. "The greatest conflict faced by entrepreneurial CIOs will be the tension between the team that is focused on the entrepreneurial opportunities and the team that is focused on 'keeping the lights on'," insists Lopez. "Both must function effectively in an environment of elevated risk. Failing on either responsibility is unacceptable and highly dangerous for the business."