Freaks And Geeks And The Need For a Hybrid
Why nobody should give a damn about a traditional org chart anymore
I am sitting at a table, I am wearing at least two extra layers of deodorant and my hands are sweating. I am a little nervous because I am completely out classed. I am trying to look very engaged while trying my hardest to not blurt out something stupid.
It’s a big round table, to my left is a senior editor for Forbes and to my right is the former CIO of the United States — he is now a senior VP for emerging markets and verticals at Salesforce.com. To round out the table is a Senior VP of Strategy and a handful of top-of-their-game analyst.
They are debating the future power struggle of CIO’s and CMO’s as the digital era continues to explode and decimate the efficiency and functionality of a traditional corporate org chart. It’s a great topic, they want to know who will emerge with the control.
After maybe ten minutes the former US CIO turns to me and says “You aren’t saying anything, what do you think?” “I… uh…” I pause. I tell myself there is no shame in looking like an idiot in front of many of our countries greatest business minds, but I know there is.
I take a deep breath, the kind I imagine you take right before you jump out of a perfectly good airplane and then I tell them, “I think you are asking the wrong question”. Yeah… probably a dumb move.
“Bear with me for one minute” I tell them. “You are debating which role is more suited to take the reins of the digital era and optimize it. Our assumptions, while many, are generally built on the idea that the roles of CMO and CIO represent a skill-set-silo optimized for their very different roles.”
“But see, I don’t believe this is about roles at all. This is about people and a new breed of thinkers and personalities. It’s about a bracket-busting mix of skills ranging from technologist to sociologist with just enough psychology to be dangerous. The title and role is irrelevant in the digital era, only execution matters and execution will come from leadership and a mix of skills no traditional methods of teaching or academic institutions are keeping up with.”
An analyst interrupts… “ok… so where do you find these people? What are they doing now… what do they look like?”
At that moment I realize there is no way I am going to come up with an eloquent answer so I do what I always do when I am put on the spot… I tell him what I really think.
“They are passionate Techy-People-People”, I tell him… “again… give me a min to explain. We have built a world of silky customer-facing talkers, marketers and advertisers contrasted by cubicle dwelling, coffee stained, genius, nerds. One understands the customer psychology and the other sees magical connections in raw data. One understands the irrationality of consumers is very exploitable and the other sees order in chaos through patterns and statistical absolutes.”
“To harness the digital era, to master the newly coined position of Chief Digital Officer you need to be a master of both worlds… you must be part nerdy tech… but you also have to be a people person. CMO’s and CIO’s are each optimized for half the puzzle. What we are witnessing is not a power struggle but an evolution.”
“Data is more than numbers and figures now, it can tell the true story of a persons life, their hopes and dreams, their deepest desires, fears and insecurities. The digital era is full of moral grey areas and integrity land mines yet can easily hold the answers to many of the world’s most daunting problems.”
“The leaders of this era have to rise to the challenge; they have to break the silos and valued skill sets of the past. The best person for the job is not a traditional CIO or CMO, it will be a new breed of Techy-People-People.”
At this point in the conversation somebody came in and basically said it was time for the important people to leave for their speaking engagements. One of the analyst asked me for my card and asked if he could quote me on the whole “Techy-People-People thing” and then gestured to shake my hand… my cold, wet, clammy hand. I realized any impression I could have left was about to be erased by a handshake I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. I shook his hand, sighed and watched everyone walk away as I thought — I am probably the only one who will remember this conversation.
Nathan Mueller is founder and CEO of ScaleStation and ScaleStation Foundation. Twitter: @natejmueller
Essays: www.medium.com/@natejmueller
