2020 CIO Agenda - Winning in the turns | by Gartner

2020 CIO Agenda “Winning in the turns – how to win during crisis and transformation” is the theme for 2020. Read the full report here - 2020 CIO Agenda - Winning in the turns

Key findings:

1. CIOs are uniquely positioned to help their organizations thrive following a crisis. This year, Gartner classifies organizations into 2 types
2. FIT – Enterprises that came out ahead of crisis (such as acquisitions, cost pressures, possible economic downturn, growing trade wars, digital disruption and changes in consumer demand) that erode the fundamentals of running a business are identified as “fit”
3. FRAGILE – Enterprises that came our behind and suffer permanent structural damage are identified as “fragile”
4. Organizations approach to crisis through battening down the hatches (by cost cutting or risk reduction) may get hurt.
5. Fit enterprises emerge from these events are stronger, more competitive, able to fund business initiatives, attract the right talent, and so on.
6. FIT enterprises revenues increased by 5% CAGR where as FRAGILE enterprises grew only at 3.5% CAGR over the last 3 years
7. Organizations excel in the below 10 capabilities and in 3 critical areas emerge as more effective and Fit enterprises. 

I. Alignment > Make it dynamic

1. Great leadership (1)
2. Disciplined IT investment (2)
3. Compelling vision (3)
4. Continuous strategy (4)
5. Robust relationships (5)

How CIOs should respond:

1. Improve decision support for business executives, identifying where they need more/ better/ faster/clearer data.
2. Shorten decision-making time by considering what IT can automate

II. Anticipation > Take more risks

1. IT as a differentiator (6)
2. Anticipating change (7)
3. Balanced risk taking (8)

How CIOs should respond:

1. Embrace the agile “servant leadership” practice of “leading from behind” to enable greater autonomy, creativity and self-management across IT.

III. Adaptability > IT leaders turn the IT organization into an instrument of change for the enterprise.

1. Fluid culture > In a crisis, employees must be able to change established habits and think in creative ways to meet a new set of challenges. In short, readiness for change becomes a cultural requirement. (9)
2. Enterprise Agility (10)

How should CIOs respond?

1. Kick-start a culture change initiative within the IT organization that emphasizes a growth mindset and continuous learning.
2. Identify the new behaviors you want to encourage in IT staff.

Reading this entire report, findings and recommendation on How CIOs should respond in 2020 – Be Agile is the prescribed.