CIO —
Maybe it was at the end of a tough week of office politics, or maybe it was in the middle of a grueling board meeting, or perhaps it was just after a business head changed the specs on a major new build, but at some point in your career as CIO, you must have thought to yourself, “Maybe it’s time I go into consulting.”
It is true that as clients, we often see consultants as a necessary evil. But from time to time, we have all imagined that life on the other side must be sweet. No politics, no tedium, no staff evaluations, and loads and loads of billable hours.
While none of the four CIOs-turned-consultants whom I spoke to for this column would describe their careers in such idealistic terms, they do acknowledge that they have reaped benefits from their career move. With their experiences as a guide, here are three different models for pursuing the consulting track, complete with solid advice and lessons learned.
1. Buy a Firm
Months before Geoffrey Hayden formally vacated his post as CIO of Jacuzzi Brands, he knew he wanted his next role to be in consulting. So, in August 2005, he purchased Bracken Consulting, a local firm that provided IT services to hospitality companies, and had room to grow. By the time he left Jacuzzi in March 2006, he had changed the name of the firm to Acxential Business Solutions, assumed the position of president and built a business plan to double revenues within 12 months.
Buy, don’t build. Hayden had recently moved his family to Texas and had neither a great local Rolodex nor the flexibility to relocate. “If you don’t have enough strong contacts to create a customer base,” he says, “buy an established firm rather than starting your own.”
Network while you’re still CIO. As CIO, you are privy to all sorts of networking venues that will close their doors to you once you’ve crossed over to the dark side, so capitalize on them now. “Start building up your networks before you need them,” says Hayden. “Join regional CIO associations and business networking groups, and learn who does what in your community before you set up shop.”
2. Join a Firm
In April 2004, after four years as CIO of Equity Office Properties, a Fortune 500 real estate company, Scott Morey decided that he needed a change. His turnaround effort was complete and maintenance mode was not providing a challenge, so he considered his options. He asked himself, “What am I? A technology person or a real estate person?” Real estate won out, so he took a managing director position at RealFoundations, a management consulting firm of 120 people that focuses on real estate and property company operations. “I looked at the traditional firms like Cap Gemini and Ernst & Young (where I had worked before), but I felt that at the large firms, I would be more narrowly focused than I wanted,” Morey says. “The smaller boutique firm gives me the flexibility to start new service lines, the opportunity to re-brand myself as an operations person, and a tremendous diversity of experiences and learning.”
