‘The IT industry as we know it is dying. If you don’t disrupt as a CIO, you will be disrupted.’ Just one of the key points for me that came out of the Leaders for Change breakfast briefing on 5 June, writes Eve McTighe-Crew of BCS.

Held in one of Tech cities newest venues - M by Montcalm, Shoreditch, London Tech city - it provided the ideal setting for a morning of networking and debate around technology-led change, continuous innovation, and leadership strategies.

We had over 30 digital leaders in attendance and presentations from Ade McCormack, Digital Strategist and Iglo Foods Group COO Tania Howarth. This provided the basis for a lively debate and provided some great insight on the changing nature of work and how to drive change in an organisation.

In terms of key lessons, the main points that came out of the morning for me were -

  • People and culture are crucial to change. As a leader, your success is related to what you do, not how you do it. People blame failed IT systems, but often failure is actually about people not exploiting the opportunity.
  • IT leaders should: phrase everything in terms of outcomes; think about the pace of change; focus on the challenge of asymmetric business models; and recognise that success is all about people, not code.

Watch the highlights video