Chief Catastrophe Officer?
Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his 2007 book The Black Swan points out that almost all major discoveries were both unpredicted and undirected, eg. the PC and the Internet. The same applies to many major historic events. Black Swan events are typically deemed impossible prior to their occurrence and when they occur tend to be of very high impact.
A Black Swan event may prove to be a disaster for one player (Lehman Brothers) and an opportunity for another (Barclays). The question is whether your organisation is braced to handle the Black Swan making its way through your revolving doors?
The CIO is in theory least the person most capable of dealing with the bird. IT can provide the organisation with the market sensors needed to spot such events whilst they are still on the horizon. IT can also provide a sufficiently agile technology platform that allows the organisation to tactically capitalise on or sidestep the Black Swan.
Thus such events are brand boosting opportunities for the IT function. Unfortunately the most recent Black Swan (the Credit Crunch) saw very little by way of IT-led response. Possibly IT leaders need to reposition themselves as the Chief Catastrophe Officer?
Such rebranding will need to be handled with care. Some disenchanted users may regard this as a more accurate title for the CIO’s current activities than a reference to their new responsibilities.
