CIO to Citibank - I Quit!?
Dear readers, thank you so much for all of your emails on the recent postings. It seems that the Mitchell Habib story struck a cord with many but amazingly, I received just as many emails regarding the KIVA.org posting: Want to be an International Banker?. I thank everyone for the emails and I encourage all of you to please post online as well, so others can read your comments. Now back to one of our headliners.
There are several stories in circulation regarding the reasons for Habib leaving and some of them seem to support the official position of Citibank, that Habib has chosen on his own to go to greener pastures. On the other end of the spectrum, the stories say that he locked horns with Kevin Kissinger, Citigroup’s Chief Operations & Technology Officer:
and was told/forced to leave. The most intriguing is that Richard Garside, COO of the Global Consumer Group,
tried to put someone between him and Habib on the org chart; Habib said no way and resigned.
If this turns out to be the truth then good for Habib. Why? By saying this I am not defending Habib nor justifying his strategic/tactical decisions. What I am referring to is what I am interpreting, as his choosing not to be a victim but a master of his own domain. Plus I think Habib is smart enough to realize by now that Citi’s confused org chart can only spell continued disaster to anyone who wants to be effective in the CIO position. There is not enough room in this post to make a case for it but any organization that does not have a clear hierarchy and have its CIO reporting straight to the CEO or group head is looking for trouble. I know there are many businesses within Citi that in their own right would be major corporations but you NEVER have the head of technology reporting to the COO or the CFO. If you do, then technology is only relegated to just another mundane operational function and you loose its strategic value of dealing with the bleeding edge, bringing innovation to the customers and increasing profits. Jamie Dimon realizes this and that is why he is investing billions in technology and its people. Hmmm could this be just part of the continuing epic of the “revenge of the Jamie”?
Say what you will about Habib but few people can move up as fast as he did in his career. Yes he has made mistakes and so have I and so have you. What remains to be seen is if he will choose to acknowledge them, learn from them and become a better leader in his next venture.
I know this does not help the hundreds, if not thousands of Citi employees that have been hurt. This really makes me sad because it is not just these employees being effected but also their families and communities. Also let’s imagine how those that still have a job feel. “Are we next?” or “Why should I stick my neck out for a company that shows no loyalty.”
Ladies and gentlemen, this is what happens when a company solely focuses on one bottom line...the profit portion. What this blog is dedicated to, is researching about the triple bottom line and how companies get there.
Look, the term triple bottom line is nothing more than a fancy term for “Doing the right thing.” For over 20 years I have been intrigue by what separated winners from losers in regards to long term sustainable profits. A role model I like to refer to, in one of the toughest industries, is SouthWest Airlines (SWA). SouthWest is the only airline with a stellar record for sustained profits in an arena of countless broken wings. You can read more about them in my post of August 30th. Two key points I want you to be aware of, that I feel bear relevance are:
1) When Herb Keller, CEO & Co-Founder of SWA, sat behind his desk one day contemplating some strategic challenges, in walked his admin, Colleen Barrett. She put a paper cut-out of a heart on his desk and said, “Remember, love your employees and they will love your customers.” Okay laugh all you want but Colleen is now CEO of the company and has had to navigate it through one of the toughest periods of its existence. Herb Keller himself was quoted as saying, “when I’d speak at business schools, they would ask who comes first: your Customers, your Employees or your shareholders? Then it was regarded as sort of bizarre to say your Employees come first. If they feel good about themselves... they will treat your Customers well and your Customers will come back, and that’s good for the shareholders. It’s amazing how shortsighted some of what we’ve taught in schools has been, but that’s now an established notion.”
2) The second point I want to make, is all this touchy feely stuff never took companies like SWA off target. Instead it helped them to powerfully communicate the profit motive throughout the company and get everyone flying in sync. An excellent example is the following P&L statement (see side bar) that is used to educate all stakeholders on the profit side of the triple bottom line.
I hope that the answer to the question, “So what relevance does this have to the Habib saga?” is self-evident. It is not just Habib but Citi’s leadership that has failed to do the right thing. The right thing is:
Having clear and trusted leadership
Having a clear and compelling vision
Having a higher purpose
Having a set of values to guide the the company in the best and worst of times
Embracing the Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet and Profit
and last but not least, making their
employees # 1,
customers # 2,
vendors # 3 and
shareholders # 4.
What do I know? Not much but I am smart enough to see that a path to success is following those that are already there.
Editors note:
In reality we will probably not learn the truth of the Habib saga until the fog of war lifts. All that the rumors can do, is get Citi lost in the current intrigue and sap valuable creative energy and morale. Same goes for this humble blogger.
I think and feel that an important lesson here is that we must all take responsibility for our careers and lives and not rely on others to steer our course. Hurricane Katrina proved to be an excellent teacher. Don’t be a victim, be a victor.
Thursday, November 2, 2006
I QUIT!?
