A Chief Information Officer [CIO] is a change agent at heart," George Photakis, Vice President and Chief Information Officer of The Anchor Hocking Company and Oneida Limited said. “Next to the CEO, the CIO is probably the one person that really has to understand how the company actually operates and understand all the processes of the company on a daily basis. A good CIO is a change agent downward and upward in an organization."

1. Editor's Note: Anchor Hockings CIO, George Photakis is answering your questions this week at IT Martini on LinkedIn.
George Photakis:
Lead With the Truth
By Terreece Clarke, February 7th, 2012
"A Chief Information Officer [CIO] is a change
agent at heart," George Photakis, Vice President
and Chief Information Officer of The Anchor
Hocking Company and Oneida Limited said. “Next
to the CEO, the CIO is probably the one person that really has to understand
how the company actually operates and understand all the processes of the
company on a daily basis. A good CIO is a change agent downward and
upward in an organization."
Photakis has more than 27 years of C-Suite experience and has been a CIO
of Fortune 500 companies for over 10 years. Anchor Hocking, a consumer
products glassware manufacturer, brought Photakis onboard in 2007 when
they needed to bring previously outsourced processes back in-house,
restructure IT processes and evaluate new technology and initiatives.
As change agents and truth seekers, CIOs don't make many new friends in
the process. Photakis said he gives new hires and people he works with one
of his favorite books - "Who Moved My Cheese" by Spencer Johnson.
"We [CIOs] are generally seen as the bad guys," he said. "As an agent of
change, at times the CIO has to be the bad guy, at times the CIO has to make
the difficult decisions to achieve the company goals. At times I have to tell
people I'm going move your cheese. Find your cheese and you’ll be happy or
else you may find out you're going to get hungry."
Leading with the Truth
Photakis said executives such as the CEO, CFO, VP of Logistics, VP
Marketing and the VP of Sales will come to the CIO with what they believe are
separate issues the see in their scope. In reality, Photakis said, they are really
complaining about the same problem, but from their own frame of reference.
It is the CIO's responsibility to see the overall picture and solve the issue
across the board. After 35 years in the business, Photakis said it’s uncovering
the truth that enables him to solve for these issues.
"A leader should never be afraid to speak truth to power. Truth is truth."
To better solve for 'one truth', Photakis is using the inspiration of 2010 CIO of
the Year Filippo Passerini of Procter and Gamble and setting out to declare
one company-wide way to measure metrics and what is working across all
departments - instead of each department having its own set of numbers.
"I consider myself a leader, not a manager," he said. “People do what a
manager tells them to do because they have a small chance of getting into
trouble if they just follow orders. But people will ‘naturally’ follow a leader
because they know they can be [more] successful by following that leader
than if they did not."
“Also, as a leader, if the project fails then I take the hit. But it’s the team that
takes the credit when the project is a success. I should have seen it ahead of
time. It’s not their fault. It is also the quickest way to demoralize a team.”

2. Retail Manufacturing Challenges
In November of 2011 the parent company of Anchor Hocking Corporation
acquired Oneida Limited - one of the country's oldest tabletop manufacturers.
Photakis has recently taken on a new role as Vice President and CIO of
Oneida Limited in addition to his continued role as VP and CIO at Anchor
Hocking.
Photakis said his top challenges include maintaining each company’s very
strong brands while integrating, consolidating back end systems while
gaining synergies.
"Companies have never been in the situation with social media, the Internet
and e-commerce," Photakis said. "A CIO is a Chief Innovation Officer as well
challenged with driving innovation into an organization. They have to look at
issues and say 'we have to change the way we look at our business and
understand the way our customers want to look at our businesses."
These changes to the distribution cycle, in addition to the recession, high
unemployment and high transportation costs, have created ‘the perfect
storm’ for the retail and manufacturing industries. "Customers are making
pointed decisions. They are weighing the option of going to the store, using
gas, time to find one particular item versus buying it online."
Thinking Like an Entrepreneur
The CIO role has dramatically changed from [an] “appointed IT person” to
true business peer. Savvy CIOs are becoming entrepreneurial and driving
business in many ways, including expense reduction, Photakis said.
"For example if a business is operating at a 25 percent margin and if you're
looking to improve profit / EBITDA, for every $1 you spend a salesperson has
to sell $4 in product," he said. "Doesn't it make more sense to save a buck?”
A CIO is also custodian of the information that enables critical business
making, Photakis said. "No manager is going to make the wrong decision
with the correct information. They make the right decision based on the
wrong information. It is critical that the CIO provides correct, understandable
and credible information."
Closing Thoughts
Photakis is taking his 35 years of experience and putting it in print for other IT
pros. "Confessions of an Old Dog CIO" [title pending] is Photakis' effort to
debunk popular IT and business myths such as, "Don't sweat the small stuff.”
"Bull..." Photakis said. "The small stuff turns into big stuff when you ignore it.
Every company is the Titanic waiting to sink. A big ship doesn't turn on a
dime. The question is, do you have good enough information and vision to
see the iceberg far enough in advance? If you can see the problem and make
adjustments you can avoid hitting the iceberg. There are always warning
signs – “white caps” - if you wait until you're right in front of the iceberg it's
already too late."
Photakis is on the lookout for those warning signs, but sometimes it takes
deeper analysis than simply serving up a requested report. At times a
process change is required.
"I try to give people what they ask for, but I strive to give them what they
really need," he said. "The CIO has visibility to almost every channel and
vertical in the company,” he said. “They want data, the CIO provides
information.”
And what’s the knee jerk reaction to this crusade for the truth?
"If you want to make friends as a CIO, get a dog," Photakis said