Today's CIOs, tomorrow's CPOs

First there were chief security officers, then chief innovation officers, and now, Michael Hammer is adding a new title to the mix: chief process officer. In the early 1990s, Hammer and James Champy wrote the bestseller Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution (HarperCollins, 1993). Today, the former heads up Hammer and Co., a management consultancy that specializes in business process. In an interview with CIOInsight, Hammer says that distinguishing between process improvement and process management is critical for today's executives. Process improvement doesn't involve organizational change, while process management is harder to do because it involves a lot of organizational change and requires new managerial responsibilities. Hammer also notes that CIOs are in a good position to work with senior executive on implementing processes. He recommends that CIOs act as a catalyst, working with senior executives and alert them to "the problems with processes and to the opportunities that process management presents."

Exactly how does Hammer define the chief process officer position? Rather than the boss, the CPO is the "chief of staff" for process work. He says that companies that want to begin to work on process improvement and process management should start by assessing the existing leadership and organizational culture while also working to identify processes. "If you don't know what they are, you're nowhere," he says.

For a full look at process improvement and management:
- see the Q&A article in CIOInsight