He’s probably not going to be brought in for Gartner’s next symposium, and he may not be all that well-versed in the art of IT governance, but there’s no reason CIOs shouldn’t benefit from Shia LaBeouf’s wisdom.
In a viral video that has lead to a seemingly endless series of spoofs, the Hollywood actor offers what has been described as the most intense motivational speech of all time. If you haven’t seen it but have heard staff laughing about it, now is the time to get in on the joke:
Some might be put off by the boot camp-style aggression in LeBeouf’s rant, but I actually think it could be helpful in giving IT leaders the kick in the pants they may occasionally need. In fact, instead of watching it again all the way through (which you may, in fact, have already done), try voicing some of your biggest IT management-related issues, and stop and start the clip to create a video version of a CIO coach. Here’s a sample script to get you started:
I want to be taken seriously by senior management.
Do it, just do it!
I know they’re going to freak out when I mention moving our infrastructure to the cloud.
Don’t let your dreams be dreams.
The CRM upgrade is behind schedule. Going to have to figure out how to buy some extra time on that one.
Yesterday you said tomorrow. So just do it!
Maybe I should pitch the idea of a mobile app for our customers?
Make your dreams come true. Just do it.
I think if we didn’t keep experiencing all this downtime, there’d be more buy in on some of —
Some people dream of success, while you’re going to wake up and work hard at it.
I’d really like to do something with big data, but with things the way they are, I can’t even imagine —
Nothing is impossible… you should get to the point where anyone else would quit and you’re not going to stop there. NO!
. . . but they keep cutting my budget and asking me to lay off my staff.
What are you waiting for?! DO IT! JUST DO IT! YES YOU CAN! JUST DO IT! If you’re tired of starting over, stop giving up.
Too much? Maybe, but then again, CIOs are under so much pressure today that, in some respects, LeBeouf’s video may seem like kid gloves. CEOs can be a lot worse. And in some case, even less motivating.