CIO BEST PRACTICES Enabling Strategic Value with Information Technology SECOND EDITION For anyone who wants to achieve better returns on their IT investments, CIO Best Practices, Second Edition presents the leadership skills and competencies required of a CIO addressing comprehensive enterprise strategic frameworks to fully leverage IT resources. Filled with real-world examples of CIO success stories, the Second Edition explores: CIO leadership responsibilities and opportunities The business impacts of both business and social networking, as well as ways the CIO can leverage the new reality of human connectivity on the Internet The increasingly inextricable relationships between customers, employees, and their use of personal information technologies Emerging cultural expectations and standards outside the workplace Current CRM best practices in terms of the relationship between customer preferences and shareholder wealth Enterprise energy utilization and sustainability practices otherwise known as Green IT with all the best practices collected here, in one place Best practices for one of the Internet's newest and most revolutionary technologies: cloud computing and ways it is shaping the new economics of business

Are you a seasoned information technology (IT) executive looking for options available on leadership structures within your IT organization? Look no further. Now in a Second Edition, CIO Best Practices is an invaluable resource that provides a comprehensive, practical guide for CIOs and their executive team peers giving real-world examples of CIOs who have succeeded in mastering the blend of business and technology responsibilities and giving their companies a sound return on investment of technology dollars

Going beyond the usual how-to guide, Lean Six Sigma Secrets for the CIO supplies proven tips and valuable case studies that illustrate how to combine Six Sigma's rigorous quality principles with Lean methods for uncovering and eliminating waste in IT processes. Using these methods, the text explains how to take an approach that is all about im

STAYING THE COURSE AS A CIO: HOW TO OVERCOME THE TRIALS AND CHALLENGES OF IT LEADERSHIP The shelf-life of a Chief Information Officer can be shockingly short. Few survive in post for more than a few years. More often each falls prey to insurmountable problems and their careers come to a sharp and ignominious end. In this book, a global CIO with over thirty years of experience in major corporations examines the main reasons why this happens. Readers will understand which types of issue can cause problems for an IT Leader and more importantly, they will learn strategies of how these problems can be minimized or even avoided. IT is often seen a technical backwater, but it is a discipline which has the capability to add massive value to an organisation whether it is in the private or the public sector – provided of course it has the right leadership doing the right things. Aspiring IT Leaders will need to deal with a common set of recurring trials and challenges. These include: · Overcoming the challenge of managing diverse and conflicting stakeholders · How to deal with large and complex projects · Making sense of software and how to handle the rapidly changing technology landscape · Knowing when to outsource and how to get the best out of an outsourcing partner · Harnessing the intellectual power of consultants to help you meet your goals · And last but not least, how to develop a set of strategies that are aligned with your corporate goals and then make sure your resources are properly targetted so that the IT function generates maximum positive impact for the enterprise. For IT professionals looking to fully integrate their function into the enterprise, 'Staying the Course as a CIO’ is a valuable source of practical advice, all based on real experience.

The growing complexity of today's interconnected systems has not only increased the need for improved information security, but also helped to move information from the IT backroom to the executive boardroom as a strategic asset. And, just like the tip of an iceberg is all you see until you run into it, the risks to your information are mostly invi

Be the most effective CIO you can be—by learning from the best in the business Today's Chief Information Officers must be an entirely new breed of technology leader. With ever-changing demands from the business, and in an increasingly technology-centric business environment, CIOs must find game-changing innovations and process improvements that make a real impact on the bottom line. Business executives need their CIOs to be real partners—speaking the language of the business and donning their strategist caps—not just commodity managers. Those IT leaders who fail to break out of the order-taker, utility manager mold will, simply put, be looking for a new job. In Confessions of a Successful CIO: How the Best CIOs Tackle Their Toughest Business Challenges, current and future CIOs will gain invaluable perspectives from the stories of today's best IT leaders. These acclaimed leaders—each profiled in their own chapter—explain the toughest business decision they had to make, and how the outcome influenced and impacted their leadership style. These in-depth anecdotes take the reader inside some of the most challenging business climates imaginable and chronicle how these elite CIOs made the decisions that mattered. Read detailed case studies of how some of the best CIOs have handled their most challenging business problems Learn how the best CIOs anticipate changes to their business and respond—before the business comes knocking Explore how these top-flight CIOs make critical decisions around strategy and IT to not only benefit their companies, but in some cases, to save them from becoming obsolete. Analyze their perspectives on managing people, crises and balancing the risks and rewards of their "bet the farm" strategies Confessions of a Successful CIO is the new playbook for learning how to take risks, respond to crises, and create more value from IT. Each chapter presents a different challenge, giving present-day and future IT leaders the chance to examine, analyze and learn so that they can be just as successful as the CIOs they're reading about.

Recognized as One of the Best Business Books for 2014 by CIO Magazine Based on interviews with more than 150 CIOs, IT/business executives, and academic thought leaders, The Strategic CIO: Changing the Dynamics of the Business Enterprise provides insight, success stories, and a step-by-step methodology to transform your IT organization into a strategic asset that drives customer value, increases revenues, and enhances shareholder wealth. The book details how strategic CIOs from FedEx, Procter & Gamble, McKesson, and other leading companies transformed their organizations. It illustrates the methods these CIOS used to become strategic partners that collaborate effectively within their organizations to leverage information and technology for a competitive advantage. The text will help you assess the key competencies and skills required by IT personnel to partner with your business teams to create new and enhanced products and services that create customer value, increase margin, and enhance shareholder wealth. The book includes powerful methodologies, time-saving templates, proven best practices, and helpful assessments. It also details a four-phase methodology, along with the associated activities and tools, to help your IT organization successfully transform into a strategic IT organization. Gain insight into the four domain competencies and twelve associated skills required to build effective strategic IT organizations. Build your roadmap to success using the transformation methodology described in the text and you will be on your way to making your organization a strategic IT organization. Read Philip Weinzimer’s recent article that appeared on CIO.com.

Essential reading for IT professionals with aspirations toward the top IT spot, and for sitting CIOs looking to refine their mobile, social and cloud strategies and knowledge The definitive work on how to achieve leadership success in IT, Straight to the Top, Second Edition reveals how the role of the CIO is changing due to major trends associated with consumer and enterprise products and technologies driving new mobile solutions in today's organizations; cloud computing and the move away from controlled / internally managed data centers to pay as you use and elastic cloud infrastructure and application services; and the impact social media is having on today's complex organizations. Author Gregory S. Smith expertly coaches existing and aspiring CIOs on building the requisite skills through his observations and experience as a veteran CIO with more than twenty-five years of experience leading IT teams and delivering complex technical solutions in the information technology field. An invaluable guide to help information technology and business professionals recognize the qualities, skills, and expertise necessary to attain the role of a CIO or enhance the skills for sitting CIOs Equips IT managers, CIOs, and CTOs to strategically plan their career moves Packed with encouragement, advice, and essential skills for aspiring and sitting CIOs Features interviews with leading IT professionals, CIOs, and executive recruiting professionals Providing an organized and comprehensive view of the CIO job and its important role in modern organizations, Straight to the Top, Second Edition equips sitting CIOs and CIO candidates with the strategies and knowledge necessary to be successful in the new business normal - a mobile, social and cloud-based world, and how to provide technology leadership as a world-class CIO.

The CIO playbook, with lessons from the world's best leaders The CEO of Technology shows today's CIOs how to become exceptional leaders and bring value to their organization. By taking lessons from some of the world's best CEOs, you'll develop the traits and characteristics that drive legendary leadership. Interviews with top executives at leading global technology companies including Apple, Boeing, Direct TV, Facebook, Texas Instruments, and more provide deep and valuable insight into what it means to lead in a hyper-driven tech environment. These stories provide valuable lessons that don't come from a classroom, but only from the in-the-trenches experience of the world's best leaders—coupled with a groundbreaking leadership approach designed for the demands of today's markets, to give you the ultimate CIO handbook. You'll learn how to maximize the value of your greatest asset—your team—and how to drive performance to unprecedented levels. You'll discover how great leaders communicate business strategy across the modern enterprise, and become a driving force behind your organization's success. The IT industry is experiencing a seismic shift that is revolutionizing the way companies do business. The stakes are high, everything is in flux, and there are no guaranteed paths to success. Whether this revolution means crisis or opportunity is up to you; this book gives you a game-changing approach to IT leadership in the 21st century enterprise. Improve the quality of your leadership and strengthen the C-suite bond Attract top talent, build great teams, and align IT with overall strategic vision Become the indispensable leader who consistently drives achievement Integrate technology and business strategy to become a high-value CIO Modern CIOs face a radically new array of leadership challenges in today's ultra-competitive, highly volatile markets; are you capable of leading the charge to the top? The CEO of Technology offers a visionary approach and the wisdom of experience to help you join the ranks of great leaders.