Leadership
CIO by Committee
We’ve had some good discussion on this blog, on LinkedIn IT Leadership groups and my CIO.com blog about the requisite skills and experience for a successful CIO. Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to hear two talks at a CIO conference Diamond sponsored that I’d like to combine into some observations about building teams […] MORE
November 23, 2009
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Can a CIO be Successful Without IT Experience?
Last week, the Financial Times ran an article about Sir Ian Andrews, the new leader of the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (analogous to the FBI) describing some concerns about his lack of relevant experience. Apparently, there are some who are mad that more hasn’t been done to control over 4,000 gangs and a £ […] MORE
September 22, 2009
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The CIO Role: One of Influence or Control?
I’d like to thank Michael Krigsman for inviting me to join him in the IT Failures town hall yesterday. It was great to interact with a few CIOs and other experts in IT management and leadership and discuss challenges facing the CIO in successfully delivering value. For those who missed it, the entire session was […] MORE
July 29, 2009
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The Art of Why
Many of the words associated with information technology reflect the long-standing focus on how to do things. Software engineering, methodology, use cases, BPM, governance, and workflow are just some examples. This makes sense because IT is complex and focusing on getting better is part of the challenge. With this as a backdrop, think about some […] MORE
June 02, 2009
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Do CIOs Develop Leaders Like NCAA Coaches?
by Chris Curran, with research by Michael Mariani I am very passionate about coaching team sports and have been a basketball player most of my life. So, I read with great interest a recent MIT Sloan Management Review article, What Can Managers Learn From College Basketball? There are three very interesting points: 1. That the […] MORE
May 05, 2009
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3 CIO Lessons from Obama’s First 100 Days
Today marks President Obama’s 100th day in office. Gallup reports that Obama’s 63% approval rating is the best since Carter’s early approval rating in 1977 (the highest was JFK’s 74% in 1961; CNN’s take). Americans have used the first 100 days as a predictor of Presidential success ever since FDR’s barrage of New Deal […] MORE
April 29, 2009
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IT’s Keystone Skills
Process issues are not alone in contributing to IT’s success or failure. People (and their skills) are also part of the “holy trinity” of People - Process - Technology, the three interrelated building blocks of any business capability, IT included. With the dramatic uptake in outsourcing over the last several years, CIOs have been faced […] MORE
April 16, 2009
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CIO Leadership: Listen to the Guy on the Ground
I’ve been enjoying The Mission, The Men, and Me, an Army Special Forces commander’s account of his missions and the fundamental lessons that he took away from them. The author, Pete Blaber, is now an executive at Amgen, which both lends credibility to the application of his ideas in a business context and provides a […] MORE
April 03, 2009
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