Pearl Zhu's Blog, page 1304

How to Build a Good Reputation for Problem Solving

"To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks the real advance in science."   — Albert Einstein

Fundamentally, every job is to deal with problems big or small both from long term perspective or even on the daily basis. We all develop reputations - for being problem creators, problem definers or problem solvers. Sometimes, even you intend to solve problems but perhaps causes more serious problems later on. So observe the problem-solving scenarios and ask yourself the sets of questions such as, how do you discover the part you played in the problem/challenge? Which thought processes shall you leverage to diagnose problems and solve them? What is the best way to handle a problem that seems to have no solution?" How to build a good reputation on problem-solving?

Fixing the wrong cause of a problem is wasting time and energy: Often times, people have a tendency to try to fix a symptom which results from the actual cause of the problem. When they do this, they throw good money after bad. You allow problems to grow under the surface, out of sight, out of mind, until it’s too late. Until the underlying problem is addressed, the symptom or result will continue to return. So trying to fix the wrong cause of a problem will waste time and resources, increase anxiety, and leave industries full of opportunists who see rewards by offering solutions that address symptoms & results rather than problems. Therefore, it’s important to first frame the problems. We need to listen and understand before acting, and constantly learn and educate/share, and the challenge for leaders is to motivate others to be real problem solvers by first understanding what is the real problem, and then solve it smoothly.

Leveraging Critical Thinking for digging into root causes, and Systems Thinking (ST) for problem framing: Critical Thinkers are always chasing root cause via asking the big 'WHY' questions without too rushing up into HOW."decide" - to take the identification of the facts and root cause, and mold into a solution based on the objectives and other extenuating circumstances.Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than isolated things, for seeing patterns of change rather than static “snapshots.” For solving complex problems, leveraging ST for problem framing helps to see a larger system with interactive pieces and “conflict” goals. Rather than considering a single goal, you need to consider a larger system with multiple and conflicting goals. A simple variable can be both cause and effect. Reality will not be still. And it cannot be taken apart! You cannot understand a cell, a living thing, a brain structure, an organization, or a culture if you isolate it from its context. Systems thinking is about reaching a shared understanding through studying, knowledge, and experimenting. It is a method of development that works with certain conditions being met/ prepared. The better solution to many problems that crosses all industries is to keep peeling back the layers to find the root cause via leveraging critical thinking to asking five WHYs, or taking other systematic approaches - to discover the real cause and address it.And dilemmas do exist, they seem do not have obvious solutions, but they can be managed, and best managed by recognizing the tensions between presenting polarities and understanding the cause and effect for clarity.

Solving tough problems creatively: A problem is a difference between an expectation ( intention, vision) and the actual situation (current reality) coupled with a negative feeling. When you encounter a tough problem, you need to use a creative way. Both creative and critical thinkers live out of the box, ask open questions to collect relevant information, and think alternatives. You seek for inventions, new designs, creative problem solving. It drives innovation. In the business world, at least, you can't always wait for the "best" decision to emerge. Creative problem-solving starts with creative communication, and then you have to make best decisions you can, based on connecting unusual dots, identify and prioritize alternative solutions, also take a structural way to make inquiries, and a sound process to make a better choice, and have the gut to admit when a mid-course correction is in order. Collective wisdom is often the secret source for creative problem solving. Co-create alternative visions and dream into existence of new solutions, these are the capacities of humans who are not trapped in 'the same level of thinking' as others or even former personification of 'selves.'

Problem solving is about seeing a problem and actually finding a solution to that problem, no just the band-aid approach to fixing the symptom. No one person or entity is always the source of problems,  likewise, no one person will be the panacea to problems, but with teamwork, amicable solutions can be achieved.
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The Monthly Insight: Five Big “WHERE”s in Change Management Aug. 2016

Change is inevitable, organizational change has become a common practice within an organization, but too often changes are made as a reaction to outer impulses, crisis, and demands. This is the bureaucracy’s way of meeting the challenges. People, process, technology, Besides what, how, and when, where should you make the change, in order to make change more effective, sustainable, and improve the success rate of change initiatives?
    Five Big “WHERE”s in Change Management Three Practices to Overcome Corporate Silo Mentality? We have transitioned from an industrial to knowledge, innovation, and hyperconnectivity economy - with this shift has come to a change in organizational forms away from the traditional rigid hierarchies managed through command and control to more fluid and responsive network forms. Yet many business managers still apply old silo management mindsets to new ways of organizing and this legacy of the old economy limits many 'networked' organizations. Are silos a mere product of organizational design? Or is their nature tied to a deeper level: the humankind's nature? Despite the mountain of evidence pointing the detrimental effects of these silos, they still seem to be quite common in organizations. The question is: why? In today's volatile economy, nothing impedes progress more than protective silos which are simply a form of bureaucratic amorphous mass designed to preserve the status quo. How does one eliminate bureaucracy? What would be some ideas to assist in breaking down silos in an organization where they are present??
How to Cultivate a Culture of Continuous Improvement: Digital means change, learning is the only way to adapt to changes. To become a "learning" organization and grow as a Digital Master, you must first have the right culture to encourage learning with growth mind, from the top down commitment to human capital investment, and ensure employees have the tools and resources that support it?
The Symptoms of Ineffective Team or Organization? Change is never for its own sake. The true reason behind the change is either due to the ineffectiveness of teams/organizations or the inefficiency of processes or practices. There are many common success factors in effective team or organization; perhaps every failure has its own causes but generally speaking, what are the symptoms of dysfunctional management??
A Digital Fit IT: Shall you put your IT on a Diet?  We live in the era of information overload and “data obesity,” IT organizations at the center of such changes, also suffer from the redundant application maintenance and heavy legacy infrastructure, how to build a digital fit IT, shall you put your IT on a diet, and what's the single best method you've seen to reduce technology "bloat" in your company?
 How to Simplify a Complex Organization? How to manage business complexity becomes one of the top agendas for today’s corporate management, though complexity does not always mean the bad thing, design complexity or collaboration complexity are the key digital factors in business competency. Still, simplicity is the ultimate level of complexity, to make things simple, but not simpler.  But what are the challenges to simply a complex organization?
Blogging is not about writing, but about thinking; it’s not just about WHAT to say, but about WHY to say, and HOW to say it. It reflects the color and shade of your thought patterns, and it indicates the peaks and curves of your thinking waves. Unlike pure entertainment, quality and professional content takes time for digesting, contemplation and engaging, and therefore, it takes the time to attract the "hungry minds" and the "deep souls." It’s the journey to amplify your voice, deepen your digital footprints, and match your way for human progression.Follow us at: @Pearl_Zhu

"CIO Master" Book Tuning XXXXXXXXIII: Three Transitions for Running a High-Mature Digital IT

IT is impacting every business unit and is becoming the driver of business change and digital transformation.
Though IT is permeating into every corner of the business, the majority of businesses still underestimate the IT potential, and only treat IT as a support desk, or even categorize IT as a cost center. Can your companies rely on an IT system that is a commodity (standardized usage of technologies), or is the IT system the core of your business? Is your IT organization only a controller, a business catalyst or even a game changer? The approach depends on the company business and the role that IT plays in defining its positioning in the market. Here are three transitions to make for running a high mature IT.


The transition from a maintenance mindset to a value creation mindset: Many CIOs graduate from IT management where their job was to maintain. The transition from a maintenance mindset to a value creation mindset is a stretch for some. In order to improve IT maturity, CIOs should have the curiosity to ask big WHY questions and know-how attitude about businesses. Either crafting a good strategy or making a project proposal, IT leaders and managers should be able to demonstrate the full reasoning behind the proposal, in order to shift to proactive mode smoothly. If CIOs are not able to make any dent within executive board, then IT is just acting in the reactive mode. Their proactive solutions will not get enough traction in most cases. Such “fixing symptom” mentality is still complacent, short-sighted and too “ordinary.” Hence, the transition from a maintenance mindset to a value creation mindset will further drive IT as a proactive strategic partner and the business innovation engine. If CIOs are only taking the orders and extremely risk averse, at the end of the day, they can frustrate their internal staff and business process owners by not delivering much in value-based solutions.

The transition from internal IT management to the management of IT at the organizational level is essential to run a high mature digital IT: Information is permeating in every corner of the business, and technology is a disruptive force behind business innovation. IT is not a function that can be handled only inside the IT department or by IT managers. They do not have all the information needed, they do not have all mechanism & authority to collect that information and they do not have all the skills necessary to evaluate the information. IT is business, IT failure is caused by the management of IT rather than just IT management. The responsibility for evaluating the performance of IT investment lies squarely with the C-Level/board leadership team. Without effective guidance/support from the board, the managers in the IT department are perhaps working in the dark. One of the fundamental problems facing CIOs when dealing with their CXO counterparts is where their priorities lie. Therefore, to become a trusted advisor, it is important that the CIO can be seen to "stand aside" from the operational issues, and more importantly, look at things from the top management perspective.

IT needs to transit from inside-out operation-driven to outside in customer-centric: A high mature digital IT needs to strategically work with their variety of clients: They could be other C-level executives, business line managers, general IT users or external customers, etc., to provide business solutions instead of service only. This includes being business savvy, customer oriented and reputable as trusted advisers. IT should not only meet the needs of internal users but also spend more resource and work closely with business partners to digitize the touch point of end customer experience, contribute to the top line growth of the business. This also means the CIO needs to carefully listen and has to sell or resell the management on allocating funds for the business solutions. And IT value needs to be measured via bringing solutions to the clients’ highest priority business problems, and multidimensional business values. IT is impacting every business unit and is becoming the driver of business change and digital transformation. There are many transitions on the way, it has to keep the digital flow from top-down to bottom up; from branding on the surface to tuning the processes underneath; from guts feeling to data-driven decisions style, from operation driven to customer-centric mentality. from “Doing more with Less,” to “Doing more with Innovation,” IT mantra, and from doing digital to being digital.


CIO Master Order Link on Amazon CIO Master Ordre Link on Barner & Noble CIO Master Order Link On IBooks “CIO Master” Book Preview Quote Collection III “CIO Master” Book Preview Quote Collection II “CIO Master” Book Preview Quote Collection I, Slideshare Presentation “CIO Master” Book Preview Conclusion Running IT as Digital Transformer “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 9 IT Agility “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 8 Three "P"s in Running Digital IT “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 7 IT Innovation Management “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 6 Digital Strategy-Execution Continuum "CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 5 Thirteen Digital Flavored IT “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 4 CIO as Talent Master Introduction “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 3 “CIOs as Change Agent” Introduction “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 2 “CIOs as Digital Visionary” Introduction “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 1 “Twelve Digital CIO Personas” Introduction "CIO Master - Unleash the Digital Potential of IT" Introduction "CIO Master - Unleash the Digital Potential of IT" Book Preview




Follow us at: @Pearl_Zhu

Three Transitions to Make for Running a High-Mature Digital IT

Though IT is permeating into every corner of the business, the majority of businesses still underestimate the IT potential, and only treat IT as a support desk, or even categorize it as a cost center. Can your companies rely on an IT system that is a commodity (standardized usage of technologies), or is the IT system the core of your business? Is your IT only a controller, or a business catalyst or even a game changer.  The approach depends on the company business and the role that IT plays in defining its positioning in the market. Here are three transitions to make for running a high mature IT.
The transition from a maintenance mindset to a value creation mindset: Many CIOs graduate from IT management where their job was to maintain. The transition from a maintenance mindset to a value creation mindset is a stretch for some. In order to improve IT maturity, CIOs should have know-how attitude about businesses, they are able to demonstrate the full reasoning behind the proposal, in order to shift to proactive mode smoothly. If CIOs are not able to make any dent within executive board, then IT is just acting in the reactive mode. Their proactive solutions will not get enough traction in most cases. Such “fixing symptom” mentality is still complacent, short-sighted and too “ordinary.” Hence, such transition needs a strong team with the culture innovation. If CIOs are only taking the orders and extremely risk averse, at the end of the day, they can frustrate their internal staff and business process owners by not delivering much in value-based solutions.
The transition from internal IT management to the management of IT at the organizational level:  It is not a function that can be handled only inside the IT department or by IT managers. They do not have all the information needed, they do not have all mechanism & authority to collect that information and they do not have all the skills necessary to evaluate the information. IT is business, IT failure is caused by the management of IT rather than just IT management. The responsibility for evaluating the performance of IT investment lies squarely with the C-Level/board leadership team. Without effective guidance/support from the board, the managers in the IT department are perhaps working in the dark. One of the fundamental problems facing CIOs when dealing with their CXO counterparts is where their priorities lie. Therefore, to become a trusted advisor, it is important that the CIO can be seen to "stand aside" from the operational issues and look at things from the top management perspective.
CIOs need to transit from inside-out operation-driven to outside in customer-centric: A high mature digital IT needs to strategically work with their variety of clients: They could be other C-level executives, business line managers, general IT users or external customers, etc., to provide business solutions instead of products. This includes being business savvy, client service oriented and reputable as trusted advisers. IT should not only meet the needs of internal users but also spend more resource and work closely with business partners to digitize the touch point of end customer experience. This also means the CIO needs to carefully listen and has to sell or resell the management on allocating funds for the business solutions. And IT value needs to be measured via bringing solutions to the clients’ highest priority business problems. IT is impacting every business unit and is becoming the driver of business change. There are many transitions on the way, it has to keep digital flow from top-down to bottom up; from branding on the surface to tuning the processes underneath; from data-driven decisions style to customer-centric mentality, It is the shift from “Doing more with Less,” to “Doing more with Innovation,” and from doing digital to being digital.
Follow us at: @Pearl_Zhu

The Monthly Insight: Five Big “WHEN”s in Change Management Aug. 2016

Change is inevitable, organizational change has become a common practice within an organization, but too often changes are made as a reaction to outer impulses, crisis, and demands. This is the bureaucracy’s way of meeting the challenges. People, process, technology, WHAT are important factors in Change Management, and pitfalls to avoid, in order to improve the success rate of change initiatives?
     Five Big “WHEN”s in Change Management When is an Organization Ready for Change?  Change is inevitable, and the speed of change is accelerating. However, adaptability and resourcefulness -the response to change are woefully underrated by business as keys to sustainability and success. How do you assess an organization that is ready for change? How can you measure change readiness? How do you engage with today's management and make them change themselves into the role needed today for modern Change Management? What is needed to be done in order to execute a successful change when you have a different level of leadership quality? And what are the further aspects of managing change successfully?
Change Management at the Cross Road: When to Make a Big Jump, When to Take Small Steps: Due to the “VUCA” new normal of the digital age, either at the individual or organizational level, “Changeability” becomes an important measure to assess a person or a business’s potential, agility, and maturity. Unfortunately, change is not as easy as it sounds, more than two-thirds of business change initiatives fail to reach the expectation. Change Management in many organizations seems to be at the crossroad- Should you take an audacious approach of accelerating digital transformation, or take small steps for making incremental changes? What are the bottlenecks for changes, and how to avoid pitfalls in making a big leap?
The Starting Point to Design Business Model : Business model design is one of the critical types of innovation that enable business growth and compete for the future. However, most of such effort fails to achieve the expected result. The good start is half way to succeed, what’s the starting point to design business model?
Four Seasons of Changes: How to Improve Organizational Change Effectiveness? Change is the only constant now, and even the speed of change is accelerating. Thus, the change should be part of a company’s culture and should be stimulated by the top management, it is resulting in a flexible and dynamic organization able to adapt to new and unexpected situations and market demands. In doing so, can change management be a strategic process?
 Three big “WHEN”s in Change Management? Corporate change can be a simple modification of strategy, a business process improvement or a more radical digital transformation. Either at the individual or organizational level, change is perhaps a one-time project in the static industrial era; but change has to become an ongoing capability at dynamic digital age. Here is the further question - WHEN should you make change happen - there is the time to sow, and the time to reap - How to manage change cycle more effectively?
Blogging is not about writing, but about thinking; it’s not just about WHAT to say, but about WHY to say, and HOW to say it. It reflects the color and shade of your thought patterns, and it indicates the peaks and curves of your thinking waves. Unlike pure entertainment, quality and professional content takes time for digesting, contemplation and engaging, and therefore, it takes the time to attract the "hungry minds" and the "deep souls." It’s the journey to amplify your voice, deepen your digital footprints, and match your way for human progression.Follow us at: @Pearl_Zhu

"CIO Master" Book Tuning XXXXXXXXII Three Principles to Follow for Bridging IT-Business Gaps

Many of gaps bridging challenges in the organization are not exclusive to IT yet the symptoms are often more visible in IT.

Technology is permeating into every corner of the organization, and the information is the lifeblood of the business. However, many IT organizations still get stuck in the lower level of maturity, with the reputation as a cost center, support desk, controller only, or even the bottleneck to slow the business speed. So how can IT leaders reimagine IT potential, reinvent IT brand, overcome culture inertia and numerous digital barriers to bridge the gaps between IT and business, and run a frictionless IT to achieve high level business result?

IT is business, IT strategy is an integral component of the business strategy: In many organizations, business leaders still think IT only supports strategy, and there is huge gaps existing between IT and business. In almost every business environment, IT is an enabler or a tool that needs to be used efficiently and treated as an asset like any other capital investment specified and used accordingly. One of the most crucial leadership ingredients for bridging the gaps is to build trust via communication and delegation. The trust between IT and business will enable the business to self-service and do more with the technology, so IT can spend more resources on innovation and come up with even better, more relevant solutions for the business. Trust means how to strike the right balance upon what IT can give up control, and what IT needs to control: IT can give users more options to meet the requirement for doing their work efficiently, but IT shouldn't give up control of d risk management, as well as building up strong long-term relationship with partners to gain purchasing power and dedicated supports. It’s about finding the right balance in order for IT and business integrated as strategic partners. Repeatable success comes when IT and business act from 'IT vs. business' to a true partnership. With emerging digital opportunities and risks, business leaders (including IT leaders) are once again seeing the benefit of the IT strategy being fully part of the enterprise strategy. IT as a business inside the business, that's the way to go for closing gaps and running a high-performing business with accelerating speed.

Closing the gap and building the 'right' bridge between IT and business is about doing the basics right: Getting the basics right starts with a collaborative attitude towards perhaps the most important step: Understand what you and your team are required to do to deliver the strategy. Ultimately you'd want to recognize that what most businesses need is an IT enabled business capability, not "just" an IT department. Every IT initiative is business project, to either for adding business value, or improving customer satisfaction. When IT only measures the results of their department from the technology lense, or when the businesses do not have interest to understand IT further, and won’t invite IT leaders to co-create strategy, the gaps are enlarged. A good starting point to bridge the gap would be to fully understand what the business requirement is, this is a key starting point for IT and making IT a profit center as the business is almost always skewed towards ‘financial’ goal of balanced scorecard. Getting the basics right means you need to run an effective IT - for doing the right things, with efficiency (for doing things right), also improve its agility to adapt to the rapidly increasing business dynamic, and flexibility with alternative ways to do things better, faster, and cheaper.   

Everyone should be pulling in the right direction: The organizational progress and harmony often get hampered by the business and IT’s “He said, she said,” scenario, which is often caused by miscommunication, silo thinking, and inefficient business processes for cross-functional collaboration. It is not a problem exclusive to IT, it exists between different departments in a company and needs a holistic approach to solve. The bottom line is, for any company to succeed, it is essential for the entire company to be pulling in the right direction, including IT. First, CXOs (including the CIO) must agree on the business goals and then set up metrics and incentives based on meeting those goals for every individual in the company, including the IT folks. If everyone understands the part they play in achieving the company goals, to ensure the organization as a whole is superior to the sum of pieces; and they are provided the right kind of incentives, people will do the right things and metrics/checkpoints can ensure proper management of this. Hence, Strategic and Systems thinking, prioritization and adaptability are also crucial factors in leading business progressions.

In most organizations, many of these gaps bridging challenges are not exclusive to IT yet the symptoms are often more visible in IT due to the fact that IT work touches, serves, and supports virtually every aspect of the enterprise. These challenges are not easily solved and can not be addressed through the tactical  management approach. These are also leadership and cultural challenges. They can only be solved by strong "C" level leaders who understand these challenges and work to build a digital-ready organizational culture and structure to eliminate barriers and mind gaps. By following the principles discussed above, IT can overcome barriers on the way to become true business partners and drive digital transformation seamlessly.
CIO Master Order Link on Amazon CIO Master Ordre Link on Barner & Noble CIO Master Order Link On IBooks “CIO Master” Book Preview Quote Collection III “CIO Master” Book Preview Quote Collection II “CIO Master” Book Preview Quote Collection I, Slideshare Presentation “CIO Master” Book Preview Conclusion Running IT as Digital Transformer “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 9 IT Agility “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 8 Three "P"s in Running Digital IT “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 7 IT Innovation Management “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 6 Digital Strategy-Execution Continuum "CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 5 Thirteen Digital Flavored IT “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 4 CIO as Talent Master Introduction “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 3 “CIOs as Change Agent” Introduction “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 2 “CIOs as Digital Visionary” Introduction “CIO Master” Book Preview: Chapter 1 “Twelve Digital CIO Personas” Introduction "CIO Master - Unleash the Digital Potential of IT" Introduction "CIO Master - Unleash the Digital Potential of IT" Book Preview



Follow us at: @Pearl_Zhu

Three Principles to Follow for Bridging IT-Business Gaps

Technology is permeating into every corner of the organization, and information is the lifeblood of the business. However, many IT organizations still get stuck in the lower level of maturity, with the reputation as a cost center, support desk, controller only, or even the bottleneck to slow the business speed. So how can IT leaders reimagine IT, reinvent IT brand,  overcome culture inertia and numerous digital barriers to bridge the gaps between IT and business, and run a frictionless IT to achieve high level business result?
It is business, IT strategy is an integral component of the business strategy, not just support strategy: In many organizations, business leaders still think IT only supports strategy, and there is huge gaps existing between IT and business. In almost every business environment, IT is an enabler or a tool that needs to be used efficiently and treated as an asset like any other capital investment specified and used accordingly. One of the most crucial ingredients for bridging the gaps is to build trust. The trust between IT and business will enable the business to self-service and do more with the technology, so IT can spend more resources on innovation and come up with even better, more relevant solutions for the business. Trust means how to strike the right balance upon what IT can give up control, and what IT needs to control: on the other side, IT shouldn't give up control of d risk management, as well as building up strong long-term relationship with partners to gain purchasing power and dedicated supports. It’s about finding the right balance in order for IT and business aligned as strategic partners. Repeatable success comes when IT and business act from 'IT vs. business' to a true partnership. With emerging digital opportunities and risks, business leaders (including IT leaders) are once again seeing the benefit of the IT strategy being fully part of the enterprise strategy. IT as a business inside the business, that's the way to go.
Building the 'right' bridge between IT and business, closing the gap is about doing the basics right: Getting the basics right starts with a collaborative attitude towards perhaps the most important step: Understand what you and your team are required to do to deliver the strategy. Ultimately you'd want to recognize that what most businesses need is an IT enabled business capability, not "just" an IT department. Every IT initiative is business project, to either add business value, or increase customer satisfaction. When IT only measures the results of their department from technology lense, or when the businesses do not have interest to understand IT further, or won’t invite IT leaders to co-create strategy, the gaps are enlarged. A good starting point would be to fully understand what the business requirement is, this is a key starting point for IT and making IT a profit center as business is almost always skewed towards ‘financial’ goal of balanced scorecard. Getting the basics right means you need to run an effective IT - for doing the right things, with efficiency (for doing things right), also improve its agility to adapt to the rapidly increasing business dynamic.   
Everyone should be pulling in the right direction: Business and IT’s “He said, she said,” scenario is often caused by miscommunication, silo thinking, and inefficient business processes for cross-functional collaboration. It is not a problem exclusive to IT, it exists between different departments in a company and needs a holistic approach to solve. The bottom line is, for any company to succeed, it is essential for the entire company to be pulling in the right direction, including IT. First, CXOs (including the CIO) must agree on the business goals and then set up metrics and incentives based on meeting those goals for every individual in the company, including the IT folks. If everyone understands the part they play in achieving the company goals, to ensure the organization as a whole is superior to the sum of pieces; and they are provided the right kind of incentives, people will do the right things and metrics/checkpoints can ensure proper management of this.
In most organizations, many of these gap bridging challenges are not exclusive to IT yet the symptoms are often more visible in IT due to the fact that IT work touches, serve, and supports virtually every aspect of the enterprise. These challenges are not easily solved and can not be addressed through the tactical  management approach. These are also leadership and cultural challenges. They can only be solved by strong "C" level leaders who understand these challenges and work to build a digital-ready organizational culture and structure to eliminate barriers and mind gaps. By following the principles discussed above, IT can overcome barriers on the way to become true business partners and drive digital transformation seamlessly.
Follow us at: @Pearl_Zhu

The Monthly Decision Making Insight: Who are Effective Decision Makers Aug. 2016

Decision making is the arena across the art and science; gut feeling and data-driven, confidence and humility.
Making a decision is one of the significant tasks for business leadership, however, the high ratio of strategic decisions have been made poorly and cause the catastrophic effect. How to avoid such decision pitfalls, to make effective decisions both strategically and tactically?

Three Questions to Assess a Person’s “Decisiveness” At today’s digital dynamic with increased velocity, complexity, unpredictability, there is a need for a faster response to changes in the business and industry based on effective and efficient decision making which is one of the most important tasks for both digital leaders and digital professionals at either strategic, operational, or tactical level. How is that possible? What’s the digital way to make the right decision? And how to assess a person’s “decisiveness”??
Is System Thinker a Slow Decision Maker? Digital is paradoxical: on one side, it seems everything in business is speeding up, the speed to learn, the speed to design, the speed to produce, the speed to market and the speed to adapt. On the other side, the business as a whole is becoming over-complex and hyper-connected with ambiguity and uncertainty, every opportunity has risks in it, and every solution might cause the new problem. Think fast, or think slow - Shall you take guts feeling to decide fast, or be a system thinker to decide “slowly”??
C-Level as Decision ‘Guru’: How Deep Shall You Dig ? Making data-based decision is becoming mainstream trend for forward-look business executives. However, should business leaders know how to use analytics tools and techniques themselves, instead of relying solely on their in-house analytics team? How much is enough for them to understand from analytics principles to analytics practices? Or to ask in the other way, when will the analytics software enable business leaders to self-service for making the effective decision?
Is Customer one of the Biggest Influencers of Decisions in your Enterprise? Being customer-centric means to really live on the mantra everyone is already familiar with: “Customer is King or Queen”, take a look at the business via outside-in customer’s lens, and build business capabilities to optimize customer experience. However, to what extent do you feel comfortable to make customers one of the biggest influencers of decisions in your organization??
Why are Many of the Worst Mistakes Made by the Most intelligent People?  "Why are many of the worst mistakes made by the most intelligent people?" Of course, the world is full of intelligent people besides Enterprise Architects, some may even argue: “Show me a person who has never made a mistake and I'll show you someone who has never achieved much.” Still, all people want to know how to avoid unnecessary mistakes, especially the worst one. As some bad decisions made by leaders can cause fatal damage to business and society. But, practically how to avoid such worst mistakes?

The blog is a dynamic book flowing with your thought; growing through your dedication; sharing your knowledge; conveying your wisdom, and making influence through touching the hearts and connecting the minds across the globe. The “Future of CIO” Blog has reached 1.3 million page views with about #2900 blog posting. Among 59+ different categories of leadership, management, strategy, digitalization, change/talent, etc. Blogging is not about writing, but about thinking and innovating the new ideas; it’s not just about WHAT to say, but about WHY to say, and HOW to say it. It reflects the color and shade of your thought patterns, and it indicates the peaks and curves of your thinking waves. Unlike pure entertainment, quality and professional content takes time for digesting, contemplation and engaging, and therefore, it takes the time to attract the "hungry minds" and the "deep souls." It’s the journey to amplify diverse voices and deepen digital footprints, and it's the way to harness your innovative spirit.
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“Talent Master” Book Quote Collection III

52 Communicate, delegate, trust, and hold accountable. TRUST is bi-directional.53 We need a well-developed ego, but we have to keep it under control.54 Every profession or role has its unique influence in the world, being persuasive is an important professional quality. 55 Dedicated people focus on thinking, growing, and innovating. 56 Humility is not an opposite of confidence, but an ultimate level of being confident.57 Professional maturity is not always associated with age, maturity is a manner to handle life and career.58 It is difficult to have a highly competitive organization without highly professional and competitive talent. 59 Performance keeps your business running, churning numbers, etc, whereas potential can bring your company to the next level.60 Performance keeps the business moving, and potential makes the business growth, transform, and leap to the next level of maturity.61 The strength is not equal to linear skills; it’s the good combination of character, mindset, talent, knowledge, and expertise.62 The professional versatility is based on a set of onion-like cohesive, integral, and recombinant capabilities. 63 Attitude leaps altitude; altitude inspires attitude. 64 If we can learn to think more dynamically, then we’ll be better equipped to adapt and thrive in the ever-changing, increasingly unpredictable and uncertain world in which we live. 65 Motivation is having a passion or drive for achievement and continuous improvement.66. It takes courage, confidence, and intelligence to overcome the “fear of failure.”67 The advancement of a digital professional starts from inside-out: the open and forward-looking mind flow. 68 Both introverts and extroverts need to think profoundly, express thoughtfully and act wisely. 69. Though not every employee is in the strategic position, every employee needs to have the right dose of “big picture” thinking.70. A high-influential person is positive, full of insight, to convey and sustain influence with the continuum. 71 A profound mind is like a big ocean, deep, but also open and inclusive. 72 Knowledge and understanding lead us to beauty, truth, and empathy.73 Leadership is complex, and although it has many facets, at its core, the foundation of leadership is based on authenticity.74 Human potentials are like spring water, the deeper you dig, the more it flows out.
75. “Digital fit” should be first defined as “mind fit,” and then following with attitude fit and behavior fit.Follow us at: @Pearl_Zhu

"CIO Master" Book Tuning XXXXXXXXI: Three Steps to Improve IT Digital Fluency

Forward-looking companies are empowering their IT to be a changing organization for leading digital transformation, because technology nowadays permeates every corner of the business, and the information is the lifeblood of the business. But first things first, how can IT become digital fluent in order to lead effectively?



Communicate skillfully: CIOs need to be fluent in both business and IT.  They have to be the technical visionaries of the company, so they have to be able to not only articulate the vision, but also be able to relay complex technical ideas in a business savvy manner to business leaders, and have skills to communicate change. They should communicate  in various forms and forums, to tailor different audience, including investor relations, business partners, business leaders, IT personnel, the other CxOs in the company, etc. They should be willing to take the constructive criticism from customers, and turn the beating, lashing, and criticism into opportunities by demonstrating through the delivery of successful IT projects that not only benefit the business but gives you a sense of achievement. Besides CIOs, IT employees also need to have a certain level of business acumen for solving real world problems and improving customer satisfaction.
Quick action and change: The technology trend moves very quickly, and the information is overwhelming, IT leaders need to have abilities to be “mindful,” think slowly, but act promptly to adapt to changes. Because slow movers almost always pay the price. CIOs shouldn’t be spontaneous when running a project or solving complex issues, always take stepwise action and be thoughtful when practice changes. As an innovator, the CIO’s fast thinking is not based on the single dimensional thought process, the CIO’s spontaneity comes from the freedom of choices as well as the flow of creativity. The major task of the CIO today is to simplify and unify processes across functional boundaries, and often across the entire enterprise. This requires an unprecedented level of collaboration with the line managers and business units who own those processes. IT can improve business agility and flexibility. Given the vagaries of uncertain economic times, IT must be able to align the business requirement with the IT capacity, which means CIOs must be able to constantly and dynamically lead an IT structure that will seamlessly enable the business and well ahead of the business requirement in order to accelerate business speed to adapt to changes and digital transformation.  
Harmonious and fair temperaments: Technology has played a large role in “gluing” both hard and soft business elements to build a modern workforce and workplace. CIOs can work more closely with HR and talent managers to provide a digital platform, empower talent for cross-functional communication and collaboration. With increased diversification comes increased discord, it is important that the CIO spends the time to learn the dynamics of team culture and the organization where it is embedded most valuable for the CIO role and that is to know the teams, then he/she will be able to maximize the synergies and avoid duplication of efforts. Inside the IT organization, the CIO comes to play is to find a way how to lead gurus or geeks, how to build a team out of well-shaped individuals, how to find a way to further shape the modern IT professionals as the corporation needs them; to inspire them participate and contribute, not get unmotivated, to make them leave their comfort shell and approach the users, the process, and the business proactively.
IT becomes more influential in an organization’s direction and innovation. A digital fluent IT can bridge the business gaps, modernize & integrate processes, and build a cohesive set of business capabilities to improve overall business competency and drive the digital transformation of the business effortlessly.
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