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Staying the Course as a CIO: How to Overcome the Trials and Challenges of IT Leadership
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 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.
- GenresLeadership
232 pages, Hardcover
First published October 22, 2014
23 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 4, 2015
The subtitle for this book is ‘How to overcome the trials and challenges of IT leadership’. It could just as appropriately be subtitled ‘How to keep your job’.
Having been a CIO myself and having helped other CIOs for many years, I am well aware of the trials and tribulations of this difficult position and can identify, from different perspectives, with all of them. The job length of a CIO is often shorter than that of an unfortunate football manager.
Jonathan has over 30 years’ experience in global blue-chip companies. He built his IT career at BP and GSK, where he became a vice president. He held CIO and other senior positions at Rolls-Royce for more than a decade. In 2014, he became the non-executive chairman of global CIO practice at Harvey Nash.
Jonathan is spot on in his analysis. He describes the worst trials and challenges that face a CIO and offers practical ways in which to tackle each of them. He does this in a very readable and humorous (but never flippant) way.
In each case he describes the nature of the trial, how it comes about, how you can spot it early enough to do something about it and suggestions on what you might do. For certain trials he also suggests the point at which it is probably too late to do anything but accept the inevitable.
He starts with the challenge that I have at the top of my list: dislocated stakeholders. Losing the confidence and support of key stakeholders, particularly board members, is almost certainly terminal.
He highlights ‘chronic consultancy syndrome’ which can precipitate or follow on from the former. ‘Pathogenic projects’, ‘shaky software’, ‘obsessive outsourcing compulsion’, ‘strategy schizophrenia’ and ‘bleeding budgets’ are all important challenges that are discussed.
If you are a CIO or thinking about taking on the position, this book should be on your list of essential reading. It may enhance or save your career one day.
It is an excellent book.
Reviewed by Sheila Bullas MBCS CITP
Having been a CIO myself and having helped other CIOs for many years, I am well aware of the trials and tribulations of this difficult position and can identify, from different perspectives, with all of them. The job length of a CIO is often shorter than that of an unfortunate football manager.
Jonathan has over 30 years’ experience in global blue-chip companies. He built his IT career at BP and GSK, where he became a vice president. He held CIO and other senior positions at Rolls-Royce for more than a decade. In 2014, he became the non-executive chairman of global CIO practice at Harvey Nash.
Jonathan is spot on in his analysis. He describes the worst trials and challenges that face a CIO and offers practical ways in which to tackle each of them. He does this in a very readable and humorous (but never flippant) way.
In each case he describes the nature of the trial, how it comes about, how you can spot it early enough to do something about it and suggestions on what you might do. For certain trials he also suggests the point at which it is probably too late to do anything but accept the inevitable.
He starts with the challenge that I have at the top of my list: dislocated stakeholders. Losing the confidence and support of key stakeholders, particularly board members, is almost certainly terminal.
He highlights ‘chronic consultancy syndrome’ which can precipitate or follow on from the former. ‘Pathogenic projects’, ‘shaky software’, ‘obsessive outsourcing compulsion’, ‘strategy schizophrenia’ and ‘bleeding budgets’ are all important challenges that are discussed.
If you are a CIO or thinking about taking on the position, this book should be on your list of essential reading. It may enhance or save your career one day.
It is an excellent book.
Reviewed by Sheila Bullas MBCS CITP
February 20, 2015
Good use of satire in this book to keep the reader engaged. The author shared insight of the political battles a CIO or any IT Leader engaged with the business leaders outside of IT must engage in. Great read.
January 23, 2016
full of good information for CIO, sometime difficult to read for non english-mather language lucky ones
Read
May 31, 2016Outstanding and very relevent
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews