CIO Paradox Quotes

“The problem with communication is people think that they have actually communicated,” says Brent Stacey, paraphrasing the classic quote by George Bernard Shaw. “Today, people need to hear the same message multiple times and in multiple contexts to internalize it. It is almost like branding.”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“CIOs have a bias for action; they are change agents who are deadline oriented, and they want results.”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“For something made of wires, bits, and bytes, technology can elicit some fairly strong emotions in the people who attempt to use it.”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“The next CIO will be focused less on pure technology and using technology to drive change to achieve organizational design and business process outcomes,”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“What’s the difference between an introverted CIO and an extroverted CIO? The introverted CIO looks at his shoes when he talks to you. The extroverted CIO looks at your shoes.”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“CIOs need to have egos that are big enough to initiate transformative projects but small enough to let someone else take the credit.”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“You are accountable for the success of a project, but the business has to own it.”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“You are accountable for the success of a project, but the business has to own”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“There are only two types of projects: business successes and IT failures.”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“Being a CIO is like being a goalie. No one knows your name until you let one in.”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“Just tell the business what they need to know.”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“The CIOs who can focus on what’s new will be relevant, but the CIOs who continue to focus on enterprise systems will be replaced.”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“The burning platform is your friend if it doesn’t kill you,”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“legacy begins the day you put something in.”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“With innovation, sometimes you have to stub your toe.”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“Speed = Innovation × Simplicity.”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership

“Your many successes are invisible; your few mistakes are highly visible.”
― Martha Heller, The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership