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 ANDCHALLENGES OF IT LEADERSHIP

The shelf-life of a Chief Information Officer can be shockinglyshort. Few survive in post for more than a few years. Moreoften each falls prey to insurmountable problems and their careerscome to a sharp and ignominious end. In this book, a global CIOwith over thirty years of experience in major corporations examinesthe main reasons why this happens. Readers will understand whichtypes of issue can cause problems for an IT Leader and moreimportantly, they will learn strategies of how these problems canbe minimized or even avoided.

IT is often seen a technical backwater, but it is a disciplinewhich has the capability to add massive value to an organisationwhether it is in the private or the public sector - providedof course it has the right leadership doing the right things.

Aspiring IT Leaders will need to deal with a common set ofrecurring trials and challenges. These include:

- Overcoming the challenge of managing diverse and conflictingstakeholders

- How todeal with large and complex projects

- Makingsense of software and how to handle the rapidly changing technologylandscape

- Knowingwhen to outsource and how to get the best out of anoutsourcing partner

- Harnessing the intellectual power of consultants to help you meetyour goals

- And lastbut not least, how to develop a set of strategies that are alignedwith your corporate goals and then make sure your resources areproperly targetted so that the IT function generates maximumpositive impact for the enterprise.

For IT professionals looking to fully integrate their functioninto the enterprise, 'Staying the Course as a CIO' is avaluable source of practical advice, all based on realexperience.