Center for CIO Leadership : All Content - All Communities

IT in High School

info@cioleadershipcenter.com — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 02:42:25 GMT

I have an interest in determining the level of IT education that is happening in high schools around the world. High school is defined in this case as the 9th to 12th year of education. I believe that the U.S. is falling behind by not offering a rigorous IT curriculum in high school. I think that other countries are doing a better job of presenting these topics during this period when a lot of students make decisions about their future. I believe that the U.S. high school curriculum that is dubbed "college prep" is defined as courses in Math, Physics and Chemistry. I believe very few schools consider IT to be a science equal to these "classical sciences." This is despite the fact that there are significantly more jobs available in IT than in the classical sciences. I believe that a major reason for this is the need for schools in the U.S. to teach to the college entrance exam.

I would be very interested to hear from educators around the world relative to this topic. Also I would like to hear from IT practitioners who have some information on this topic.

Center for CIO Leadership Member Case: David Tobias, Bank of Israel

info@cioleadershipcenter.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:59:19 GMT

Center for CIO Leadership Member Case

David Tobias, Bank of Israel

June 2010

“The INSEAD program was the best I have ever attended. The presentation and the workshop that followed immediately after were excellent. I was able to take a lot of what I learned back home and use it in my position – very beneficial.”

Member Profile:

David Tobias is the Director of Information Technology at the Bank of Israel, the central bank of the state since 1954.The bank is situated in Ben Gurion campus in Jerusalem, near the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the Supreme Court, and government ministries.

Connect directly with David Tobias by visiting his member profile.

The Changing Role of the CIO

David Tobias, Bank of Israel’s CIO, attended the Executive Education Session The New CIO: Business Leader, Agent of Change, Driver of Value hosted by Center for CIO Leadership and INSEAD. During the session, David was particularly interested in the aspects of the changing role of the CIO, and the relationship with the CEO, “I came home with a lot of material and a new perspective. I realized that I need to evolve from growth enabler to growth initiator and facilitator.”

How the Center helped

As a direct result of David’s experience at the INSEAD Executive Education Session, there has been an incremental change in his approach, which in turn led to noticeable change in his organization.

Before	After	Competency Area Addressed*
Emphasis was on “keep the lights on” – balancing 9-10 challenges at any given time	Changed organizational structure More personal internal & external customer focus Deputy is internally and operationally focused Mentoring employees to assume responsibility for internal roles	Organizational Change Leadership
Internally focused on day-to-day operations	Focused on strategic relations with customers	Customer Centricity
Reactive to business requirements and needs	Proactive shaping of the business needs and customer interests Advance CIO/CEO relationship Greater frequency of customer interactions to identify value proposals to his business audience	CIO/CEO Relationship

*Take a deeper dive into these subjects by by following the links. Note: You must be a CIO member of the Center to access the additional materials. Join now.

London CIO Executive Session: The Changing Nature of Innovation

info@cioleadershipcenter.com — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:37:25 GMT

As the global economy slowly begins to emerge from the downturn, companies are evolving their focus on cost cutting to look for opportunities to emerge in the new “normal” more competitive and positioned for growth. The role of technology in innovating out of the downturn is far-reaching, and the opportunities for CIOs to take the lead are wide-ranging.

The Center has teamed up with Cranfield School of Management to convene CIOs to uncover ideas and strategies for both of these aspects of the changing nature of innovation. On Wednesday, October 6, the Center and Cranfield are co-sponsoring an in-person education program, “The Changing Nature of Innovation and the Role of the CIO to Drive and Lead the Opportunity." The day-long program, taking place on the Cranfield campus outside of London, will examine these key themes:

Creating frameworks to drive collaboration and embed innovation within the business culture
Identifying and implementing technologies to lead product and service innovation
Innovating to transform the business model
Self-funding for innovation

We invite CIOs and other IT leaders to join their peers for :

Theme: “The Changing Nature of Innovation and the Role of the CIO to Drive and Lead the Opportunity.”
Date: Wednesday, October 6, 2010, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm BST
Audience: Senior executives including CIOs, Directors of IT, VPs
Location: The Cranfield Management Research Institute, Cranfield University, College Road, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL
Registration fee: £100 + VAT

The one-day program includes panel sessions, breakouts and networking opportunities that will connect you with other industry leaders. You will come away with practical approaches and techniques that will help you to take action, and lead your organization to emerge stronger in today’s economy. The agenda for this interactive program will feature peer presentations and provide real life examples of how CIOs have led innovation in their own organizations.

Agenda and Speakers

The Changing Nature of Innovation and the Role of the CIO to Drive and Lead the Opportunity
8:30 am	Networking over breakfast
9:00 am	Session Introduction and Overview Joe Peppard, Director Information Systems Research Centre, Cranfield School of Management
9:30 pm	Frameworks for Innovating: Creating and Managing Creating the Innovation Eco-system – Ken Douglas, Technology Director, British Petroleum Managing the Innovation Portfolio – Gary Hird, Head of Technology, John Lewis Partnership
10:30 am	Coffee Break and Networking
11:00 am	Frameworks for Innovating: Uncovering and Showcasing Uncovering Innovation: Seeking Emerging Technologies – Jason Haines, Director of IT, CIO, Allen & Overy LLP Showcasing Innovation: The Innovation Lab – Gary Gascoigne, General Manager ISD, Asda Stores Ltd
12:00 pm	Buffet Lunch and Networking
1:00 pm	Innovating for Business Impact Overview on Evolving Opportunities for CIOs Harvey Koeppel, Executive Director, Center for CIO Leadership Product Innovation for Expanding Market Opportunities – Stefan Wagner, EMEA Head for Retail and Structured Products, Citigroup London Innovating the Business Model: Outsourcing for Advantage – Mike Vincent, former CIO, ING Group, Center Advisory Council member and Noel Thomas, Principal/Consultant, Digizone Global Services BV
2:30 pm	Leading the Innovation Opportunity Self Funding for Innovation – Jose Carlos Eiras, former CIO of General Motors in Europe and LA, author of “The Practical CIO”
3:00 pm	Coffee break and shift to Roundtable discussions
4:15 pm	Report out and Group Discussion
4:45 pm	Wrap up and Perspectives on the Day - Harvey Koeppel and Joe Peppard
5:00 pm	Adjourn

Click here for the Cranfield University Registration Form to register for this event.

If you would like more information, please contact the Center.

We Still Don’t Know How To Manage IT

wcrowell@asuret.com — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:12:02 GMT

I just finished listening to the recent press conference of Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, on his planned restructuring and rationalization of the Department of Defense. I was struck by his description of the IT function within the Department as inefficient and the duplication of basic IT capabilities across the organization. It sounded as if every command at all levels had their own independent IT functions.

This in and of itself is not surprising in a large bureaucracy, but it does cause one to wonder who is running the show. There is an overall Department CIO and most likely many Command level CIO’s. I’m sure they all want to protect their turf but there is a more important public service responsibility to run IT in as cost effective a manor as possible using the technologies available today.

Addressing this problem requires that senior management at all levels understand two basic principles of managing IT. First, the value of IT is delivered through applications and the design, development or purchase of these applications needs to be close to and under the control of the end users. Second, the technology tools supporting these applications (data centers, servers, networks, desktops, mobile devices and most support functions) need to be managed at the enterprise level of the organization. The reason is simply that there are enormous economies of scale in acquiring and managing these resources.

One additional reality is that end user demands drive the need for IT resources and this demand needs to be controlled in two ways. First, the enterprise needs to make sure the capability being requested doesn’t already exist within the organization to avoid duplication. Second, truly new capabilities need to be justified by a strong business case.

So what does DOD need to do to get it’s hands around the issues it faces? Here are some ideas:

Consolidate data centers into an overall DOD network. EDS and all the major outsourcers have known for years that there is an optimal size for a data center, and all suboptimal centers should be closed and their functions transferred to the enterprise’s data centers. I’d did exactly this years ago at McGraw Hill and we generate substantial savings, though I admit it was a difficult political job. I also supported doing this in Oregon’s state government, proving the politics can be overcome if the rational is strong enough.
Consolidate networks which are a major IT expense and in most cases duplicative and overlapping.
Virtualize servers where ever possible. We all know that servers dedicated to a single application are typically underutilized and that the technology now exists for servers to support multiple applications
Centralize the purchase of desktops and mobile devices to gain the purchasing economies of scale.
Centralize all support functions into centers of excellence.

I would not be surprised if DOD could cut it’s IT cost by as much as 50% without negatively impacting service. This was exactly my experience at McGraw Hill when I was asked to rationalize the IT organization in the early 1980’s.

The principles for effectively managing IT in large organizations is not a mystery and they have been proven over and over again. Unfortunately, there have been classic failures in applying these principles, the Texas and Virginia debacles come to mind. It’s essential that leadership at all levels clearly understand they are wasting valuable resources that as Secretary Gates said can and should be redeployed to meet the organization’s primary mission, goals and objectives. Selling these principles to the organization’s leadership and then executing these principles is the primary mission of the Department’s CIO.

I would appreciate your thoughts on this blog through your comments or you can contact me direct at any of venues below.

William A. Crowell

Wcrowell@asuret.com

LinkedIn: Bill Crowell

Twitter: billcio

Updated: CIO, CEO, CFO Executive Evening Event – New York City

info@cioleadershipcenter.com — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 14:54:22 GMT

The Center for CIO Leadership is hosting an exclusive executive event Thursday, October 21, 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm in New York City.

Salon Theme: “CEOs See Technology as Growth Driver; CIOs Don’t… a Discussion.”
Date: Thursday, October 21, 2010 from 5:30–8:30 pm
Audience: CEO, CFO, CIO and other C-suite executives

Recent IBM studies show that CEOs view technology as a game changer for the future of their businesses; whereas CFOs and CIOs don’t share this perspective. This session will feature CEOs, CFOs and CIOs who will discuss this gap and will offer their thoughts on the future that technology will enable in their businesses in 2011 – and what CIOs can do differently to seize the opportunity to lead the way.

Join panelists:

Marianne Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer, Omgeo
Jim Metzger, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Finance & Administration, TM Forum
Lou Trebino, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, The Harry Fox Agency

This exclusive session will also feature other leading CIOs and academics that will lead round table discussions that will focus on the perception of technology in organizations and the role that CIOs can take to enable and drive business growth.

Given the unique value that this conversation will provide, we encourage you to invite one or more of your executive team peers to join you at this special event.

Agenda

5:30 pm	Networking over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres
6:15 pm	Panel Discussion: C-Suite Perspectives: What’s Working, What’s Not—Communicating the Value of Technology
7:00 pm	Breakout Discussions: Advancing the C-Suite Technology Conversation in Your Organization
7:45 pm	Closing Thoughts & Takeaways
8:00 pm	Networking over cordials, coffee / tea and dessert
8:30 pm	Adjourn


Date:	Thursday, October 21, 2010


Location:	Hotel Plaza Athenee, Le Trianon 37 East 64th Street (between Madison & Park) New York, NY 10065-7003 (212) 734-9100

Event registration:	There is no fee for this event

For more information on the event, please send us an email.

Information for Out of Town Participants

We have arranged with the Hotel Plaza Athenee to provide our attendees a special room rate of $375 + tax for the night of our event. If you wish to secure a room, please call (212) 734-9100 between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM Eastern time and ask for Reservations. Be sure to indicate that you are attending the "Center for CIO Leadership Salon" on July 27th in order to qualify for the special rate. This rate is available for advance reservations only and while supply lasts. Please note that you will be responsible for all charges. Alternatively, you can follow your organization's travel policy to make your own arrangements.

We Need Outsourcing Marriage Counselors

wcrowell@asuret.com — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 20:05:22 GMT

CIO Magazine had a very interesting article by Stephanie Overby published this week entitled “Don’t Mess with Texas: 7 Lessons from State IT Outsourcing Disasters”. Her 7 lessons learned from IT outsourcing debacles in Texas, Virginia and Indiana included:

You Get What You Pay For
You Get What You SLA For
When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Go Public
You Can't Sue Your Way to a Better Relationship. But You Can Try
Outsourcing Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry
Outsourcing Will Not Cure Internal Inertia
If At First You Don't Succeed, Try Again. And Again

The article goes on to say “It took San Diego County two outsourcing contracts—and three different CIOs—before it got its outsourcing deal on the right track”, which is a reference to a May 2006 article that Stephanie wrote (“Government Outsourcing: San Diego Tries to Learn from Contract Mistakes”).

The problem with Stephanie assessment, especially the idea that San Diego got it right the second time around, is the belief that the outsourcing contract is the basis for success. My argument is not that having a sound contract is a bad idea but simply that any third party relationship has to be based first on a solid foundation of mutual respect, empathy and trust.

The contract is like a prenuptial agreement, if things don’t go well it’s the basis for resolution of any disputes. Once the marriage is consummated and the deal signed, the players on both sides need to work on developing their relationship.

The starting point for this relationship is mutual respect. The client needs to understand that they have hired expertise in IT from the outsourcer because IT is not their organization’s core competency and that their organization has made the outsourcing decision based upon a belief that the outsourcer will provide more efficient and effective IT services. Anyone in the client organization that is not committed to these fundamental principles should not be involved in the outsourcing relationship.

From the outsourcers perspective, they need to demonstrate from the get go their core competency in IT and clearly document the ways in which they are improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the IT services they are providing. The profitability of their relationship should be the result of the superior services they are providing and not the principle goal of the relationship. Here again, any member of the outsourcing vendor that doesn’t embrace these principles should be removed from the account.

Empathy is a second essential element of the third part relationship. The client needs to understand that their outsourcer is not a charity and needs to generate a reasonable profit if the relationship is going to be sustained over the long run. The outsourcer needs to understand their client’s cost concerns and make sure they are clearly demonstrating that their services are competitive. Empathy implies flexibility on the part of both parties. The client’s demands must be reasonable and not place an unfair burden on the outsourcer and the outsourcer must be willing to give when there are issues with the quality or effectiveness of the services being provided. If the outsourcer has over promised the services they can provide for the price they quoted, not an unusual situation, then these issues need to be addressed head on. The question can best be addressed by determining a fair price and an appropriate discount that reflects the outsourcer’s prior commitments.

If mutual respect and empathy have been established, then the conditions exist to build the third leg of the stool - trust. Trust clearly takes time to develop and is the most valuable element of any relationship. Any actions by either party that would violate the others trust is a strategic relationship issue and needs to be effectively addressed by the senior management of both parties. Nothing can cause a relationship to unravel faster than the loss of trust.

If your considering outsourcing or have already entered into an outsourcing relationship, develop a sound contract and then put it on the shelf. Focus on developing a solid relationship based upon mutual respect, empathy and trust, and my bet is you’ll never need to refer to the contract again or at least only in the most unique circumstances. If problems develop, consider working with a marriage counselor before ending up in a failed relationship.

William A. Crowell

wcrowell@asuret.com

twitter: billcio

LinkedIn: Bill Crowell

My Blog: http://bcrowell.wordpress.com/

Why is being a CIO such a tough job? The role as Change Agent

wcrowell@asuret.com — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:17:13 GMT

In my experience when you join an organization at the CIO level you are most likely being hired as a change agent. You’re being asked to fix a dysfunctional IT unit, lead a major systems modernization effort, establish an IT strategy for the organization or fix a failed project. Seldom if ever do you join a stable organization with the goal of implementing a well-defined IT strategy. Your role by definition is that of an agent of change. In this context I’ve asked the question, what are the pros and cons of the change agent role?

Since being a change agent is typically a central part of a new CIO’s role, it makes sense that we need to understand the change process and where we are in that process. Abbie Lundberg’s recent blog entitled How to Survive in a World of Constant Change presents a simple and straightforward change model that I’ve applied throughout my career, without even knowing I was doing so. The model has three stages:

Unfreeze – preparing people for change.
Change – implementing the change.
Refreeze – assuring the change becomes the “new normal”.

As I look back, when I’ve taken the time to unfreeze the organization and make sure people understand the problems we face and the opportunities that fixing the problems enable, then the changes can be developed and implemented on a collaborative basis by a team committed to the changes. I’ve not focused specifically on the refreeze phase of the process but it makes sense that once the changes are implemented people need time to adjust to the new normal.

The challenge for the CIO is to fulfill the change agent role without getting pigeonholed as a techie or Mr. Fix-It. Therefore, before diving into fixing specific problems, the IT organization should collaboratively develop a strategic plan with significant input from the business. The plan should clearly define:

The current situation with specific examples and data that support the team’s conclusions. Defining and communicating the problems created by the current situation is an excellent way of unfreezing the organization from long held and in many cases spurious beliefs.
The future state providing a vision of where we want to be and the benefits of getting there. This is a second element of unfreezing the organization and preparing them to implement the changes that it will entail.
A detailed implementation plan laying out what will be accomplished, when, by whom and the estimated costs and benefits. This becomes the blueprint for change, sets expectations and provides a baseline for measuring and communicating progress.
A control cycle that reports progress, lessons learned and updates to the plan. This is essentially the refreezing process designed to demonstrate a new level of expected performance from IT.

It’s been my experience that joining an organization, as the new CIO, positions the individual to be a major agent of change. However, the drawback is that your peers view your plate being full as a defensive measure to keep you from examining their operations and recommending specific changes. If people don’t perceive a clear need to change they will in my experience resist change.

All too often we in IT think in terms of all the ways we can apply technology before allowing the organization to unfreeze. We need to understand the problems or challenges that the organization faces before we offer solutions. Moreover, these solutions need to clearly address the problems or challenges and equally clearly define costs/benefits in business terms. Specifically, how will the solution enhance customer satisfaction and revenues, lower operating costs and/or reduce investment in assets required to operate the organization.

In summary, to maximize the opportunities that the change agent role provides and minimize the drawbacks take time to unfreeze the organization, provide a clear vision of the future and the path for getting there and allow time for the organization to refreeze and adjust to the new normal before continuing the move forward.

William A. Crowell

wcrowell@asuret.com

Twitter: billcio

LinkedIn: Bill Crowell

My Blog: http://bcrowell.wordpress.com/

Center for CIO Leadership FAQs

info@cioleadershipcenter.com — Wed, 05 May 2010 18:58:33 GMT

FAQs

About the Center

Q: What is the purpose of the Center for CIO Leadership?

Q: What can I find on the site?

Q: Who are the members of the site? Are they all CIOs?

Q: Who manages the Center?

Q: How do I contact the Center?

Q: What is the Center’s Privacy Policy?

Profile and Member Information

Q: How do I edit my profile?

Q: How do I post or edit a photo?

Q: I know my password but I want to change it; can I do that?

Q: I forgot my password. How do I retrieve it?

Q: Who can see my profile?

Q: What happens if I choose to show my email?

Q: How do I find other members?

Q: How do I contact other members?

Site Features

Q: Where did the Center get the image on the Blog overview page?

Q: How do I participate in the Mentor Program?

Q: How do I post an article or other content on the site?

Q: How do I make edits to an article?

Q: How do I rate content?

Q: How do I comment on an article, white paper, link etc. in the library?

Q: How do I start a discussion?

Q: How do I respond to a discussion?

Q: What is a tag?

Q: How do I tag content?

Emails and other Contacts

Q: How do I receive notifications when someone responds to one of my discussion posts?

Q: I see that I can "Follow this space". How does that work?

Q: I know about a great event that’s perfect for CIOs; how can I get the event up on the site?

Q: How do I stop receiving emails from the Center?

Q: Thanks but my question is still not answered. How can I get my question answered?

About the Center

Q: What is the purpose of the Center for CIO Leadership?

The Center is a membership-based peer community for CIOs worldwide. With an emphasis on research, education, and outreach, the Center partners with world-class learning programs and academic institutions, established content resources, and respected influencers in the industry to meet the needs of CIOs today and to prepare them for the future.

Our website has been designed to create a virtual environment to support CIOs and senior IT leaders, and also to enable participation by members of the extended IT community (the ecosystem) that surrounds and supports today's CIOs. As in any community, each member has an assigned role, which defines privileges and benefits appropriate to the individual's participation.

Q: What can I find on the site?

A: We have different sections or spaces on the site for CIO Members. Following is a quick description of each space so you understand what the Center offers. You can also visit each space and read the Overview for more detail.

Research & Perspectives covers the core competencies and business issues focusing on allowing CIOs to hone their leadership and business skills.
- Skills & Competencies focuses on the four core competencies you, as members, have indicated are keys to your professional advancement as CIOs.
- Business & Technology includes information about critical and timely trends that affect most organizations.
Events provides a directory of both Center events and third-party events we think CIO members will find valuable.
Executive Education lists out executive education programs around the world and will eventually include Center partner education programs as well.
Career Center is helping you to advance in your current role and beyond.
- CIO Assessment – Here, you can find details on the critical competencies the Center has developed to help CIOs assess their readiness as strategic business leaders.
- The Mentor Program is pairing up CIOs for peer exchange of experience and advice.
- Job Center is a forum for members to share opportunities and express interest in seeking new ones.
Member to Member is a space for members to share information and news relevant to Center CIO member.
About the Center offers information about the purpose of the Center.
- Support Center allows you to learn more about the Center and get ideas about getting involved.
- Member Announcements contains announcements and Center site information of interest to CIO members. This is currently only available to CIO members.
Visitor Center is where prospective members can learn more about the site.

You will notice that on most of the spaces, there is an "Action Item" box. We want to make it easy for you to participate in the community. Each "Action Item" box lets you know what activity you can participate in and generally gives you a quick snapshot of the purpose of that space.

Q: Who are the members of the site? Are they all CIOs?

Most of the members of the community are CIOs or the senior most IT executive of an organization. There are other members of the community because we recognize that having an ecosystem of members to support CIOs will provide a richer experience for CIO members. These other members do not have access to the Member Directory. They have access to view some content and only have access to post in their area of expertise, if applicable. For instance, executive talent recruiters have access to post only to the Job section, academic and learning partners have access to post to the Research and Perspectives section.

Q: Who manages the Center?

The Center for CIO Leadership is an independently managed organization lead by Harvey Koeppel, Executive Director. You can read Harvey’s bio and get other contact information here.

Q: How do I contact the Center?

Please visit the Center's contact page.

Q: What is the Center’s Privacy Policy?

We take your privacy very seriously. You can find the privacy policy here.

Profile and Member Information

Q: How do I edit my profile?

We encourage you to fill out your profile so that others can search and filter to find you. It also helps the Center team do a better job providing you what you want and need.

Click on "My Stuff" on the top of any page
Find and click on "Profile"
Look for the "Actions" box on the right of the page
Click on "Edit Profile"
Review the "Help with this form:" section to the right of the screen so you understand what to fill in and which fields are visible to CIO members
Fill out all of the required and optional fields relevant to you
Pay special attention to the following fields as they may affect your member experience:
1. Show/Hide Name -- If your name is hidden, your username will show in its place
2. Show/Hide Email -- This defaults to hide. If you choose to show your email, it may show in a public area on the site
3. Would you like to receive the monthly eZine?
4. Would you like to receive Center emails & announcements?
Scroll to the bottom of the page and select "Save"

Q: How do I post or edit a photo?

Photos with higher resolutions tend to display more clearly on the site. Most photos render pixilated on the upload. We encourage you to upload it anyway. You can always change or remove it later.

Click on "My Stuff" on the top of any page
Find and click on "Profile"
Look for the "Actions" box on the right of the page
Click on "Change Photo & Avatar"
Click on the gray avatar image or the photo you want to replace
Select "Choose a file" then navigate to the image on your computer
Then select "Upload" and "Continue"
To adjust what will show on the screen, drag and drop the square that shows on the page
NOTE: The aspect ratio is wider than it is tall; this is a function of the platform
Select "Crop photo" once you are satisfied with what you see in the right hand image
Choose your avatar. The Avatar is the image that will show when you post to a discussion or to the library. You can either leave it as it is, or crop it, then select "Finish"

Q: I know my password but I want to change it; can I do that?

Click on "My Stuff" on the top of any page.
Find and click on "Profile"
Look for the "Actions" box on the right of the page
Select "Change Password"
Enter your new password two times
Select "Save"
Remember your new password so you can log in next time

Q: I forgot my password. How do I retrieve it?

Click here to have a password reset email sent to you. You will have 72 hours to update your password once the email is sent. If you are still having issues with logging in, please contact us.

Q: Who can see my profile?

You can see your own profile and CIO Members also have access to view the portion of your profile that is visible. You can see the list of fields visible to CIOs by editing your profile and viewing the "Help with this form:" box on the right of the page.

There are other members of the Center because we recognize that having an ecosystem of members to support CIOs will provide a richer experience for CIO members but these other members do not have access to the Member Directory. This means unless members are CIOs, they do not have access to see your profile.

Q: What happens if I choose to show my email?

There is a private message option available for CIO Members. This allows CIOs to contact any member of the Center via the private messaging system. In addition, you may choose to display your email address. This allows any member to email you directly.

If you choose to display your email, there is a possibility that it could be displayed in public areas of the Center site. You will notice that on every overview page, there is a box labeled “recent content”. Whenever a person posts to a discussion or posts a document in our library, their name shows up as the author of the document or discussion post. If you roll your icon over the name of the author, a mini profile of that person pops up. If you choose to display your email address, it will show in this box.

If you post to the Member-To-Member, Executive Education, Career Center, and Research & Perspectives spaces (but not in any of their sub-spaces), your profile, and thus your email address will display on the Overview page, which is available to the public, including guests and members who have not logged in. If you would like to change this feature, you can update your email display option by editing your profile.

Q: How do I find other members?

Note: Only CIO Members have access to the "Member Directory".

If you are a CIO, have access to the "Member Directory", and know a member’s name, you can search on the member’s name. You can also search on a company, title, location, as well as expertise and interests. To find members, click on the "Member Directory" on the top of any page to get to a list of all Center community members. You can Search or you can Filter for members. You can see exactly how both of these features work in the Video Tutorial as well.

Searching Members:

Once you’re on the Member Directory page, look for the "Search People" button on the right of the page
Using the "Search People" box, you can search on first or last name, company, title, location, as well as expertise and interests
Once you have searched, you can also use the filter options to narrow your results further

Filtering Members:

Once you’re on the Member Directory page, look for the "Filter this list" option on the right of the page
You can filter on one option or you can filter on several options:
- By First Letter of first name, last name, or username – Note that this will render results for all 3 fields at the same time
- By City
- By State or Province
- By Country
- By Industry
- By Tags
You can see what you have filtered on and adjust those filters by clicking on the x on any of the filters located just above the filtered results. You can also clear all filters by clicking on "Clear" to get back to a full list of members.

Q: How do I contact other members?

It is easy to reach out to any member of the Center community. First, navigate to the profile of the person who you would like to contact. To the right of the page, there is an "Actions" box. Select "Send private message" and then write your message. The note stays within they Center community but the member to whom you are reaching out will receive a notification that he or she has received a private message. That person then has the opportunity to respond.

Only CIO Members has access to initiate conversations. Members who are not CIO Members can only interact with CIO Members if that CIO Member has reached out to him or her first.

Site Features

Q: Where did the Center get the image on the Blog overview page?

The Center found the image on the Smashing Magazine site. Smashing Magazine delivers useful and innovative information to Web designers and developers. The magazine's aim is to inform readers about the latest trends and techniques in Web development. The RSS icon on the Center Blogs Space was created by Dirceu Veiga of Brazil and first published on Smashing Magazine in April 2008.

Q: How do I participate in the Mentor Program?

The Mentor Program is for CIO members only. It provides CIOs with direct connections to peers in organizations spanning multiple industries, sectors, and countries.

For further information on the Mentor Program please see:

The Mentor Program - About
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The Mentor Program – Introduction

Q: How do I post an article or other content on the site?

First, please confirm that you have copyright to the article you plan to post. You do not need permission to post a link to an article.

Find and navigate to the appropriate space in which you would like to post the content. For those who are not CIO members or Center partners, you can post your content in the Member to Member space
Look for the green "Actions" box at the right of the page and select "Post to library"
1. For Uploads: If you have an article to upload select "Upload a file". You may now upload the article by browsing to the article on your computer. You can edit the title once you’ve uploaded your article.
2. For Links: If you want to link to an interesting article, select "Write a new document".
We encourage you to write a summary of the article so that other members can get an idea of what the article is about. In addition, we encourage you to list both the authors of the article and the publisher.
Next, fill in the appropriate tags. We have tagged all of our content with category, author(s) and publisher. (Use spaces to separate tags; use an underscore to combine the words in multiple-word tags)
In the collaboration section, select yourself as the editor unless you want others to be able to edit the article.
If you want help formatting the article once it’s posted, email help@cioleadershipcenter.com

The Center team reviews all content on the site after it has been posted. We do not pre-moderate content, however, we will review and update all content so that is properly identified and so that other members can find it. We will only remove content that is posted without proper publishing permissions, violates Member Guidelines or if it is clearly not valuable for other members. If you have questions about relevant content or you want us to post content for you, please email us at help@cioleadershipcenter.com

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Some library articles are meant to be added to and edited by members.

Find and navigate to the appropriate space in which you would like to add to or edit the content.
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Add to or edit the document using the box provided as well as the editor tools at the top of the box
Select "Publish" to save your work

If you make a mistake in formatting and you're not sure how to fix it, feel free to contact us.

Q: How do I comment on an article, white paper, link etc. in the library?

We want you to give us your thoughts and feedback on the articles posted to the Center community. It helps the Center and others in the community think about ideas more broadly, helps them know why the article is valuable, and why they should read it.

It is easy to post your thoughts. At the bottom of any library posting, there is a place for you to add your comments.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and select "Add a comment"
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Q: How do I rate content?

The Center spends significant time finding articles and information we think you will find valuable. In order to let the Center team know and to let other members to know what you think about any article or other content on the site, it only takes a moment to provide your rating. At the bottom of each article are two sets of five stars. The first set is the community rating, the second set is your rating. Simply hover over then select the number of stars you would like to give the article. The stars correlate to a ranking.

One star = Poor
Two stars = Below Average
Three stars = Average
Four stars = Above Average
Five stars = Exceptional

Let the members know your opinion, it will help other members find valuable content and it will help the Center team make sure we are delivering what you want.

Q: How do I start a discussion?

A: There are many areas to start a discussion but we suggest posting in the area that makes the most sense.

First, navigate to the area that best matches the topic of your post
Next, click on the discussions tab
Look for the "Actions" box on the right of the page and click on "Start a discussion"
Create a compelling and descriptive title
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We also encourage you to tag your discussion with the appropriate tags. (Use spaces to separate tags; use an underscore to combine the words in multiple-word tags)
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We encourage you to select "Receive email notifications" in the "Actions" box for any thread you start. That way, you’ll be notified via email of any responses.

Q: How do I respond to a discussion?

Once you find a discussion in which you want to participate, click "Reply" on the original post or any of the replies.

Q: What is a tag?

A: Wikipedia describes a tag as a "non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information". Tags can be associated with any content including discussions, documents and other pages. Both the Center team as well as any CIO member can tag content. If you want a more detailed description on tags, visit Wikipedia’s description.

You can see all of the tags on our site in the Center community tag cloud.

Q: How do I tag content?

When you’re adding new content, you can fill out the "Tag" section just above the "Publish" or "Post Message" button. (Use spaces to separate tags; use an underscore to combine the words in multiple-word tags)

Emails and other Contacts

Q: How do I receive notifications when someone responds to one of my discussion posts?

Once you have posted your discussion, select "Receive email notifications" in the "Actions" box on the right of the page. You can receive notifications on any discussion or library article. If you would like to stop receiving emails, select, "Stop email notifications" on that page or on your profile.

Click on "My Stuff" on the top of any page
Find and select "Profile" from the dropdown menu
Just below your name on the left side of the screen, you will see a series of tabs. Select the "Email Notifications" tab.
On this tab you can select and remove any of your email notifications.

Q: I see that I can "Follow this space". How does that work?

If you follow a space, or a discussion area, it makes it easier for you to navigate to that area once you have logged into the Center site. When you select "Follow this space", you can quickly navigate to the space once you have logged in by selecting "My Stuff" at the top of any page then navigate to "Spaces". In essence, following a space allows you to quickly navigate to spaces of interest to you.

Q: I know about a great event that’s perfect for CIOs; how can I get the event up on the site?

Send us an email at event@cioleadershipcenter.com with your contact information, details of the event and a bit about why it’s relevant to our CIO members. We will review the event for relevance to the CIO members and post the event information if it is relevant.

Q: How do I stop receiving emails from the Center?

There are two types of emails you could be receiving from us. First, you may have set up automatically generated email notifications alerting you to changes on the Center site. You can update these notifications by visiting your profile.

Click on "My Stuff" on the top of any page
Find and select "Profile" from the dropdown menu
Just below your name on the left side of the screen, you will see a series of tabs. Select the "Email Notifications" tab
On this tab you can select and remove all of your email notifications

If you would like to stop receiving the monthly eZine or if you would like to stop receiving emails about Center events and activities, edit your profile.

Click on "My Stuff" at the top of any page.
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Select "Edit profile" from the list
Find the questions "Would you like to receive the monthly eZine?" And "Would you like to receive Center emails & announcements?"
Update your preferences
Scroll to the bottom of the page and select "Save"

Once your preferences are updated, we will update our records with your preferences.

Q: Thanks but my question is still not answered. How can I get my question answered?

We recommend either contacting us or leaving a comment in the comments section at the bottom of this page. We’ll respond to you either way.

It's the Users Turn

info@cioleadershipcenter.com — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:17:32 GMT

I’ve been in the IT business in various roles for almost 45 years. During that time, I can never remember a time when we weren’t criticized for being too techie and not understanding the business in which we labor. I guess I’m just a bit fed up with this constant criticism of our business acumen. Over my career, I have seen dramatic strides taken by IT practitioners to better understand and identify with the business of our company. What I haven’t seen over those same years is much of an attempt by our users to understand how IT operates and their responsibilities in assuring corporate success when developing IT systems.

I believe the proof of this condition is the ongoing attempts by many companies to minimize their involvement with the IT process by outsourcing, off-shoring and ERPing. All of these techniques have a common denominator, namely, to reduce the influence of internal corporate IT. History has shown that these techniques, when improperly implemented, can have severe deleterious effects on the corporation.

I’m not against any of these methods categorically. Each can play a helpful role in an overall IT strategy to minimize cost and maximize output. What I am against is the use of the techniques as a knee jerk reaction to some perceived problem with corporate IT. I would argue that IT problems are oftentimes not a problem with internal IT but are problems with the way that the users work with IT to attain their goals. As far as I know, there is very little training in corporations on how to get the most out of your IT organization. When systems are in trouble, due to cost overruns or blown schedules, it is always IT’s fault and IT must be held accountable.

I would recommend that companies take the time to train their users in how to work effectively with IT. This starts with strategic planning where IT must be involved so that emerging technologies can be brought to the table. The company must use an IT steering committee staffed by the corporate officers in order to assure that the right projects are being funded and that IT is aligned with the corporate mission. The training continues with a thorough understanding of the users role in systems analysis, design, systems testing and post audit. There needs to be a requirement that the user will spend the time or they will not get the system.

The user involvement continues in matters of business continuity. The users must be involved in planning for physical disasters and security breaches. This process is very important and is one of corporate survival. They must be able to document what is needed and when it is needed during times of business disruption. Finally IT and the users must collaborate closely during the initial discussions of mergers or acquisitions in order to assure that the systems are compatible and that they can be adapted for the new organization in a timely manner. Studies show that IT is most often brought in too late and they become the critical path.

This lack of knowledge of IT by users is just as damaging to successful IT systems as IT’s lack of knowledge of the business. IT has made great strides in this regard. Now it’s the users turn.

Why is being a CIO such a tough job? Understanding ROI

wcrowell@asuret.com — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:50:59 GMT

In a previous blog on this general topic, I mentioned the importance for the CIO to understand Return on Investment (ROI) and its purpose in the area of financial management. Historically the concept of ROI and its various measures including payback period, internal rate of return (IRR) and net present value (NPV) were designed to allow an organization to rank alternative capital investment opportunities with different cash flows as part of their capital budgeting process. Those with the greatest ROI relative to risk were selected and funded.

As I learned in graduate school, one of the most common mistakes people make in applying ROI methodologies is to focus on the measurements themselves and not the underlying assumptions surrounding the cash flow forecasts that produce the ROI. Here is an example from my own experience.

When I was the CIO for the Department of Human Services (DHS) in Oregon, we initiated a state wide data center consolidation project. Seventeen agencies participated and DHS was the largest. The capital investment was estimated to be approximately $24.0 million to build a new state of the art data center. In order to justify the investment the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) was required to show a two year payback in cost savings, based solely on projected personnel savings (i.e., you don’t need 17 data center managers in a consolidated facility). A two year payback is roughly a 50% IRR.

When the project was completed, DAS and the state legislature considered it a failure because the estimated personnel savings were not achieved. To fill the hole, the state agencies who participated were required to cut their budgets by the amount of the shortfall, which displeased the agency heads and agency leadership in general. It was seen as another IT fiasco. What went wrong?

First and foremost, setting an ROI goal for this project at a two year payback or 50% IRR created the wrong incentive for management. In order to achieve this goal, DAS artificially reduced the number of staff required in the new consolidated data center and accelerated the staff reductions to increase the projected savings and achieve a two year payback. This was a mistake and lead to the perception of a failed project, reinforcing my earlier point that the validity of the cash flow projections is paramount. So where did Oregon go wrong?

Essentially, the cash flow projections didn’t reflect reality and were backed into in order to achieve an arbitrary ROI goal. Here are some examples of items that were overlooked:

In the out years, the new consolidated data center had the capacity to provide computing services to all state agencies. This benefit was not estimated or included in the cash flow projections.
The project consolidated 17 separate agency data networks generating significant savings not included in the cash flow forecasts.
The consolidation of the data centers freed up valuable real estate in agency headquarters that was not valued or included in the cash flow forecast.
The construction of the data center was completed on schedule and at a cost $2.0 million below the budgeted $24.0 million.
Positions were eliminated (approximately 30+ at DHS) and the people who were in these position were able to fill other jobs that were vacant, leave state government for the private sector or retire.
The need to invest in 17 separate facilities going forward was avoided but again this benefit was not estimated or included in the cash flows. The State wouldn’t accept cost avoidance as a benefit but maybe this has changed after Katrina and the Gulf of Mexico oil well blowout.

Bottom line, an IT project that produced substantial benefits to the State over the long run was deemed a failure due to highly suspect ROI analysis and guess who took the heat, the CIO’s. In reality and taking into consideration all the benefits produced, if this project achieved a 4 year payback and only a 25% IRR, that’s a lot better than I’m doing in the market.