Get exec buy-in for new projects

All the great IT projects and software solutions in the world will mean nothing unless your boss commits to the strategy and is willing to sign on the bottom line. How can you translate the great ideas into reality and get top level approval and support?

NetworkWorld.com talked to former CIOs for advice on this topic. Brian Kilcourse, former CIO of Longs Drug Stores, said top executives must understand right from the beginning how the IT changes will improve the business. "Businesses tend to think of IT efforts as separate from their overall strategic agenda, in spite of the fact that, to a large extent, it is a company's ability to use its digital assets effectively that distinguish winners from losers," he said.

Bob Doyle, former CIO of Alliant Foodservice, said management staff usually do not fully understand their role or responsibility in the development process and feel no accountability. Making them part of the effort is key, he said. It requires explaining and engaging management at all levels, establishing an executive IT strategy to create a formal executive and management reporting and feedback process, and winning confidence and trust by demonstrating successful implementations.

Kilcourse also said that having visibility for the IT processes and services is a must."The biggest part of that is getting agreement on what will be measured, and then measuring it," he said.

For more advice:
- check out this NetworkWorld.com article