How CIOs can survive this downturn

These are tough times for businesses and that probably includes your office, too. Many companies are reevaluating what the CIO does and whether the job needs to be restructured in order to get the most out of this executive. Gary Beach, publisher emeritus at CIO magazine, offered advice to those in this position at the annual State of the CIO conference in Florida. According to the Miami Herald, his most critical piece of advice is for CIOs to become business strategists, instead of the technology go-to guy. Here are a few other tips reported by the newspaper:

• Spend more time with customers.
• Roll back prices and renegotiate contracts.
• Fight internal departments for money.
• Think small, not big, about projects, ideas and how to get from the starting gate to the finish line.

''I think the people that are really going to make it are the people that look on the opportunity side,'' said Rebecca Staton-Reinstein, president of consulting firm Advantage Leadership in North Miami Beach.

Beach ended his presentation with these words: ''IT is going to be more important on the other side of this recession than it was going in."

For more CIO advice:
- check out this MiamiHerald.com article

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