business acumen

A New Job Description for the CIO

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 06:59:56 -0400

A decade ago, the CIO position was described as a technology one. Today it is more likely to be described as someone with "C-level leadership skills." Once an afterthought, today's CIO needs the same broad business skills and experience that all members of the senior leadership team need. CIOs now need three top business traits that span across different skill sets: business acumen, proven leadership and a global perspective. We'd like to hear what you think about the skills needed for CIOs to do their job in an ever-changing world.

For more on this compelling subject:
- see this TechLinks article

Is an MBA the new key to becoming an A-list CIO?

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 20:01:39 -0400

If an MBA isn't already mandatory for A-list CIOs, it may be soon. CIO Magazine interviewed Mark Polansky, North American managing director of executive search firm Korn Ferry's IT Center of Expertise, as well as and Carl Gilchrist, the North American leader of the Spencer Stuart's Information Officers practice. Both report that that having an MBA is a plus because it speaks to two of the top criteria for CIO positions today: leadership ability and business acumen. While there are still plenty of examples of high-profile CIOs who do not have an MBA, future employers are taking a hard look at educational requirements as the top IT spot becomes more strategic. This is especially important for organizations who depend on their CIOs to get involved in long-term planning and business strategy implementations.

For more on CIOs with MBAs:
- read more on the topic in CIO Magazine. Article

Do You Have a Succession Plan in Place?

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 20:01:36 -0400

Rather than looking outside of the organization, more CIOs are turning to their own teams to find their successors. Cultivating CIO talent is an important part of the job these days. Two years ago, when Chubb Corp., a $14 billion insurance agency, could not fill its CIO opening, it convinced June Drewry, a former CIO with 20 years of experience, to come out of retirement to groom its next CIO. Drewry had some revealing things to say in a recent interview with CIO Insight magazine. She reiterates the fact that the CIO's role has changed and so have the skills necessary to take on the job. Leadership, business acumen and relationship management are all necessary skills for tomorrow's CIOs. When asked whether the IT department is the only department from which to attract future CIOs, she responds: "IT can be pretty snobby at times, and not have a lot of respect for people who didn't come up through its ranks." Still, she notes that "because of the integration of IT and business and operations, there is more of a willingness to open up to someone from within the business operations side."

Learn more about succession plans in the full interview:
- see this CIO Insight article

Thriving in a changing world

Wed, 02 May 2007 20:01:39 -0400

To thrive during the next five years, CIOs must be business leaders first and technology leaders second. Taking on additional business duties is essential to ensuring that you are viewed as a business leader, according to Gartner. But keeping your eyes on the prize may be harder than it sounds. For one thing, CIOs tend to be long-term planners, while CEOs think ahead to the next quarter. And in general, CIOs are more process-focused while CEOs are more outcome-focused. Finally, IT leaders tend to see projects in terms of cost, while business leaders see them through the lens of opportunity. It boils down to this: Focus on only a few things; view projects as opportunities; bring your financial management, sales and marketing, and change management skills to the table as part of your overall IT strategy; make sure you're at the forefront of influence and change; and make sure that you have all of the skills needed to run a top IT organization along with the business acumen to help set strategy for the company.

Learn more about thriving in the corporate world:
- read the article at SearchCIO

Wanted: SOA staff

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

SOA is the hottest trend in IT these days, but finding qualified IT staff who understand the concept and have the skills can be a real problem. While outsourcing has merit, it might not be good for the company in the long term, and hiring external consultants is expensive. The other option is retraining existing staff, and it often makes a lot of sense. In fact, companies today are spending an average of $310,000 on SOA skills development and training. Training involves learning new technical skills as well as developing business acumen that will help them serve their users. To make it work, deploy new roles and redefine existing ones. New roles include IT executive, enterprise architect, service architect, service engineer, and developer/administrator. Also, establish core standards, accelerate re-skilling with a plan, use external help judiciously, and measure progress against the skills change plan.

Learn more about re-skilling for SOA:
- read the article at CIO

ALSO:
- read this on SOA governance
- this on taking it slow with SOA deployments
- and this on the basics of SOA

New battery promises to prevent overheating

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 19:01:35 -0500

Panasonic is showing some business acumen and ingenuity in designing a new lithium battery that won't catch fire the way some of Sony's batteries recently did. The vendor says that its new lithium-ion battery has a heat-resistant layer that will keep notebooks and other electronic devices from overheating. Such batteries could prove popular with vendors, given that Dell's recall of over 4 million Sony batteries was the largest consumer product recall to date.

For more on the safer laptop battery:
- read the article at DailyTechRag

Getting needed business skills on staff

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 20:01:35 -0400

The big skill and staffing trend happening is the push to find tech experts who also boast business and financial skills, as understanding the business is key to making sure IT reaches good alignment with broader business goals. As one CIO relates, not only are today's tech leaders gaining business acumen, with many attaining MBA degrees and financial experience, so are mid-level tech folks such as project managers. The quest is to ensure that your IT staff has depth in both technical and business skillsets. That's why CIOs need to identify current staffers interested in the business side and support professional development efforts.

For more on getting business acumen within IT:
-read this column at Optimize