Executive Insights
A fad-free way to build performing teams
IT magazine articles and white-papers regularly publish articles such as, “Building a high performing team”, “Reinventing the workforce”, “Transforming the organisation” and the like. These articles have stories from large (usually overseas) companies where the CIO has turned an under performing organisation around (with the help of a brand name consulting firm with their brand name methodology). Local CIOs and IT managers read these articles and begin to believe they too need a major transformation program in order to turn their IT organisation into a “world-class” “high-performing” organisation.
We think there is an easier and fad-free way for all managers to build a performing team.
Read more... CIO Role - a juggling act
In 2009 IBM published a study based on interviews of 2,500 CIOs from across the globe. They found that:
Many of the CIOs most important objectives seemed to clash, e.g. how to be innovative whilst relentlessly cutting costs and how to introduce new services without causing disruption to the business. These conflicting objectives make the CIO role a constant juggling act.
Read more... Running IT like a business - Myth or reality
In January this year Bob Lewis posted an article in Infoworld titled “
Run
IT as a business -- why that's a train wreck waiting to happen". In
this article, Bob suggests that a lot of current thinking about running
IT like a business is misguided and leading CIOs in the wrong
direction.
This article explores what it means to run IT as a business.
Read more...Beyond Service Management
Most of the IT service organisations have adopted ITIL or similar
service management disciplines. Service management requires new
processes for users. Service is provided only after a service request is
raised, new initiatives need a business justification, service level
agreements need to be in place, and the list goes on.
Many IT groups get so bound by these processes and rules that they
forget about the end customer satisfaction. Here are some practical approaches to go beyond the service management and win over customers.
Read more ....Towards better IT Governance
As both business and public sector organisations are becoming increasingly dependent on
IT, there is growing recognition that governance of IT is an essential part of
the corporate governance. Governance is about who makes the decisions? How they
are made and who is accountable for what? While the need for IT governance is
accepted, implementing effective IT governance continues to be a challenge.
Many
C-level executives still consider IT to be too complex, technical and difficult
to govern. IT governance still is perceived as a CIO issue. Alignment between
IT and business strategy as well as between IT and business governance remains
weak.
This article demystifies the IT
governance and provides practical ideas for improvement.
Read more ...
Developing high potential leaders
What differentiates between success and mediocrity in organisations?
Studies show that the high performing leaders are the ones most relied
upon to drive the business performance in the years to come. High performing employees have a
disproportionately higher impact on results. This means that
identifying and developing future high performers is a critical
priority for any organisation. CIOs have a responsibility to identify
and nurture these star performers in IT organisations.
This article shows how CIO's can identify and develop these emerging leaders.
Read
moreShow me the money
When the CEO says "Show me the money", CIOs are often caught short and
unable to demonstrate the value of IT projects. Here are crucial steps
CIOs should take to instil a benefits management focus in their
organisations and ensure that project success is judged by the value
that's created.
This article shows how to increase project ROI by adopting the "realisation" mindset.
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more
Winning the "Board" game
For any company executive, fronting up to a board meeting and
presenting is a daunting challenge. CIOs have an
additional challenge. Boards are rarely interested in technology. They
don’t understand the jargon. In such an environment
engaging effectively with boards and getting
that funding request approved can be a major challenge.
Over my career, I had to present to the boards a number of times in
different companies. This article, based on my experience and that of
colleagues, aims to provide guidance to CIOs and other IT executives
who want to win the board game.
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