by Mark P. McDonald | October 29, 2010 | 3 Comments
How Companies Win by Rick Kash and David Calhoun is recommended reading for executives facing the need to grow revenues in a sluggish economy. Kash and Calhoun provide a comprehensive discussion of what is going on — namely the shift from a world driven by your supply chain to one driven by a new demand [...]
Category: 2011 Economy Strategy Tags: 2011 Planning, Economic conditions, Economy, Strategy
by Mark P. McDonald | October 27, 2010 | 4 Comments
Good question as the role of IT and the CIO has changed dramatically over the past two decades. Understanding the alternatives for these three letters helps highlight the context and leadership challenge CIOs face. Chief Information Officer is the original term reflecting the CIOs organizational authority and position as one of the “C-Level” positions. In [...]
Category: 2011 CIO Leadership Strategic planning Tags: 2011 Planning, CIO, CIO Leadership, CIO strategy, IT strategy, Strategy and Planning, symposium
by Mark P. McDonald | October 25, 2010 | 2 Comments
The CIO Edge provides a unique view on leadership. — the leaders. Too often books on leadership either describe leader behaviors in abstract and academic terms or in self-serving prose colored by the author’s admiration for the leader. The CIO edge is different in that it let’s the leaders speak in their own words and [...]
Category: Book Review Uncategorized Tags: CIO, Leadership
by Mark P. McDonald | October 20, 2010 | 2 Comments
It’s day three at Gartner’s 2010 Symposium and IT/Xpo and it’s time to take a look at what is on the minds of CIOs. The answer is simple — a lot. Transitions is the theme of this year’s Symposium and CIOs see themselves going through at least three transitions: Economic as companies are answering the [...]
Category: 2011 Economy Leadership Strategy Technology Tags: 2011 Planning, IT management, IT strategy, symposium, Technology, Technology Leadership
by Mark P. McDonald | October 19, 2010 | Submit a Comment
Ther e are a lot of different ways to think about IT. After all IT is complex, with multiple moving parts, different perspectives and challenges. This makes sharing what IT is all about quite difficult. Analogies help not only because they enable people to apply their judgement but also to talk about something complex is [...]
Category: Fun Leadership Lean Thinking Strategic planning Tags: 2011 Planning, IT and Business, IT strategy, symposium
by Mark P. McDonald | October 17, 2010 | 1 Comment
It is October and therefore it must be time for CIOs and IT leaders to gather in Orlando to discuss, debate and shape the future of enterprise IT. This year’s gathering is special as it’s Gartner’s 20th symposium. It is also the largest Symposium we have had in recent memory. Taken together it’s a time [...]
Category: Leadership Strategy Technology Tags: 2011 Planning, IT and Business, Leadership, symposium
by Mark P. McDonald | October 15, 2010 | Submit a Comment
This summer Gartner Executive Programs and MIT Sloan School’s Center for Information Systems Research (MIT CISR) published a report on the Advantages and Economics and Value of Reuse. (Executive Summary) The report is based on a study of more than 1,500 companies to understand the impact of reuse. The joint study defined reuse as using [...]
Category: Technology Tools Tags: cost cutting, Finance, Operational Leadership, Technology, Technology Leadership
by Mark P. McDonald | October 14, 2010 | 1 Comment
Everyone breathed easier as the last miners were pulled from the San Jose Mine in Chile as it completed one part of an amazing story of human endurance, a country’s resolve and the power of a positive but realistic outlook. I will not go into the details of the story, but it is a positive [...]
Category: Personal Observation Tags: IT management, personal musing
by Mark P. McDonald | October 13, 2010 | Submit a Comment
Customer values and intentions have changed as business leaders shift from trying to get back to the way things were before the recession to taking the turn to a future based on they way things are now. One of the funny things that has happened on the way to the turn is the changing nature [...]
Category: Economy Strategy Tools Tags: 2011 Planning, Business Leadership, customers, Markets, Strategy, Strategy and Planning
by Mark P. McDonald | October 12, 2010 | Submit a Comment
As the annual planning process starts its important to recognize that it’s the CIO’s responsibility to work with executives in a way that builds their trust and support for IT and it’s strategy. That comes from speaking with executives in a way they understand rather than trying to ‘teach them IT.’ Speaking in a way [...]
Category: Leadership Tools Tags: 2011 Planning, Change leadership, IT strategy, Tools
