Customer Reviews

CIO Wisdom: Best Practices from Silicon Valley

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4 star:		(4)
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The seventeen articles in this compendium represents contemporary and topical subjects, each written by a seasoned CIO. I was as impressed with the selection of articles as I was with the content because each topic is foremost on the minds of CIOs and senior IT managers today.

Among the articles I especially like are:

- The First 90 Days, by Mark Egan, which contains actionable plans that will get the new CIO (or other senior IT executive) quickly moving in the right direction.

- IT Organization, by Guy de Meester, in particular the challenges of centralization vs. decentraliztion, and organizational models in general. If this area is your focus I highly recommend additional reading: "Decentralization: Fantasies, Failings, and Fundamentals" (ISBN 0964163535) and "RoadMap: How to understand, diagnose, and fix your organization" (ISBN 0964163527), both of which go into great detail and provide an exceptionally effective approach.

- Governance, by Danny Maco, which is conspicuously missing in organizations large and small - or is often done incorrectly if done at all.

- Budgeting, by Bob Denis, Maureen Vavra, John Dick ... you'd think IT has this basic function under control, but sadly not. Read this article for excellent advice.

- The Metrics of IT: Management by Measurement, by Shel Waggener and Steve Zoppi. One of my favorite topics, and this team provides outstanding advice and keen insights.

Other articles are as well written, and span topics from architecture to strategic planning. Taken as a whole, this is a sourcebook that is filled with both knowledge and experience, and should be on the desk of every CIO, seasoned and new. I also recommend visiting the site that supports this book (paste the ASIN number, B0001EHNFK, into the search box for all products on this page). The site contains additional articles, news and other books in this series that CIOs, IT managers at all levels, and subject matter experts will find useful.

As a CIO I though CIO Wisdom hits the nail on the head on many of the challenges and issues facing today's CIO's. Sound and practical advice from those actually performing in the job was quite refreshing to the theoretical approach found in many other books on this topic. I only wish that many of my customers (business line leaders and executives) would read this book to better understand the value of IT can bring to our organization.

My only critique is that some of the concepts discussed in the book where not fully flushed out when the author was talking about solutions. Of course there have been entire books written on some of the topics covered in CIO wisdom.

I was particularly impressed by the Communications, Governance, Marketing and the Business Intelligence chapters.

Although this book is primarily targeted to IT-leaders or those who intend to become one I'm sure this book is also highly valuable for all CEOs and Marketing and Sales VPs of startup companies who are tarketing established corporations. This book will give them guidance to put their offerings into right perspective by giving insights about CIO's success strategies and challenges. And the structure of the book makes it easy and enjoyable reading for busy executives - from the first foreword to the last chapter.

As with many books that collect articles or papers, the organization is topical not a continuous sequence, although there seems to be some consideration given to precedence of topics.
I especially found value in the chapters on Communication, Governance, Architecture, the Value of IT, Metrics and the Cates article regarding Line of Business orientation.
There are some inconsistencies between articles, and minor editing errors.

I found the book all encompassing and a real learning in so many ways. It gets to the heart of IT and the P A I N that most of us who have lived in the mix of the many stories of the... day in and day out world of IT. I recommend the book to multiple roles in organizations and mainly to those at VP and Director positions who are not necessarily IT. Engaging other other functional areas of the organization to read it would give a wake-up call to those who continually "kick the cat" called IT! Scintillating! A great writing of how important "Listening" is to making an organization work together. I found it worthwhile every "page of the way" in moving the "world of an organization" forward and the book more than directs YOU in that journey. I wish I had this book 15 years ago, it would have made life alot easier.

The book is a wealth of advice not only valuable to the CIO position but to the executive team and the Board of Directors as well. Fox's chapter on communications is the most enlightened tour of what it takes to build a great IT organization that is in alignment with the internal and external parts of the enterprise.
The advice parallels Harvard Professor Kanter's admonition that "communication is the key". Businesses must make the free flow of information and knowledge a priority. If lines of communication are poor, employees at the lower levels feel cut off from the decision-makers at the top.
Excellent read!

As someone who frequently works with CIOs, I found this book to be excellent. One can read it cover to cover, or easily pick a topic and read the appropriate chapter. Since each chapter is essentially a standalone work produced by a CIO it is easy to flip to a particular issue, and gain insight.

Topics range from some of the more mundane, technical aspects of the CIO position, and further the old "business vs. tech" stereotypes, but other chapters such as "The First 90 Days" and the more strategy-oriented chapters are quite good.

Aside from the relatively minor "'the business' is evil" stuff, the book is marred by poor production. There are several spelling and grammatical errors, and the graphics are inconsistent and some of poor quality. The great content is mildly hindered by what appears to be poor editing and a rush job by the publisher.

Patrick Gray, author of Breakthrough IT: Supercharging Organizational Value Through Technology

I only got to read a few chapters before someone else in the office wanted to read the book. But I can say that the introduction, both generally about the CIO job, and the brief overview of each CIO who contributed, was very good. And the chapters from the different CIOs are valuable for the varied individual perspectives.

If you're not in IT management, probably not a very exciting book. But if you are, it gives you guidance from the varied real experiences of a lot of CIOs--people that you probably wouldn't hear from any other way.

The book provides valuable insights for the current and incoming Asia Pacific CIO.

Asia Pacific is a complex marketplace; however, the challenges faced by many CIO's in this region are the same as in other geographical regions.

CIO Wisdom is a valuable tool that will complement an organisations effort to achieve best practice in their people, process and technology pillars.

An excellent read for those IT enthusiasts who aspire to become a CIO. "CIO Wisdom" provides insight into the life of a CIO and the challenges facing those who accept the responsibility. Can be used as reference even after reading it from cover to cover. I can't wait to read their sequel.