The Effective CIO: How to Achieve Outstanding Success through Strategic Alignment, Financial Management, and IT Governance [Hardcover]

Eric J. Brown (Author), William A. Yarberry Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 23, 2008 | ISBN-10: 1420064606 | ISBN-13: 978-1420064605 | Edition: 1

In a business world of uncertain budgets, relentless technology changes, scarce management talent, and intense production demands, theory is good, but practice sells. The Effective CIO: How to Achieve Outstanding Success through Strategic Alignment, Financial Management, and IT Governance is all about practice, successfully delivering the nuts-and-bolts for effective governance execution. It helps to dissolve the negative image many CIOs have as remote, purely rational decision machines, while demonstrating how to improve quality and throughput in your business.

This authoritative text includes governance checklists, sample IT controls, merger and acquisition recommendations, and a detailed framework for IT policies. Authored by two highly regarded IT management experts, the book provides not only a survey of existing strategies, but also includes detailed problem-solving ideas, such as how to structure optimal IT and telecom contracts with suppliers, the implications of SOP-98, and accounting for software costs.

The book seamlessly brings together two perspectives – that of a working CIO who must cope with day-to-day pressures for results, and that of an IT audit consultant with a special focus on governance and internal control. Unlike many other CIO-related books that merely discuss strategies, The Effective CIO includes easy-to-follow guidelines and governance principles that can be implemented immediately.

Editorial Reviews

Review

… a great read. … really does a thorough job covering what it means to be an effective CIO in plain terms. Brown and Yarberry include in The Effective CIO numerous visuals to support their key concepts which they further strengthen with practical examples I am sure every CIO can understand. … contains eight resource Appendices which provide very useful examples that can be adapted for use in nearly every shop. Most of the appendices deal with areas of risk management including IT risk assessment, IT key controls, Policy examples, and due diligence for M&A. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I found that I agreed with what the authors chose as being important to CIO effectiveness and the relative emphasis given to the different elements. I thought they spent enough time on their topics while keeping things moving along at a good pace which is always important. … What I really appreciated more than anything in The Effective CIO was the attention given to Enterprise Architecture. Enterprise Architecture was presented as an integral part of IT strategy and included a solid explanation for its development out of business architecture. … With so much attention n the CIO profession being paid to the role of the CIO and being a more strategic CIO, The Effective CIO is a great book for anyone dealing with these concerns.
—The Higher ED CEO, February 2012

View the full review at: http://blog.thehigheredcio.com/2012/02/06/book-review-the-effective-cio/

About the Author

Eric J. Brown is the executive vice president and CIO of NCI Building Systems, Inc. He has more than 20 years experience implementing global IT solutions throughout Asia Pacific, the EU, and Middle Eastern regions.

William A. Yarberry, Jr., CPA, CISA, is president of ICCM Consulting LLC based in Houston, Texas. He has more than 30 years experience in a variety of IT-related services including application development, internal audit management, outsourcing negotiations, administration, and Sarbanes-Oxley consulting.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Auerbach Publications; 1 edition (December 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1420064606
• ISBN-13: 978-1420064605
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #650,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Expert advice for becoming a business-savvy CIO, November 10, 2009

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Effective CIO: How to Achieve Outstanding Success through Strategic Alignment, Financial Management, and IT Governance (Hardcover)

Too often, technical virtuosi believe their skill entitles them to a seat in the executive suite. But both companies and chief information officers (CIOs) benefit when CIOs have finance and project-management chops in addition to technical knowledge. Information technology experts Eric J. Brown and William A. Yarberry Jr. explain why IT "governance" is necessary and why IT systems must match corporate strategy. Their discussion of the contribution of IT due diligence to the success of mergers and acquisitions is particularly valuable, since the failure to do such research dooms many M&As. They offer good advice on how to choose which functions to outsource, how to select vendors and what to look for in consultants. Whether you are a current or aspiring CIO, getAbstract suggests that you use this terrific handbook to learn how you can make a strong business contribution through technology. One note: Although Brown and Yarberry's work is certainly accessible to a general business audience, their focus on IT with its accompanying jargon may make their guide somewhat tough going for those outside its target audience.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Want to or need to run an IT department - this book is for you, February 9, 2010

By 

John C. Smith "CEO Upper Cretaceous Ventures" (The Woodlands, Tx United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Effective CIO: How to Achieve Outstanding Success through Strategic Alignment, Financial Management, and IT Governance (Hardcover)

Rarely do books that attempt to be comprehensive achieve that goal. Brown and Yarberry have done so in this book. It really is totally comprehensive in its contents. If you need or want to run an IT organization, this book has all the subjects covered. The book is extraordinarily readable. The appendices are particularly valuable as they contain concrete examples of implemented IT controls, due diligence checklists, and policies and procedures necessary to run an IT department efficiently. This book is for more than just folks who want to run an IT department. It is also for C level people who need to think about what a CIO should be doing. It is also for the people who work in an IT dept. so that they can understand what they can do to enhance the functionality, efficiency and value add of their organization.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasantly surprised, February 6, 2010

By 

R. Hines - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Effective CIO: How to Achieve Outstanding Success through Strategic Alignment, Financial Management, and IT Governance (Hardcover)

Though usually wary of typical overly-general business objective books, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Most of the other business/IT-related books I've come across are fairly dry reads and tend to be overly abstract. This one, however, kept my interest. Specifically I thought the information in the appendices was practical and helpful (i.e., example controls, checklists, etc.); also the various Q&A sections. As another reviewer noted, there were more quotes, humorous comments, etc. than one might expect, but even if you're not a fan of the style, I found it to be a welcome change.

Overall, not necessarily a book for the masses, but for those working in and/or interested in business (and specifically IT), this is a good read...and even if you don't get all the way through it in one shot, it's a nice reference book to have on the shelf.