Customer Reviews

The New CIO Leader: Setting the Agenda and Delivering Results

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) is a position of responsibility and visibility. In the past, many thought that CIO means career is over. Broadbent and Kitzis demonstrate that this does not have to be the case. Their book, the New CIO Leader, provides a roadmap for the activities and results CIOs need to deliver to move from managing technology to leading a value creating IS organization.

Based on working with hundreds of CIOs over the past six years, Kitzis and Broadbent concentrate on 10 actions that are characteristic of a CIO leader. Those are:

1) Lead -- get out in front of issues, creating solutions and contributing to the business.

2) Understand your environment -- as this sets the context for success and contribution

3) Create your vision -- have a view on the future and how you will realize it.

4) Shape and inform expectations -- they are the criteria by which results are really measured.

5) Create clear IT governance -- the way you make decisions determines the way you will create value

6) Weave together business and IT strategy -- the two must become one and build on each other

7) Build a new IS organizations -- one that recognizes the realities of sourcing and new technologies.

8) Build high performing IT teams -- they are the ones that deliver the results, you cannot do it alone for long

9) Manage IT risks -- these are increasingly business risks

10) Communicate performance -- measure where you are, what you've done and don't keep it a secret.

Broadbent and Kitzis provide practical advice and frameworks for CIOs to use regardless of their particular industry and situation. In that way, the New CIO Leader is applicable to any IT executive looking to move into a senior leadership position.

The New CIO leader is also very applicable to the business executive who is assuming an IT leadership role -- perhaps even as a CIO themselves.

There are many books coming out on the CIO lately, filled with hype about what the CIO should be or must become. Kitzis and Broadbent provide practical advice, techniques and tools based on what CIO leaders are doing to lead the business and IT. This is not hype, the book contains proven practices for IT executives who want to make a business contribution.

I don't normally write reviews but I just visited this page to buy a copy of this book for several colleagues because I was so impressed with it -- and then saw the puzzling review.

A disclaimer: I am a client of the company these researchers work for so I may be predisposed to think highly of their work. I bought this book at one of their conferences recently in Florida.

I think this really is a great book, far better than most of the leadership/business book schlock that's out there. I understand some people may disagree but some of the information above is just not true:

1) Every chapter includes a specific series of actionable steps to take and a self-assessment at the end to get a sense of your current situation

2) The IS Lite model the authors advocate is illustrated by several case studies, about 20 pages of text, an organizational chart, a comprehensive competency list etc. True you could write an entire book on this subject but the information presented is in no way cursory

3) There is a very clear overall framework for the book, how the priorities relate to each other and how CIOs should be spending their time. The book divides the CIO role into two major categories, Demand for IT and Supply for IT, and specifically advocates that CIOs should be spending at least 60% of their time on managing Demand for IT (with business colleagues, CFO etc) and focusing far less on the technology itself

4) The notes of the book show that the authors draw primarily on primary research and surveys they have personally conducted over the last 5 years. Frankly, I prefer reading books based on original and primary research than ones that synthesize stuff I've already read. Additionally they do cite work by Goleman, Treacy, Drucker, Collins and other luminaries of the business world.

5) The book is chock full of case studies and survey results. If this does not explain how the author's synthesized the results of their research, I'm not sure what would.

6) Finally I find it ironic that the negative reviewer suggests buying your CFO a cup of coffee as an alternative -- given that this is something that the book suggests. Hmmmm...

I do agree that you should pick up this book in a bookstore where you can easily verify what I've said. In conclusion, I think this book is well worth your time if you are a) a CIO, b) a direct report to a CIO, like me, c) a CFO or CEO who will be hiring a CIO soon.

The times they are changing. The direction of change for Chief Information Officers (CIOs) has had different answers from different people. In their December 2004 book, entitled The New CIO Leader: Setting the Agenda and Delivering Results (2005, Harvard Business School Press, 338 Pages, ISBN 1591395771), Marianne Broadbent (Associate Dean of the Melboune Business School) and Ellen S Kitzen (Group Vice-President of the Gartner Group's Executive Programs) argue that the choice is yours. You can choose to be a new CIO Leader or be relegated to Chief Technology Mechanic. The authors do an outstanding job of discussing the seas change, until the book loses some of its luster from what appears to be their interpretation of Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (CobiT).

The authors start out strong by identifying what the sea change is, as technology is increasingly relied up to support all functions within the enterprise. After a discussion that lays down a foundation of how they view leadership, they break the goals of the new CIO Leader down into two parts: "Demand-Side Leadership" and "Supply-Side Leadership". On the demand side, they cover politics, realities and the need for strong IT governance. They emphasize that the new CIO leader has to be willing to step and be recognized as part of the leadership team. On the supply side, they delve it what it takes to create a high-performance IT team, measure results, and communicating the results. In all, they lay a strong foundation for a framework/paradigm for CIOs to follow.

And that is where the book loses it. They are laying down a foundation that strongly resembles the CobiT Framework. CobiT is about linking technology and business objectives in an integrated fashion, providing a controls framework to ensure success. It is essentially a circular (feedback-driven) cradle to grave process. So I wondered why I was not seeing it mentioned in the book. Eventually I came to it, but only in a very brief discussion of developing security policies. This "silo" misses the mark and may give those unfamiliar with COBIT, the wrong perception of what it is. I was quite surprised given the back ground of the authors. However, this may partially be the fault of inconsistent messages that the IT Governance Institute (ITGI) puts in some of their publications.

Who Should Read This Book

This book should be read by current CIO's looking to shape their future. It should also be read by those who aspire to be a CIO one day/ The discussion is full and thought provoking.

The Scorecard

Birdie on a long par 5 reachable in two.

Broadbent and Kitzis have helped explain something that is rarely done elsewhere: the importance of IT leadership in "Demand Management" versus "Supply Management." Other failings within the book in completeness of authority (i.e., public, private, etc.) and examples or case studies may be forgiven for the clarity the authors offer in separating these two crucial concepts in IT leadership.

This is an excellent read for anyone who wishes to lead their IS organization. Also for existing CIO's and IT managers who wanna align their activities and create a performance matrix within the organzation. I thank the authors for their hard work in putting together the material.

Traditionally the senior management of companies have not come from the "staff" organizations like accounting or information management. The authors of this book contend, however, that this time may have passed. With the ubiquitous presence of technology in organizations and the recent technology downturn, the Chief Information Officer have reached a critical breaking point.

Based on exclusive research conducted by Gartner, Inc., with thousands of companies and CIOs, the book reveals exactly what CIOs must do to solidify their credibility with the executive team and bridge the chasm that currently separates business and IT strategy. Broadbent and Kitzis outline the agenda CIOs need to integrate business and IT assets in a way that moves corporate strategy forward.

The authors have identified ten critical points of focus that will distinguish the new CIO leaders. Each of these is discussed so that the new CIO can be prepared to take action on each of them.

The New CIO Leader has some insights for current and aspiring CIOs. Its a good book to benchmark where you stand today and what you could do differently.

Like every book, you may not agree with everything that the authors have to say; but overall I found it interesting enough to give a few copies to some of my high potential staff.

Recommended if you are a CIO or want to be one.

As a professional services sales person I am always researching how I can better service the needs of clients and prospects. This book provides some real insights into what the New CIO Leader should be thinking about in the future and provided me with some great talking points that will really help to differentiate me and my company.

Broadbent and Kitzis have produced a remarkable work. I have found their work to be like a capstone, integrating many streams of thought that have gone before. Unfortunately, the work suffers from lack of awareness of the leadership literature. "The Leadership Challenge" by Kouzes & Posner predates this work by more than 3 years, yet Broadbent and Kitzis, while seemingly familiar with "The Leadership Challenge" do not acknowledge their debt. Readers who enjoy "The New CIO Leader" will benefit from Kouzes and Posner's seminal and very readable work on leadership.

Here is a comparison of a short passage from "The New CIO Leader" with excerts from "The Leadership Challenge" ...

From "The New CIO Leader" by Broadbent & Kitzis (2005)

On Page 17 "The good news is that leadership skills can be developed. Leadership isn't mysical or mysterious; it has nothing to do with immutable personality traits. Nor is it something for only the chosen few.
" The first step in becoming an enterprise leader is to understand what leadership really is. And the fundamental aspect of leadership is credibility."

COMPARE THIS WITH THESE EXCERTS

From "The Leadership Challenge" by Kouzes & Posner (2002)

"developed" on Page 386: "... it's the persistence of the myth that leadership can't be learned. This haunting myth is a far more power- 388 THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE ..."

"mystical" on Page 144: "... Yet this leadership practice isn't always effectively employed. In fact, we've consistently found ... others' spirits? We believe that most people have attributed something mystical to the process of inspiring a shared vision. They seem to see it as supernatural, as a grace or charm ..."

"personality" on Page 13: "... each case we looked at was unique in expression, each path was also marked by some common patterns of action. Leadership is not at all about personality; it's about practice. We've forged these common practices into a model of leadership, and we offer it here as guidance ..."

"chosen few" . on Page 386: "... we wait for someone to ride in and save us. Well, forget it! It's just pure myth that only a lucky few can ever understand the intricacies of leadership. Leadership is not a place, it's not a gene, and it's not a ..."

"first step" on Page 64: "... finding your voice-by clarifying your values and by expressing yourself in unique ways. By finding your voice you take the first step along the endless journey to becoming a credible leader.

"credibility" on Page 23: "... CREDIBILITY IS THE FOUNDATION OF LEADERSHIP Without credibility, you can't lead. Brian Carroll, Challenge Bank, Australia You can't follow someone who isn't credible, who doesn't truly ..."

Buried in various places in this 287 page book are few intellectual gems which strikes a chord with reality. Otherwise, the authors of this book never seemed to have touched a server nor managed an IT department.

The book deals with 10 topics:

1)Lead, don't manage. (This part was very weak)
2)Understand the fundamentals of your environment (The CIOs have to understand the fundamentals too??)
3)Create a vision for how IT will build your organization's success. (You mean CIOs should have a goal??)
4)Shape and inform expectations for an IT enabled enterprise (You mean computers can't do everything??)
5)Create clear and appropriate IT governance. (The authors claim that IT governance is secret to IT success...and I was dumb enough to believe having talented personnel is secret to IT success).
6)Weave business and IT strategy together. (As if business and IT are not weaved together in the first place. Yeah, all those million dollars worth of servers are secretly being used to play video games and do nothing for the business at all)
7)Build a new IS organization--one that is leaner and more focused than its more traditional predecessor. (Do more with less...what else is new??)
8)Develop and nurture a high performance team in your IS organization. (I think this one has been written only a million times in other books).
9)Manage the new enterprise and IT Risks (Strictly fillers)
10)Communicate IS performance in business relavant language. (This chapter was nice...essentially, you should market the importance of IT as much as possible).