Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home IT Management
    • IT Management

    A CIOs Guide to Life

    By
    Eric Lundquist
    -
    April 5, 2006
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      The last time i played golf with Gregory Smith, vice president and CIO of the World Wildlife Fund, in Washington, he was playing his typical game and I mine.

      At the SAS Pro-Am Golf Tournament in 2004, his drives would rocket straight down the fairway. My drives had that great randomness that makes for great game theory and terrible golf. During the game, he told me he intended to write a book that would provide a road map for an IT professional aspiring to become a CIO.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifMore innovation means fewer CIO decisions. Click here to read more.

      Smiths book, “Straight to the Top: Becoming a World-Class CIO,” which will be released in April, provides that road map and more. In an era of academic books thick in theory and with Nicholas Carrs “Does IT Matter?” thesis still reverberating, Smith reaffirms why companies invest in technology and why aspiring to become a CIO is a worthy professional goal.

      “If you are really serious about managing technology in your company, you need somebody with technology and business savvy to do it. Sorry, but a CFO is not going to cut it managing an IT shop,” Smith told me during a telephone interview.

      What does cut it, according to Smith, is a combination of process; knowledge of technology; and ability to connect to vendors, peers and influencers on more than a strictly corporate level.

      Thats where golf comes in. Straight shooting in IT, rather than randomness, requires the skill of an expert. In an era when vendors that sell productivity tools are unable to finish their big projects on time (such as Microsoft) and when laptops full of customer information are getting lost (such as Fidelitys loss of a laptop containing Hewlett-Packard data), CIOs and prospective CIOs could use such a guide.

      “Tomorrows successful technology professionals and leaders will be power users of technology, have a strong grasp of technology topics, and will integrate and work closely with other business executives and staff,” Smith wrote in the preface to his book. As a matter of full disclosure, Smith was a member of eWEEKs Corporate Partners advisory board.

      He has been in the technology industry for more than 20 years in positions that have included the past five years in his current role at the World Wildlife Fund, a principal consultant in a consulting firm, an IT director at a Fortune 200 financial services firm and an adjunct professor teaching about the use of technology in business. He made it to the top as a CIO when he was 37 years old.

      When I asked Smith how he answers the “Does IT Matter?” question, he said, “My direct response is to have someone pull the plug on the data center and ask that question when everything comes crashing down.”

      The starting point for aspiring CIOs takes place before they begin their interviews or contact recruiters. A firm knowledge of technology, business and the process of corporate governance (the rules and processes by which a company operates) should be well in hand before seeking that CIO job. Smith said good project management skills are one of the key skills a CIO needs to master.

      Those skills extend beyond the charts and timelines inherent in project management. They also include managing the new executive who comes in with a different idea of the role of IT and the CIO.

      “The challenge in the technology framework is often the turnover in the business unit itself when, for example, a new chief marketing officer or new vice president of product development comes to the company,” said Smith. You can read more about Smiths book at Amazon.com.

      At eWeek, we started a Road Map series of detailed case studies for companies looking to develop new technology capabilities to give them an edge over their competitors.

      Smith has done something similar by providing aspiring CIOs with a road map and a reason to build their careers as technology leaders in their companies.

      Editorial Director Eric Lundquist can be reached at eric_lundquist@ziffdavis.com.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis on IT management from CIOInsight.com.

      Eric Lundquist
      Since 1996, Eric Lundquist has been Editor in Chief of eWEEK, which includes domestic, international and online editions. As eWEEK's EIC, Lundquist oversees a staff of nearly 40 editors, reporters and Labs analysts covering product, services and companies in the high-technology community. He is a frequent speaker at industry gatherings and user events and sits on numerous advisory boards. Eric writes the popular weekly column, 'Up Front,' and he is a confidant of eWEEK's Spencer F. Katt gossip columnist.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×