CIOs should go primitive in communication

This recent post on CIO.com highlights that even though social media tools like Facebook, YouTube, twitter, email, technorati, and various other collaborative technology is popular now, it might not be the best choice for communication and messaging. Loraine Antrim mentioned that going "primitive" like a simple phone call or in-person meetings can give CIOs a strategic advantage for many critical situations.

Going "primitive" allows the CIO to engage in a more personal level. Here are some examples as detailed by the post when CIOs should go "primitive".

1. When body language can make a world of difference in your communication. At times a simple gesture or a shrug of your shoulder can really aid in communicating your point. Also, when the tone of voice is important CIOs might want to make a live phone call instead of tweeting or emailing.

2. When attempting to persuade or influence. Any type of persuasion is best done in person and in live delivery. Social media communication is best for expanding on data points.

IT Leadership Forum Speaker Profile: Jerry Luftman, Professor, Stevens Institute of Technology

Jerry Luftman
Professor
Stevens Institute of Technology, School of Management

Dr. Luftman is a Distinguished Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology, School of Management and the Associate Dean of Stevens’ Information Systems programs. In this capacity, Luftman manages and conducts projects, research, and executive programs about business-IT alignment. Among his many clients are IBM, U.S. government federal agencies, CitiGroup, Merck, AT&T, Lucent, and Prudential. He is the founder of Stevens graduate IS programs, which is recognized as one of the largest in the world. Prior to his work at Stevens, Dr. Luftman worked at IBM as a program manager at the Advanced Business Institute, where he played a significant role in defining and introducing IBM’s Management Consulting Group. He has had success as a CIO, Management Consultant, and academic.

His framework for assessing strategic alignment maturity is fundamental in helping clients achieve the management, technology and business process changes required to achieve improved IT-business integration. He has served on the SIM Executive Board for over ten years and was the NJ Chapter President. Dr. Luftman has authored or co-authored over a dozen books.

Don't miss Jerry's opening session Leadership Through IT at the IT Leadership Forum this November 2-4 in Phoenix, AZ!

NASA Names CIO

InformationWeek.com reports today that NASA has a new CIO. Linda Cureton will assume new post at NASA headquarters next week from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, where she is currently the CIO. Cureton replaces Bobby German, who had been acting CIO at NASA. German will return to his former role as deputy CIO.

NASA is moving forward with a major series of IT services contracts called the Information Technology Infrastructure Integration Program (I3P) that will be worth more than $4 billion. According to the I3P Website, reviewing finalized RFPs for I3P will be among Cureton's first tasks. Cureton will also manage a number of other IT efforts as NASA's top IT official, including continued IT centralization and consolidation. She will also have some oversight over IT projects at NASA's space centers.

NASA Names CIO

Free Web Seminar - Navigation Tips for Exploring the IIBA BABOK 2.0

Date: Wed, Oct 7, 2009
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT

Have you ever gotten lost when traversing through the IIBA® BABOK® 2.0? How quickly can you find pathways through the Guide? How easily can you trace your way from one key element to another? Whether you are new to the discipline of business analysis, someone studying for the CBAP® or even a seasoned business analysis professional, navigating through the BABOK® can be a daunting task.

In this webinar we’ll explore a variety of pathways through the BABOK. Your navigator for the session is requirements guru Mary Gorman, a four year veteran of the IIBA Body of Knowledge Committee.

IIBA® International Institute of Business Analysis®
BABOK® Business Analysis Body of Knowledge®

What you will learn:

• Visualize the underlying foundation of the BABOK® (knowledge areas, tasks, techniques and requirements models)
• Trace foundation elements throughout the BABOK®
• Apply analysis modeling techniques to navigate the BABOK®

Speaker:
Mary Gorman, CBAP™, Senior Associate at EBG Consulting, assists teams to build the right product through exploring, analyzing and confirming their requirements. Mary has over 25 years experience as a consultant, mentor, trainer, facilitator, process engineer, developer, and analyst. In addition to serving on the IIBA Body of Knowledge Committee, Mary also helped create the certification exam for the Certified Business Analysis Professional™ (CBAP™).

Register below, mention priority code M2120W3BLOG
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/974065696

Google, MLB.com recognized for best on mobile web

According to eWeek, the Yankee Group has reported that some of the best mobile websites come from Google, Yahoo and MLB.com were reported to have some of the best capabilities for their websites when it comes to the mobile web. According to the website, the biggest difference for websites from this year to last is that they have built in functionality to better service users who are using smart phones. Read more about the report here.

IT Leadership Forum Speaker Profile: Dr. Michael Valivullah, CIO, PMP, United States Capitol Police

Dr. Michael Valivullah
PMP, CIO, Associate Director, Office of Information Systems
United States Capitol Police

Dr. Valivullah is a Planning Specialist, Office of Information Systems, at the United States Capitol Police, United States Senate. Dr. Valivullah is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)and GSA and Federal CIO Council certified Chief Information Officer (CIO). He worked as a Program Control Manager for EDS, an Information Systems Integrator and Project Manager for Lockheed Martin and a Consultant for Sabre Systems, US Airways, MCI, etc. He has extensive knowledge in Software, Database and Systems Development, Requirements Management, Enterprise Architecture, Migrations, Configuraion Management, Quality Assurance, Operations and Testing.

Don’t miss Dr. Michael Valivullah's session "How Can I Become A Successful IT Manager and Leader?" at the IT Leadership Forum this November held in Phoenix, AZ.

CIOs Leading Companies Out of the Downturn

CIO.com looks at how CIOs are at the forefront of leading organizations out of the current downturn. Exclusive research carried out by CIO UK and global recruitment and professional services supplier Harvey Nash reveals how CIOs being called on to drive change, efficiency and leadership.

Over 1,300 CIOs and IT leaders across Europe were surveyed by Harvey Nash and CIO UK as part of the Harvey Nash IT Leadership survey. The strategic importance of the CIO and the understanding by management boards of IT was startling. Seventy-four per cent of the CIOs surveyed said that the current down turn was a good opportunity to raise the profile of IT.

Find out more about this study and about how CIO's have helped reverse industry downturns within their organizations.

CIOs Leading Companies Out of the Downturn

IT Leadership Forum Speaker Profile: Ed Trainor, CIO, Amtrak

Ed Trainor
CIO
Amtrak

Ed Trainor is Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President, IS for Amtrak. Prior to his return to Amtrak, he held the position of CIO for Paramount Pictures. Trainor has held similar positions with the Southern California Gas Co., and Flying Tigers. He is a new member of the Capital Area SIM chapter but has previously served in several positions on the Executive Committee of the Southern California SIM chapter. After terms as VP, Partner and Service Provider Programs, and VP, Issues Advocacy Trainor served as SIM International’s President in 2003. Trainor has been a participant SIM Advanced Practices Council® and a sponsor of several participants in the Regional Leadership Forum.

Information Week also recently profiled Ed Trainor in which he mentioned that he foresees high-speed rail passenger corridors as a key component of a national transportation policy. You can view the article here.

Don’t miss Ed Trainor's session The Road to CIO & The Future Role of the CIO at the IT Leadership Forum this November held in Phoenix, AZ.

Leadershp Lessons from the Financial Crisis

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday on the year since Lehman fell and what CEO's and top executives can learn from how they handled themselves amidst a terrible fiscal year. Author Michael Useem writes,

Crisis leadership lesson one: The experience of managing through a crisis makes leaders stronger, more resilient and better prepared for the next one...Corporate leaders who survive and thrive use the crisis as a galvanizing force. "It's how you handle those setbacks," CEO John Chambers of Cisco Systems observed in an interview, "that really develops you."

So thinking back on this year and what's ahead for the next, how have your leadership skills changed to lead your team?

A Year Out, Leadership Lessons of the Crisis

Are CIOs Turning to MSPs for Competitive Advantage?

This latest post on CIO discusses how IBM's Daniel Rabbitt believes that "with the right provider, a medium-sized business can enjoy the same service levels as a Fortune 500 company, without the costs of building and maintaining an in-house solution."

According to research from Nemertes Research's 2009 Spring Benchmark 60 percent of participants are planning on increasing their managed services in 2009 and beyond. Some of the reasoning behind this is falling budgets, lack of specialized expertise, shrinking staff, and a bigger demand to support more complex applications.

IT Leadership Forum Speaker Profile: Charles Thompson, CIO, City of Phoenix

Charles Thompson

CIO

CITY OF PHOENIX


Take a look at Charles’s latest conversation with Biz Journals on how he plans to update Phoenix’s communication systems.


Information Technology Services coordinates the use of information technology across the various departments and agencies of Phoenix city government to ensure that accurate and timely information is provided to citizens, elected officials, management and staff.

The department also manages the city's radio, telephone, and enterprise computer network systems.


Don’t miss Charles’s session IT Governance: Cost Shifts vs. Cost Savings at the IT Leadership Forum this November held in Phoenix, AZ.

Should IT Directors View Enterprise 2.0 as a Process or Solution?

Oscar Berg recently posted on the content economy how he views enterprise 2.0 should be viewed as a process and not a solution. Oscar gives an example of how web 2.0 and social media are built on a core of values including honesty, participation, trust, and openness. But, if we were to just dump the solutions and applications from social media into a corporate setting people would not just start sharing and collaborating. The main reasoning behind this is because the same values that we find outside of work are not found in the corporate environment. Oscar includes a great quote from Gil Yehuda's enterprise 2.0 blog:

I don’t believe “Enterprise 2.0″ is a solution, I believe it is a description. I agree with the bold statement in Sameer Patel’s post: Enterprise 2.0 is a state that Enterprises achieve by employing an appropriate set of social computing concepts. I word it my way: “Enterprise 2.0 describes a transformed organization.”

Do you agree with Oscar that enterprise 2.0 has to been seen as a process instead of a tool?