The Practical CIO

The IT executive's ultimate handbook for survival in a rapidly changing economy

The Practical CIO: A Common Sense Guide for Successful IT Leadership provides needed advice for modern executives competing in a challenging global environment.

• Proactively establish goals for IT
• Hold all vendors accountable
• Extract maximum value from existing IT investments
• Manage and market the IT brand
• Build relationships up, down and sideways across the enterprise and beyond its traditional boundaries
• Act like a CEO

Brimming with interviews and case studies from leading global enterprises such as Microsoft, Prudential, Citigroup, Chiquita Brands, Smithfield Foods and West Marine. The Practical CIO is designed for clear-eyed IT and C-level executives with no patience for hype or overly optimistic visions of a "better tomorrow." Truly a commonsense guide for successful IT leadership, this book delivers exactly the kind of hard-nosed, actionable advice that executives urgently require.

Foreword ix

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction xvii

Chapter 1 Build a Great Team 1

Chapter 2 Proactively Establish Goals for IT 29

Chapter 3 Design the IT Strategy 47

Chapter 4 Hold All of Your Vendors Accountable 69

Chapter 5 Before Negotiating, Do Your Homework 91

Chapter 6 Manage Contracts, Don’t Just Sign Them 105

Chapter 7 Work With the Business 127

Chapter 8 Manage and Market the IT Brand 145

Chapter 9 Building Relationships Across the Enterprise—And Beyond 167

Chapter 10 Act Like a CEO 193

Afterword 213

Endnotes 217

About the Author 223

Index 227

"High tech was once the back end of business strategy. The two are now one, says tech exec Jose Eiras, author of "The Practical CIO." To get with the program, chief information officers should: Think like a CEO. Unlike other areas of a firm, information technology operates best "when it's managed like a free-standing business" as opposed to a service center, Eiras said." (Investors.com, April 16, 2010)

JOSÉ CARLOS EIRAS was most recently CIO at DHL Express U.S.A., a division of Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN), the world's leading logistics and transportation company. Prior to joining DHL, he served as European CIO and Global Services Information Officer at General Motors. He has also held top executive posts at General Foods, Philip Morris, and other multinational corporations. Eiras is a recognized industry expert and respected IT consultant; he has a solid foundation of support in the global IT community.

THE PRACTICAL CIO

A Common Sense Guide for Successful IT Leadership

As the global economy evolves and transforms, IT executives face dilemmas of truly mythic proportions. Despite understandable feelings of apprehension, you must still choose your destiny. Do you hunker down and wait timidly for fate, or do you seize the moment and act like a hero?

Guiding you in redefining your role as a chief information officer in a global marketplace, The Practical CIO: A Common Sense Guide for Successful IT Leadership tells it like it is. Here you will find the new modes of thinking and novel approaches necessary to increase your chances of surviving through the turbulence and uncertainty of a rapidly changing economy.

This is a unique book, superbly written by a seasoned executive leader who has "been there, done that" in positions of authority all over the world. Filled with real-world stories of success and failure, this timely book provides crucial advice on:

• Attracting, nurturing, promoting, motivating, and preserving talent
• Proactively establishing goals for IT
• Writing, sharing, and using your IT strategy
• Keeping your vendors accountable
• Doing your homework before negotiating
• Managing contracts—not just signing them
• Working with the business
• Managing and marketing the IT brand
• Building and managing relationships up, down, and sideways across the enterprise and beyond its traditional boundaries
• Acting like a CEO

Unlike earlier generations of CIOs, today's IT executives are expected to help the enterprise achieve its business goals. This represents a fundamental shift in thinking and poses a monumental test for the modern CIO. Savvy—and yes, practical— The Practical CIO helps you brace yourself for the coming changes and deal successfully with the challenges ahead of you.

As the global economy evolves and transforms, IT executives face dilemmas of truly mythic proportions. Despite understandable feelings of apprehension, you must still choose your destiny. Do you hunker down and wait timidly for fate, or do you seize the moment and act like a hero?

Guiding you in redefining your role as a chief information officer in a global marketplace, The Practical CIO: A Common Sense Guide for Successful IT Leadership tells it like it is. Here you will find the new modes of thinking and novel approaches necessary to increase your chances of surviving through the turbulence and uncertainty of a rapidly changing economy.

This is a unique book, superbly written by a seasoned executive leader who has "been there, done that" in positions of authority all over the world. Filled with real-world stories of success and failure, this timely book provides crucial advice on:

• Attracting, nurturing, promoting, motivating, and preserving talent
• Proactively establishing goals for IT
• Writing, sharing, and using your IT strategy
• Keeping your vendors accountable
• Doing your homework before negotiating
• Managing contracts—not just signing them
• Working with the business
• Managing and marketing the IT brand
• Building and managing relationships up, down, and sideways across the enterprise and beyond its traditional boundaries
• Acting like a CEO

Unlike earlier generations of CIOs, today's IT executives are expected to help the enterprise achieve its business goals. This represents a fundamental shift in thinking and poses a monumental test for the modern CIO. Savvy—and yes, practical— The Practical CIO helps you brace yourself for the coming changes and deal successfully with the challenges ahead of you.