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<title>CIO Peer Research</title><link>index.html</link><description>What&#x2019;s New</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>pbchen@techexecs.net</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright &#xa9; TechExecs Network &#x26; Threshold Group </dc:rights><dc:date>2010-05-21T10:28:30-04:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Fri, 09 Apr 2010 11:41:52 -0400</lastBuildDate><item><title>Thoughts On The iPad</title><dc:creator>pbchen@techexecs.net</dc:creator><category>iPad</category><dc:date>2010-05-21T10:28:30-04:00</dc:date><link>http://www.CIO%20Peer%20Research.com/Blog/files/d5287c4356bce5be2b82e71c6f876432-3.html#unique-entry-id-3</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.CIO%20Peer%20Research.com/Blog/files/d5287c4356bce5be2b82e71c6f876432-3.html#unique-entry-id-3</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Any item that you carry with you almost everywhere you go is important. 

...If there&rsquo;s a comment that sums up the iPad for me, it&rsquo;s one I read the other day wherein the writer answers the question: Is the iPad a big deal?   Paraphrasing &ndash; I wish I could remember where I read this so as to give proper attribution &ndash; the writer said: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a computer, Internet device, email client, video viewer, music player, book reader, gaming console, you name it &ndash; and it&rsquo;s smaller than a piece of paper and about as thick as a modest book. 

...The thing I use it for most that makes my iPad a nearly constant companion is taking notes; no more loose handwritten pieces of paper that are not searchable and worse yet, rarely filed.   I almost never take  my laptop with me to take notes unless I&rsquo;m going to a business meeting.   Besides size and weight being an issue, I have this old-fashioned notion that the relatively loud clacking of keys is impolite. ...  For example, I take it with me to my mother&rsquo;s various doctor appointments to take notes. 


...As a user of Apple products since the Apple II, I have never personally purchased the first rev of new Cupertino technology, much less done so on the first day of availability.   Ironically, from a functional standpoint, the iPad offers me nothing that I did not have before.   But as with all things Apple, it&rsquo;s the user experience that matters most.   It&rsquo;s UI is far more immediate and responsive than the MacBook Pro and far more immersive than the iPhone.   The iPad has, overnight, become my favorite way to surf the Web and my preferred device to read, highlight, and annotate PDFs.   No, it does not replace either phone or laptop, which does speak to the genius of Apple, but it has become my go-to device for much of what I do. 


Yes, I bought an iPad on Day One not because I needed it, but because I felt it would be a game changer, an object that would transform the nature of work, play, and many things in between.   My first few weeks with it has only served to strengthen this perspective.   I do believe the iPad represents the future of computing for a significant minority, if not the majority of consumers the world over. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>A Model for IT Career Advancement</title><dc:creator>pbchen@techexecs.net</dc:creator><dc:subject>Blog</dc:subject><dc:date>2010-04-22T13:37:00-04:00</dc:date><link>http://www.CIO%20Peer%20Research.com/Blog/files/d2a75c3728da88f280fd26a7c90096c4-2.html#unique-entry-id-2</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.CIO%20Peer%20Research.com/Blog/files/d2a75c3728da88f280fd26a7c90096c4-2.html#unique-entry-id-2</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Our research on CIO Success Factors produced a model of IT Career Advancement.   This model suggests three domains in which CIO aspirants need to acquire proficiency: personal, social, and organizational.   It further suggests that one&rsquo;s developmental focus at any point in time is a function of where one is on his or her path.


For example, the foundation of one&rsquo;s personal development is self awareness.   Accordingly, young IT professionals need to develop a deep understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.   In addition, domain proficiency in the personal realm includes the practice of positive thinking and positive attitude.


Mid-career professionals who assume leadership roles need to focus on developing high-level people skills: listening, discerning motivation, developing consensus, and maintaining esprit de corps.   Ideally, performance is judged on team productivity and the team&rsquo;s ability to meet goals vs. the personal accomplishments that dominate the evaluations of individual contributors. 


Senior IT executives live and operate in a world of greater abstraction.   Rather than focusing on the team leaders&rsquo; objectives of hitting deadlines and staying within budgets, CIOs and their C-suite colleagues are ideally judged on organizational measures such as growth rates, profitability, brand strength, competitive advantage and market share.   


As we continue to talk with CIOs and other senior IT executives, CIO Peer Research will build upon these initial findings to offer an even more  robust view of how to succeed in IT.   In the meantime, pick up a copy of CIO Success Factors for the full take on our current knowledge and understanding.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Humility As Success Factor</title><dc:creator>pbchen@techexecs.net</dc:creator><dc:subject>Blog</dc:subject><dc:date>2009-12-08T23:46:55-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.CIO%20Peer%20Research.com/Blog/files/0875a1e18739279bfc986c742f76cc1e-1.html#unique-entry-id-1</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.CIO%20Peer%20Research.com/Blog/files/0875a1e18739279bfc986c742f76cc1e-1.html#unique-entry-id-1</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[By definition, humility is a trait that if one possesses, one is not likely to bring attention to it.   Thus is the case here where not one panel member uttered the word, yet several if not many clearly exhibited it.   And despite the fact that not one CIO claimed humility as a critical success factor in career advancement, CIO Peer Research believes it likely plays not only a significant role, but a larger role than one might imagine. 


...And in what may seem paradoxical, possessing humility does not dispossess one of confidence, will, or ambition.   Indeed, Jim Collins, in his instant classic Good To Great, formulates what he calls Level 5 leaders thusly: &ldquo;Humility + Will = Level 5.&rdquo;   Such leaders headed every company he studied that made the transition from good to great. 

...&ldquo;Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of  building a great company. 

...It was encountered in the recognition that IT exists only to serve others and that there is no IT success without organizational success.   It was encountered in the awareness that the IT team is made up of a host of dedicated and highly talented individuals, many of whom exceed the CIO in specific capabilities.   It was especially encountered in the gratitude expressed for having the great fortune to work with such teams every single day. ...  Finally, it was encountered in the non-encounters, the absence of self promotion over the course of interviews that gave panel members the opportunity to tout themselves in response to almost every question.


Of all the critical success factors, humility may be the most important because it is foundational.   Having humility informs one that acquiring business acumen is not a task to be tolerated, but a learning to be embraced because the only success that counts is the one shared by all.   Having humility does not permit one to think of people skills as a tool to direct and bend others to one&rsquo;s will; rather, it allows one to accept it as the ultimate gift one can share with one&rsquo;s organization &ndash; the ability to foster an environment of common destiny such that individuals work for the greater good.   And having humility mitigates the fear of failure in the face of impossible tasks that are vital to a company&rsquo;s success. 


...It may not be in the job description, but its presence is unmistakeable, and its effect &ndash; when coupled with very high levels of competence &ndash; is unmistakably beneficial. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The Kindness of Strangers</title><dc:creator>pbchen@techexecs.net</dc:creator><dc:subject>Blog</dc:subject><dc:date>2009-11-09T21:17:52-05:00</dc:date><link>http://www.CIO%20Peer%20Research.com/Blog/files/9e204edb329ef6d934fb75c87b88d7fc-0.html#unique-entry-id-0</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.CIO%20Peer%20Research.com/Blog/files/9e204edb329ef6d934fb75c87b88d7fc-0.html#unique-entry-id-0</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I have been conducting technology-oriented qualitative research for over 20 years and I can honestly say that CIO Peer Research has been the most fun experience of all. 


The reason is the people, specifically the CIOs and senior IT executives that I get to interview.   While I have certainly interviewed many heads of IT in the past, I&rsquo;ve not done so in as concentrated a manner as this and what I&rsquo;ve discovered is that as a group, they&rsquo;re quite wonderful! 


...These CIOs and senior IT execs agreed to be interviewed, so they&rsquo;re already amenable to taking time from their busy days.   Also, one has to assume that they derive some measure of enjoyment from it and therefore are inclined to be agreeable.


But the degree to which our panel members proved to be truly delightful, wholly engaged, and obviously happy to share, well, I must admit I was surprised.   For a group of people who are inherently busy, I never really felt rushed to complete an interview. 

...The interviews carried out for CIO Success Factors represented, in many cases, the first time I had spoken with given execs.   But a casual observer  would not have been able to tell.   There was such an easy rapport with nearly all the panel members that it really felt like, from my side, that we were picking up from where we last left off, though there were no such points of previous interaction!


What became clear is that the cream really does rise to the top.   Not only are our panel members sharp, they&rsquo;re also incredibly nice.   As CIO Success Factors points out  time and again, people skills are essential to career advancement.   And the time I&rsquo;ve spent with these top execs bears that out.


I want to close by giving my heartfelt thanks to all the panel members of CIO Peer Research who participated in this study and an earlier study we conducted in July.   It has been great fun for me and I look forward to many future conversations. ]]></content:encoded></item></channel>
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