Overcoming Resistance
Most CIOs who take on another role don't feel diminished by it. But for members of their staff, it can take time to adjust to the new reality. "It was confusing for my team initially," says Gibson. "But now I think they feel like they're coequal members of my larger team. In this role, I can do a better job of having the business make clear what they want to pursue with technology; I can actually make the lives of IT people a little better."
Drouin says the IT group at TRW has been supportive of his add-on role. "Generally, they have seen it as strong support from the top that we have made significant progress as an organization."
Individuals on the business side can take longer to come around. When Coleman arrived at Sloan Valve, he inherited an IT role previously filled by a dictatorial personality: "That had created a lot of resentment, so I had to be careful about coming across as all-knowing." When he decided to take on additional responsibility outside of IT, he knew he had to tread even more gingerly. "In the early stages, a lot of people wondered what my real agenda was. They assumed I wanted to take over their department or become the next president of the company," Coleman recalls. Coleman made it clear he had "zero interest" in running the show.
"Clearly there can be resentment if somebody feels they have been passed over for a role and the CIO does not have the requisite 'business credentials,'" says Gordon. "It may be a misunderstanding of the CIO role that causes people to be on guard, not considering IT to be 'part of the business.'" Being seen by those in the business as more than "just" the CIO takes time. When Michael Hites was CIO and vice president of planning and IT with New Mexico State University, "everyone from the 'past' [would still ask] me about the latest BlackBerry or how to fix their website," he says. "It's my responsibility to be known as 'the strategic planning guy,' not theirs. My actions need to clearly show that." Hites, who began a new job in March with the much larger University of Illinois system as associate vice president of administrative IT services for the university administration, which includes Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, Springfield and Global Campus, says his experience outside of IT helped him get the job.
- White PaperView this webcast and discover the drivers for changing network design practices, why many organisations are changing their approach to network architecture and how enterprises should be moving forward with open architecture multi-vendor network solutions. Register now and learn how your business can maximize the business value of the enterprise network.
- White PaperLearn to tie virtualized computing to virtualized storage, to offer a dynamic set of capabilities within the data centre and create improved performance and system reliability. Discover how best to utilize EMC Celerra in a VMware ESX environment.
- White PaperWhat you don’t know can destroy your business. It’s hard to imagine modern business without the internet but in the last few years it has become fraught with danger. Read on to discover how internet security can give your business a competitive advantage.
Discover how SOA can create smarter outcomes for your business.
Attend and learn:
- How SOA is helping leading companies to become more agile
- Where you should be applying SOA processes in your company
- The top SOA implementation mistakes to avoid
Click here for more information.
- +
CIO Live Podcast #79: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires Part II 05 October, 2007 06:00:00
For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders. - +
CIO Live Podcast #78: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires 28 September, 2007 17:34:25
For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders. - +
CIO Live Podcast #77: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part III 21 September, 2007 07:00:00
Part three in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance. - +
CIO Live Podcast #76: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part II 14 September, 2007 07:00:00
Part two in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance. - +
CIO Live Podcast #75: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part I 07 September, 2007 07:00:05
Part one in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
- +
Virtually every Windows PC at risk, says Secunia 04 December, 2008 08:00:00
Almost all PCs scanned by patch tool have an unpatched app; 46% have 11-plus.More than 98% of Windows computers harbor at least one unpatched application, and nearly half contain 11 or more programs at risk from attack, a Danish security company said Wednesday. - +
US Open used Web filtering to prevent online gambling 03 December, 2008 07:44:00
USTA took security measure to retain "squeaky clean" imageThe US Open tennis tournament provides network access for the players, guests and media, but this past summer the association running the event took an extra security step to make sure access wasn't too open. - +
CBS website bitten by iFrame hack 02 December, 2008 07:30:00
Russian malware distributors have launched another iFrame attack on a sub-domain of the cbs.com site.TV network CBS has become the latest big name to have it website used to host malware, a security company has reported. - +
Excerpt: Counterterrorism Strategies for Corporations 27 November, 2008 12:36:00
Mike Ackerman calls terrorism "the skunk at the globalization lawn party." His new book lays out 10 principles for how businesses can prepare and respond.Mike Ackerman calls terrorism "the skunk at the globalization lawn party." His new book lays out 10 principles for how businesses can prepare and respond. - +
The 10 Ackerman Principles of Counterterrorism 27 November, 2008 12:43:00
Consultant and author Mike Ackerman's 10 counterterrorism principles for business.Consultant and author Mike Ackerman's 10 counterterrorism principles for business.
AOC Launches 18.5” Widescreen Green 16:9 LCD Monitor in Australia and New Zealand 03 December, 2008 15:30:00
FrontRange Solutions eases software license management with new License Manager 3.0 03 December, 2008 14:56:00
Progress Software's Cure for Managing Services-based Applications 03 December, 2008 14:42:00
Informatica Powercenter added to Nec Infoframe Solution Suite 03 December, 2008 11:36:00
Gerald Held joins Informatica’s Board of Directors 03 December, 2008 09:50:00
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
|
Everything you need to know about email and web security (but were afraid to ask)
What you don’t know can destroy your business. It’s hard to imagine modern business without the internet but in the last few years it has become fraught with danger. Read on to discover how internet security can give your business a competitive advantage.
















