[.ca] CIO Wisdom: Best Practices from Silicon Valley (ISBN 0131411152)

Superb compilation of knowledge & experience:
The seventeen articles in this compendium represents contemporary and topical subjects, each written by a seasoned CIO. I was as impressed with the selection of articles as I was with the content because each topic is foremost on the minds of CIOs and senior IT managers today. Among the articles I especially like are: - The First 90 Days, by Mark Egan, which contains actionable plans that will get the new CIO (or other senior IT executive) quickly moving in the right direction. - IT Organization, by Guy de Meester, in particular the challenges of centralization vs. decentraliztion, and organizational models in general. If this area is your focus I highly recommend additional reading: "Decentralization: Fantasies, Failings, and Fundamentals" (ISBN 0964163535) and "RoadMap: How to understand, diagnose, and fix your organization" (ISBN 0964163527), both of which go into great detail and provide an exceptionally effective approach. - Governance, by Danny Maco, which is conspicuously missing in organizations large and small - or is often done incorrectly if done at all. - Budgeting, by Bob Denis, Maureen Vavra, John Dick ... you'd think IT has this basic function under control, but sadly not. Read this article for excellent advice. - The Metrics of IT: Management by Measurement, by Shel Waggener and Steve Zoppi. One of my favorite topics, and this team provides outstanding advice and keen insights. Other articles are as well written, and span topics from architecture to strategic planning. Taken as a whole, this is a sourcebook that is filled with both knowledge and experience, and should be on the desk of every CIO, seasoned and new. I also recommend visiting the site that supports this book (paste the ASIN number, B0001EHNFK, into the search box for all products on this page). The site contains additional articles, news and other books in this series that CIOs, IT managers at all levels, and subject matter experts will find useful.

Putting Offerings into Right Perspective:
Although this book is primarily targeted to IT-leaders or those who intend to become one I'm sure this book is also highly valuable for all CEOs and Marketing and Sales VPs of startup companies who are tarketing established corporations. This book will give them guidance to put their offerings into right perspective by giving insights about CIO's success strategies and challenges. And the structure of the book makes it easy and enjoyable reading for busy executives - from the first foreword to the last chapter.

I'm a new CIO:
As an IT professional recently hired as a first time CIO, I was in need of a book like this one. As I began reading, it was actually eerie to see how similar my issues are to the ones addressed in this book. The book does a great job of addressing issues; first by explaining them, then by giving real world examples of how the authors worked them, then by offering trouble-shooting advice and even offering templates where applicable. I have shared several chapters with my direct reports and have already put some of the ideas into practice. Doing so has increased my effectiveness and therefore my chances of success in my new role. I would recommend this book to anyone else in a similar position.

CIO Wisdom, Indeed !!:
Truly, this is 'CIO Wisdom' - set down by CIOs and IT managers who deal day-to-day with information technology in perhaps the most challenging environment - Silicon Valley itself. As a 42-year veteran of the IT industry, I think this is the first time I've seen so much down-to-earth, practical and useful IT guidance in one place. The chapters are clearly and well-written. The authors get right down to the meat of the subject and provide practical suggestions for improving IT delivery. If the book has a weakness, it is that there is so much specific information here that it will likely take multiple readings to glean all of it. I think this book should be required reading for all CIOs ... and if you really want to start something, get a copy for everyone on your IT staff!

CIO Wisdom review:
As with many books that collect articles or papers, the organization is topical not a continuous sequence, although there seems to be some consideration given to precedence of topics. I especially found value in the chapters on Communication, Governance, Architecture, the Value of IT, Metrics and the Cates article regarding Line of Business orientation. There are some inconsistencies between articles, and minor editing errors.