The Practical CIO: A Common Sense Guide for Successful IT Leadership

by Jose Carlos Eiras, Tony Scott (Foreword by)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470531907
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	02/08/2010
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

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.

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Table of Contents

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

Editorial Reviews

"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)

From the Publisher