What Makes CIOs (And Their Units) Effective: The CxO View ∞ July 11, 2008

Synopsis

Many business executives struggle to understand the value they obtain from their IT investments and assets. Meanwhile, many IT leaders are not clear what specific steps they can take to improve their effectiveness in the eyes of business executives. Drawing upon research with more than 250 non-IT executives, we will discuss what functions high-performing IT units do better than their lower-performing peers. Effective IT service delivery is an essential starting point. But, IT leaders who deliver higher business value do more than just manage IT well. They also find effective ways help business counterparts play their roles in a virtuous cycle of business value. In this talk, examine the drivers of IT value in the eyes of business executives, and use numerous case studies to discuss specific steps IT leaders can take to improve their effectiveness.

Speaker
George Westerman is a Research Scientist in MIT Sloan’s Center for Information Systems Research (CISR) and faculty chair for the course IT for the Non-IT Executive. His research and teaching examine management challenges at the interface between IT and business executives, including risk management, innovation, and CIO leadership. His research has been published in journals such as Sloan Management Review, Organization Science, and MIS Quarterly Executive. His recent book “IT Risk: Turning Business Threats into Competitive Advantage” was named one of the ten best books of 2007 by CIO Insight magazine. Prior to earning his doctorate at Harvard Business School, George gained 15 years of experience in engineering and IT management.

Agenda