CIO Leadership: What We Can Learn from History to Drive Success in Today's Climate

© 2010 PSC Group, LLC
Objectives
 How to stay ahead of your customer
 How to stay relevant to your business
 How to build a forward-thinking, solution-oriented culture in
IT
 How to manage costs and still be innovative
 How to mitigate risk and make safe technology bets
 How to be the victor and not the victim

Businesses are
working with less
staff and are under
tremendous
pressure to be as
efficient as
possible… even as
activity increases.

Product lifecycles
are ever shorter,
inventory is leaner,
competition drives
the need to respond
quicker. Ubiquitous
connectivity and
lack of planning
foster a rushed
environment.

Mistakes of over-
commoditizing are
showing signs of
pain, but the need to
obtain valued
products/services at
competitive prices
remain. How many
call centers are
moving back to the
US?

Failure at a business
and personal level is
a tremendous fear.
Companies are risk-
averse and need
overwhelming proof
before any project is
justified.

Work is being done
at home, in the car,
at Starbucks, on
vacation. Reports
are being delivered
via iPhone and SMS.
Information needs to
be relative to where I
am and what I’m
doing for it to be
useful.

There isn’t much
cost cutting left to
do. Even though we
are still not in
growth mode all that
is left to do is
prepare for it. This
is a HUGE
opportunity for
companies that
prepare in advance.

People are jaded.
Nobody wants to be
sold anything.
People gravitate
toward pragmatic
and transparently
obvious solutions.
The days of the sell-
job are over. It’s Joe
Friday – just the
facts ma’am.

It’s no longer
acceptable to deliver
something that isn’t
pretty or polished.
B2B & internal apps.
are under Design
and Usability
scrutiny. Consumer
products are setting
expectations for
business solutions.

WARNING!

We exist to help
others make
better decisions.

Justinian Code

Magna Carta

Lessons Learned
Greeks – Know your role - We are enablers
Romans
Low maintenance Infrastructure lasts
Standards prevent problems
Simplify to Endure - KISS
British – The power is in the hands of the users
U.S.
Know what the strategic plan is
Anticipate what you need to learn & P.O.C.
Team selection is critical to success

Old
New

Complexity is Killing Us
Too Much Information
Crazy Busy – No Time
Tech is Constantly Changing

Complexity is Killing Us
Too Much Information
Crazy Busy – No Time
Tech is Constantly Changing
Old
New

It’s all about
processing the Past
INFORMATION
predicting the
Future
Observing the Present
KNOWLEDGE
WISDOM
The VELOCITY
of Information is Increasing

Thanks for the History Lesson…
but we need more than that !

How to stay ahead of
your customer
1. Know your VALUE to ALL customers
• Know your role Internally & Externally
• Focus your time on your VALUE
2. Solidify the things that are taken for granted
• Simplify & Standardize Infrastructure
• Practice Moderation + Risk vs. Reward
3. Explore what is on the horizon
• Listen and use POC’s to test the waters
• Your best people on your biggest opportunities

How to stay relevant to
your business

How to build a forward-
thinking culture in IT

How to manage costs
and still be innovative

How to mitigate risks

For Production
From Consumption
Our Focus needs to be on
Information Consumption

You were on
fire tonight!

Low Support Models Predictable Sustainability
SaaS
Cloud Computing
VDI
Virtualization

BPEL
Short Projects
RAD
Agile Development

Usability
UX Design
Interface Standards
Platform Choices

PROJECT NAME
10x 10x
What is this Project’s
Risk Profile?
10
5
10
5
5
2
2
2
1
1
WORKSHEET CIOprojeval.revA
It helps grow the business
It helps the company scale profitably
It lowers business risk (interruption)
Does not require rollout or re-training
It helps retain key employees/assets
Business process is well understood
Is using proven technology
Lowers IT costs
Is mandated or for compliance
CIO Project Evaluator
Is budgeted for success
RISK PROFILE
Positives (+) Negatives (-)
5x 5x
2x 2x
1x 1x
10
5
10
5
5
2
2
2
1
1
No supportive business sponsor
Limited impact to line of business
Requires cultural change for adoption
Duration > stability of business process
Can not quantify success
Unrealistic expectations anywhere
No time/budget for POC or discovery
It’s work outside your comfort zone
Using newer technology
Addresses a symptom not a cause
effective executives focus only on tasks that move their company forward;
everything else can wait!
1 Good for morale
10 The project has a significant ROI 10 No defined objectives for a win
1 Getting there will be unpleasant
-
© 2008 Copyright PSC Group, LLC
http://www.psclistens.com
Based on the designs of David Seah
http://www.davidseah.com
OVERVIEW CIO Project Evaluator
PROJECT NAME
10x 10x
Risk Profile?
10
5
10
5
5
2
2
2
1
1
Lowers IT costs
RISK PROFILE
5x 5x
2x 2x
1x 1x
10
5
10
5
5
2
2
2
1
1
1 Good for morale
-
2009
2009
This simple tool can help you quantify the risk profile of a given project. It is not intended to be used as an
absolute scoring mechanism – if it is it will not work for you. What this tool can be used for - very effectively - is the
evaluation of incremental or comparative risk between your project alternatives. In time, this tool can also be used
to see if your average risk profile is migrating lower or higher. This can be indicative of changing business
conditions that are favorable or require attention from a political perspective. Perhaps the most useful application
of this tool is how it can be used to verify that you are entering each project having considered the fundamentals.
In this way, you can ensure that you are having the proper business dialogue at the onset of each investment.
If you wish to learn more about
innovative & practical ways to
leverage technology - contact us:
PSC Group, LLC
Jim Vaselopulos
jimv@psclistens.com
847.517.7200
www.psclistens.com
Copies are available
at our pedestal between sessions

Simplify & Standardize
Focus Value & Outsource Infrastructure
Provide Context
Make Info easier to digest and consume
It’s all about TIME
Business Velocity & ½ Life of Information
Rampant Consumerism
UX Design & Ease of Use Matter!

How to be the victor and
not the victim

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PROJECT NAME
10x 10x
Risk Profile?
10
5
10
5
5
2
2
2
1
1
Lowers IT costs
RISK PROFILE
5x 5x
2x 2x
1x 1x
10
5
10
5
5
2
2
2
1
1
1 Good for morale
-
OVERVIEW CIO Project Evaluator
PROJECT NAME
10x 10x
Risk Profile?
10
5
10
5
5
2
2
2
1
1
Lowers IT costs
RISK PROFILE
5x 5x
2x 2x
1x 1x
10
5
10
5
5
2
2
2
1
1
1 Good for morale
-
2009
2009
This simple tool can help you quantify the risk profile of a given project. It is not intended to be used as an
absolute scoring mechanism – if it is it will not work for you. What this tool can be used for - very effectively - is the
evaluation of incremental or comparative risk between your project alternatives. In time, this tool can also be used
to see if your average risk profile is migrating lower or higher. This can be indicative of changing business
conditions that are favorable or require attention from a political perspective. Perhaps the most useful application
of this tool is how it can be used to verify that you are entering each project having considered the fundamentals.
In this way, you can ensure that you are having the proper business dialogue at the onset of each investment.
If you wish to learn more about
innovative & practical ways to
leverage technology - contact us:
PSC Group, LLC
Jim Vaselopulos
jimv@psclistens.com
847.517.7200
www.psclistens.com

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