Every
now and then, I think it would be great to be a CIO, in part because
the title seems so cool. As a CIO, you get invited to great conferences
for “C level” executives. And you get a great magazine – CIO magazine,
one of my favorite magazines
Speaking of CIO magazine and CIOs, CIO Insight has a great article on desirable traits in a CIO.
Now, you will need to get past the inflammatory title (“Does it Take a
Psychopath to Make a Good CIO?”) and read the substance of the article,
because the article really answers the question posed by the title with
a “no.”
If you are a CIO, are a firm with a CIO or are a firm
thinking about hiring a CIO (hmmm, I think that may cover everyone),
this article will give you a way to think about the CIO position in
your firm or organization.
Here are the money quotes:
“CIOs
tend to love technology,” said Berg. “But not in the same way as
programmers or system administrators, who gravitate toward technology
because they think it's cool. CIOs are much more interested in what
technology can do for a company than simply what it can do, period.
That's an important distinction in terms of personality.”
and
The
good ones have a balanced view of people, process and technology. They
care about how the company meets its goals while embracing technology.
They have to be emotionally invested to do that.”
These quotes strike me as right on target.
So,
now I'm back in the wanting-to-be-a-CIO mode. But I think that really
means I want to be a part-time CIO or a CIO splitting time between
several firms or organizations.
I'm thinking about putting
together a package of consulting services that does exactly that. I'd
welcome any comments and suggestions from readers to help me think that
through and put that package together.
If you wanted to get a
package of services that approximated what a CIO might do for you, what
would that package include? I'll share the ideas I receive. [DennisKennedy.blog]