When it comes to describe a great leader, one who can inspire others to embrace change, there is no single word that can adequately do so. We may have touched on one such word, Integrity, in previous posts. Credibility would be a close second. In the context of a business organization, however, there are many managers but [...]

 

 

 

In a previous post, R.A.R.E. Leadership is Rare, I have described a style of leadership that is encapsulated in the acronym R.A.R.E. A RARE leader is one who has Respect for people and earns their Respect in return, has a positive Attitude, a Recognition of the contribution by others and Excels in his/her field of [...]

 

 

 

In the course of my professional life, I have a lot of opportunities to work with high level management. While many are great managers, few could be viewed as great leaders. You may recall that in my book, a great leader is not necessarily a charismatic figure but one who is admired by many. People [...]

 

 

 

What are the challenges or obstacles facing a person in quest of success in the workplace? Sometimes, a seemingly simple and straightforward question like this would lead to a deep, philosophical thought on the subject of emotional and spriritual intelligence.
In the recent posts, I have told the story of a young IT manager seeking the secrets of a [...]

 

 

 

In the previous post, I told the story of a young IT manager seeking the secrets of a successful IT Leader. His to-the-point question "What does it take …?" has given rise to my pondering about the common association of success with titles and positions in the organization. In this Part 2, I will share with [...]

 

 

 

I think it’s appropriate to start the new Tao of IT blog with something not CIO-related, at least not as directly as I have been writing so far in the former CIO Assistant’s Blog. The subject touches on the Leadership question but from a perspective of a young IT manager in search of fame and success in [...]

 

 

 

This is the third post in the recent series on Business-IT Alignment where the issue is examined from both sides of the coin so to speak. The objective is to demonstrate that Business-IT Alignment is possible if there is a level playing field where both Business and IT are accountable for their action, not just [...]

 

 

 

In a previous post, I asked the question: "What Business Would IT Align To?" to highlight the fact that Business is a generic term used indiscriminately for different entities in different contexts. So when a divisional head was not happy with the services provided by the central IT group, it could be called a Business-IT mis-alignment. [...]

 

 

 

"The mass of IT Leaders lead a corporate life of quiet frustration." 
This was the thought that crossed my mind when I read recent press articles on the CIO crisis. This quote is a paraphrase of Henri David Thoreau who has said "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation" more than 150 years ago [...]

 

 

 

This is the third and final post in the series on Staying Relevant to Business. In this post, I will review the types of competency that a CIO needs to develop to ensure predictable IT successes hence positive business perception.
In Part 1, I have highlighted the renewed threat to the survival of the CIO role (and [...]