The past few years have certainly challenged technology executives and 2023 doesn’t look to be any different. With Gartner reporting that 80% of organizations are increasing digital technology budgets to counter current economic pressures, now more than ever CIOs are being called to lead the business and empower their respective organizations to deliver strategic dividends on those investments.

Your CIO Crew recently sat down with a consortium of technology thought leaders from the CIO Professional Network as they shared their pre-launch sequence for the new year.

As we start a new year, what do you do to begin with a fresh mindset and declare yourself ready to go in 2023?

Bob Ruocco: I like to look back on the past year’s successes and use them as fuel to excite myself and my team as we look at the year ahead. Often, at the start of the new year, there are projects which seem daunting and have perceptions of being unattainable. By looking back at the past year’s accomplishments and paying focus to that which we accomplished, I like to point out those projects which at the start of the previous year had been thought to be unattainable. This helps reinforce that we as a team have proven time and time again that we can accomplish the impossible.

Beth O’Rorke: From a professional standpoint, take a step back and reflect on what’s going well and not so well to determine the approach going into 2023. Review the company objectives and as a leadership team, align our actions toward accomplishing these goals. Set a leadership meeting in January to work through priorities including culture changes needed for success. This starts with the leadership on how our behaviors and actions cast a broader shadow on the org. Also, with a new leadership team, we need to first get to know each other and build trust so we can operate effectively.

Samir Mammadov: Each and every year for the past 10, I reflect on the previous year with lessons learned and applications for facing similar challenges in the new year. Goal setting is an important exercise but with a focus on bigger goals or dreams that I have no idea how to achieve but by declaring I begin a path toward accomplishment.

Lonnie Snyder: I’m a big fan of David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) practice. I spend a few hours mind mapping, visioning/dreaming of what wild success looks like for my projects, and cleaning up all the loose ends that fall through the cracks (like where did I put that business card I suddenly need that I didn’t scan).

Art Hair: Early in my career, I heard a very powerful phrase… “did it ship.” Those three words cut through all of the excuses, confusion, and finger-pointing and simply focused on the only important outcome… did we ship the product to the customer? By definition, anything that shipped had to be built correctly, pass bench testing, pass environmental testing, pass quality control, and pass quality assurance, all just to get shipped out the door. I’ve used that same phrase throughout my career so many times that I find I metaphorically ask it of myself even in little things on a daily basis. As a crutch during the first week back in the New Year, I ask myself “did it ship” almost on an hourly basis to make sure I keep from “dragging myself into the New Year.” I find that getting small things done on the first day back, the first week back, is a great way to reinvigorate myself to start off the New Year on a positive note.

Geetha Kumari Kommepalli: To keep my mindset fresh for a new year start, I recommit to ensuring that my health remains one of my top priorities. As a leader, maintaining a growth mindset for me and my team requires fostering a culture of listening and learning. As we begin the march toward our goals, we make sure they are realistic and that we have a buffer to turn unknowns into priority focus as they occur.

Bill Novak: I look at what’s ahead on the economic front and I also look at how we can continue to review what we do and do better at delivering our best support to our firm. I also look at what is ahead for our cloud services and see if they are still good enough for our firm.

Phil Crawford: To begin the new year, I start with reflection on the previous year, primarily through meditation and solace. During this time, I look inside spiritually and emotionally, to understand what was successful and what was not successful in the past year. I try to carry forward those learnings so I can further embrace the victories and the failures in order to grow both professionally and personally. Additionally, taking into consideration all the decisions that were made in the previous year and taking nothing for granted and learning to accept imperfection.

As a technology leader, what excites you most about the new year?

Phil: The hospitality industry is continuing to radically change with the advent and adoption of digital for dining. As 2023 is now upon us, the need for continual evolution to expand our digital footprints to exceed customer demands is really exciting. It covers traditional methods of digital ordering (ie app) to bleeding edge ordering, such as leveraging AI and expanding the methods or ways we interact with our guests and further understand or know our guests (ie loyalty). Overall, the ability to offer various ways for the guests to interact with us in a digital, frictionless ecosystem, excites me.

Beth: Another opportunity to set the strategic course to have an impact on our members’ lives and the healthcare industry by building a high-performing team with this focus on making a difference.

Bob: What excites me about the new year ahead is the ‘unknown’. The role of the CIO often encounters many unknowns in any given year. I often say what I love about my job is no matter how much planning my team and I do we are sure to encounter something we’ve never seen before on any given day.  I believe it is these ‘unknowns’ that define us. The way CIOs approach and resolve all that comes their way is what defines others’ perception of a CIO. It is also these unknowns where we learn our greatest lessons.

Lonnie: It’s a reboot and a good time to reconnect with people you’ve lost touch with and set up “quick chats”. While coffee and virtual wine tasting are still a thing, you can get a lot accomplished in 15 minutes of focused time with someone. You can let go of what you didn’t do well (or didn’t get to) last year and focus on moving forward.

Samir: For me, a new year is always a fresh new blank page in the book and it is up to each and every one of us to write the story.

If you could create a label or tagline for 2023, what would it be?

We’re Going To Do Amazing Things in 23! – Phil Crawford

Be Ready for Anything! – Art Hair

Reset for Growth! – Beth O’Rorke

How are you going to make a difference for someone else today? – Lonnie Snyder

Year of New Hope! – Geetha Kumari Kommepalli

Trust, Create, Educate, Innovate, Grow, and Inform. – Bill Novak

Prepare for the Unexpected! – Bob Ruocco

Face the Unpredictable with Great Anticipation! – Samir Mammadov