As we look back on 2023, the TNCR staff has curated a selection of our most popular and impactful articles. Ranging from insightful leadership guidance to exploring the potential future, in 2024 and beyond, it has been a year of productivity for The National CIO Review.
Before we head into 2024, we wanted to share with you some of our most engaging articles from the past year. If your New Year’s resolution includes self-investment, we invite you to join the TNCR community. Dedicated to delivering the latest and greatest in thought leadership from our diverse community of technology leaders, we hope you’ll come along for the ride in the new year!
Beyond the Tech Jargon: Qualities That Define a Successful CIO
The choice of a Chief Information Officer goes far beyond filling a key executive position; it is a decisive move that can chart the course of a company’s strategic future. In the contemporary business landscape, where technological prowess often spells the difference between dominance and obsolescence, the right CIO with the right qualities can be a catalyst for growth, innovation, and resilience.
Making the right hire ensures that technology is not just an adjunct but is seamlessly woven into the fabric of a company’s operations and strategies. Such a leader understands the synergies between technology and business, ensuring that IT initiatives drive real, tangible business outcomes. The influence of the role reaches every corner of the organization, from optimizing internal processes, safeguarding crucial data, leading digital transformation efforts, to enhancing customer experiences and stakeholder value. Read More…
Personal Brands Aren’t Just for Marketers
Recently I was working with a long-time technology leader who was just laid off. After 20 years of service, he was thrusted into unemployment. Beside his natural fears of not providing for his family, he had to overcome a massive challenge: where should he begin?
He admitted up front, “I don’t do LinkedIn. And I also haven’t prioritized networking offline. I realize I’m not in a position of strength.” Honestly, that’s tough. According to Zippia, 85% of jobs are found through networking, while 70% of job openings are never publicly posted.
This leader’s story and Zippia’s data demonstrate a clear point: passively managing your career will hurt you. Just like retirement savings, it pays off to invest a little at a time … and with compounding interest, your gains can be enormous. So, how do you do this in the context of your career? Quite simply, you prioritize connection. But it’s more than meeting strangers on social media or at a conference. Instead, it’s about memorability. Read More…
Climbing the Ladder: Advice from the CIO Professional Network
With each step up the career ladder, new leadership roles bring a fresh set of obligations. The pinnacle position is no exception. Emerging tech leaders, recognizing the complexity of the CIO path, are increasingly looking towards those who have already navigated these waters. They seek wisdom, mentorship, and advice to ensure they not only survive but thrive in this dynamic environment.
The National CIO Review recently sat down with members of the CIO Professional Network, a community of prominent tech executives for their advice to guide budding tech chiefs on their voyage to the CIO spot. Read More…
Why We Should NOT Talk About IT and Business Alignment
The phrase IT Business Alignment has been discussed, debated, and strategized amongst CIOs, industry leaders, and consulting gurus for many years. There are good reasons why this conversation was important (and necessary) as IT was becoming ever more prevalent in how businesses operated.
However, in the context of modern businesses, there is a fundamental flaw in the idea of IT-Business alignment. It presents IT and Business as two distinct entities trying to agree on a common goal.
A similar but more progressive definition is IT-Business partnership. While this implies some degree of common purpose it still falls short of fully articulating the role of IT in modern business. In this article, I share a perspective that I truly believe in – the impact of IT on businesses today and how as technology leaders we should frame that conversation. Read More…
Democratizing Wisdom: A Leap into the Future of Data
In today’s fast-paced world, we are inundated with a deluge of content and information, each vying for our attention. Time, once an abundant resource, now feels increasingly scarce, making the luxury of leisurely digesting content a distant dream for many.
Traditional avenues of knowledge dissemination, such as books, articles, blogs, podcasts, interviews, emails, and reports, demand a significant investment in terms of time and cognitive effort.
Beyond the sheer act of consumption, the task of sifting through this vast expanse to extract relevant knowledge is daunting. And then comes the challenge of synthesizing this knowledge, reflecting upon it, and extracting valuable insights that resonate with our unique experiences and perspectives. Read More…
CIOs Pursue New Ways to Fill Critical Tech Roles as Market Slows
It might be an employers’ market, but companies are finding it difficult to fill talent gaps for critical technology roles, executives said at a recent CIO Professional Network roundtable.
Recent economic indicators suggest hiring activity in the tech sector is slowing. Though tech unemployment was 2.2% in September, they dropped 2,632 jobs and tech occupations across all sectors fell by 20,000, according to CompTIA analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data published earlier this month. Read More…
Inside Look: The Top Technology Trends for 2024 Revealed at Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo
From the ground in Orlando, Gartner’s annual presentation of the top 10 strategic technology trends for the upcoming year has just concluded. This year’s conference has provided rich insights into what technology leaders should expect in 2024.
“Technology disruptions and socioeconomic uncertainties require willingness to act boldly and strategically enhance resilience over ad hoc responses,” said Bart Willemsen, VP Analyst at Gartner. “IT leaders are in a unique position to strategically lay down a roadmap where technology investments help their business’s sustenance of success amidst these uncertainties and pressures.”
“They and other executives must evaluate the impacts and benefits of strategic technology trends, but this is no small task given the increasing rate of technological innovation,” said Chris Howard, Distinguished VP Analyst and Chief of Research at Gartner. “For example, generative and other types of AI offer new opportunities and drive several trends. But deriving business value from the durable use of AI requires a disciplined approach to widespread adoption along with attention to the risks.”
Armed with this contextual groundwork laid by Willemsen and Howard, let’s delve into the specific technology trends identified by Gartner that are poised to shape the landscape in the coming year. Read More…
The Secret to Better, More Aligned Decisions
It is a cold, damp January day in San Francisco. A software company leadership team is together in a downtown high-rise for their quarterly offsite, which includes annual planning. The tension is high. Overall, the company has done well; however, there is growing competition in all three of the company’s markets, and the economy is on shaky ground.
The CEO is at the whiteboard leading a conversation about which competitors are fiercest in each of the three markets and how they can compete across all three. Each of the eight leadership team members has strong opinions about where the limited resources should be spent for the best outcomes. There is turbulence as each team member picks their favorite market, product feature, and/or competitor to discuss during their debate. The CEO, frustrated after an hour of no conclusions, asks the most important question: How will we succeed?
Drama ensues because each team member debates from an entirely different perspective and is frustrated that the team is seemingly abandoning the debate they have had for the past hour. Read More…
How Great Leaders Deal With Negative People
Negativity is a drain on your life. To be fair, it’s more of a drip than an enormous leak, but it adds up over time. Negativity can come from various sources, but the most likely source is from within or another person.
Since leaders are in the people business, it’s only a matter of time before you’re working to overcome it in yourself or dealing with negative people on your team. Before you think you are alone in this struggle, one of the most common challenges leaders verbalize in workshops or coaching sessions is some version of “dealing with negative people.”
This challenge is so common because people are seduced into a belief pattern that fears fatalistic outcomes and prepares for the worst. Negativity is ultimately a safety mechanism, but most people who would be classified as negative don’t want to be. However, they intentionally or unintentionally take previous experiences and project them forward. While it’s true a negative outcome could be the end result, thinking that way all but guarantees it. Read More…
Asking for a Friend: How Do I Future-Proof My Career Against Ageism
Dear Mike:
Over the weekend, I found myself in a spirited debate with former colleagues about the reality of ageism in the job market. The group was divided, and it got me thinking about my own career trajectory as I recently turned 55.
While retirement may be on the horizon for some, it’s not an option I’m considering. However, it seems that staying current and relevant is more critical than ever.
So, where do you stand on the topic of ageism in our field? Is it a thing?
And what strategies should one employ to remain a valuable asset for either my current or future employer regardless of age?
Thanks,
