Playbook –

In this episode of CIO Playbook with Jeffrey Hurley I discuss the IDC's 2013 predictions and what they mean to us as technology leaders. I firmly believe these predictions are accurate and if we as leaders are not taking actions now to prepare our organization to accommodate these changes we will find the organization will choose to move forward regardless. The IDC is making the following predictions: 1. By 2016 line of business executives will be directly involved in 80% of new IT investments. 2. By 2015 90% of IT investments will be evaluated in terms of strategic goals 3. CIOs and CFO will move to "zero-capital" and transform the IT financial model 4. In 2013, CIOs deliver 3rd platform mash-ups as competitive differentiation 5. 70% of CIOs will embrace a "cloud first" strategy in 2016 6. By 2013 1/3 of all new application development will target a mobile form factor 7. Enterprise social networks move beyond pilot stage with business sponsorship 8. Big Data & analytics projects will be like no other IT project 9. IT talent will become the biggest barrier to innovation 10. By 2018, 50% of business execs will view the CIO as a business innovation Notes: www.idc.com The CIO Playbook is a podcast dedicated to the development of technology leadership and is hosted by Jeffrey Hurley, a seasoned global technology leader who has held positions with Fortune 500 companies throughout the world including diverse countries: Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, United Kingdom, and the United States. He is currently based in Toronto, Canada and New York, US.

In this episode of CIO Playbook with Jeffrey Hurley I will be discussing the importance of connecting with your business partners and understanding what they want to accomplish and how you and your team provide the needed support in accomplishment of their goals. I had the opportunity to attend a book launch party hosted by Robert Herjavec, owner of the Herjavec Group and co host of the Canadian version of the TV show Shark Tank. How much time are you spending with your business management team? If you are not spending time with them in regular one on one’s you are going to grow apart. The tips for developing personal relationships are just as applicable in developing work relationships. I have heard it said what matters is who you know and how well they like you before they are interested in what you know. As a leader of technology you have tremendous influence on the success or failure of your business partners. I know it does not feel that way, however, technology is required for each of our business partners to accomplish their goals. If we are not meeting with them regularly to understand what their goals are, we will end up with a gap between what they hope to achieve and the dollars available to accomplish those goals. There is currently a paradigm shift going on in how technology is viewed within an organization. The current way of interacting with technology, where the team dictates to the business partners what can and cannot be done is quickly being replaced. Technology as a cost center and therefore an expense that must be contained while automating back office or operational processes is now in the past. There is the new way of viewing technology as a business enabler and innovator for competitive advantage. Technology is a tool for customer interaction. The rise of the chief digital officer is an answer to this predicament. An individual dedicated to working with innovative technology to come up with new and better ways of customer engagement. New York City has a chief digital officer in addition to their chief technology officer. The same for best Buy. The question is can the CIO act as the CDO or are these roles so markedly different that it isn't possible? My opinion is the creation of the CDO was in response to technology’s inability to evolve rapidly enough to meet the demands of the businesses it supports. Technology has come to make up a commodity service consisting of email, servers, databases and some operational practices and help desk, telecommunications etc. While the new employees entering firms have grown up with technology and would be considered "tech savvy" upon entering the organization. They own smart phones, went to college using Google Docs, and look at technology as a life enabler not something to be hated. Chief Mechanic Many of my technology leadership colleagues run the risk of being identified as the chief mechanic rather than as a person to seek out for innovation. Why the mechanic? How to you view your car’s mechanic? First, we look at maintenance as a necessary evil rather than a positive for long life of a vehicle. We are not necessarily loyal to a particular mechanic and always view them as looking for more ways to separate us from our money. Not completely understanding how our vehicles work we have to rely on them to be honest and our constant fear of being stranded on the side of the road drives us to spend money that we feel we shouldn't have to spend. Now I don’t know about you, I pick my car based upon high reliability and then carefully follow the maintenance plan; getting the most life and value out of the car. Usually hundreds of thousands of miles before I turn them in for a new one. Not everyone is the same way. they will often lease their cars always getting a new one every few years and never worrying about the maintenance troubles because they have traded out of the car long before that might become an issue.

In this episode of CIO Playbook with Jeffrey Hurley I will be discussing the impact of goal obsession and how that obsession can lead to decision-making focused on achieving the goal at the expense of other opportunities and often ignoring the issues and risks around you when choosing to pursue the goal above everything else. Marshal Goldsmith in his book what got you here won’t get you there dedicates a chapter to the 21st habit that holds successful people back. This habit being overly focused on the goal to the detriment of other opportunities. Now each of you know how important focus is in achieving your objectives. Much of what we read about success and goal setting talks about the power of focus. Even the research on strategy demonstrates the importance of focus in achieving success. Yet that very same focus that drives success can at the same time be a weakness preventing your success. This conundrum has frustrated me on several occasions and I would like to share a story of one such occasion. I have had a wonderful travel case from TravelPro for about a year. This case is a wheeled tote, effectively an overnight bag or briefcase. I chose the case after a lot of research to find the best case for fitting in small overhead bins on the airplane and for its ease of use. TravelPro is preferred by frequent travelers because of the quality workmanship and guarantee on the bags. One of the drawbacks of this bag is the telescoping handle. Because of the small size of the bag the handle consists of five interlocking segments. Much of the feedback from users of this bag is the regular failure of this telescoping handle. I discovered, at the one year anniversary of ownership, the reviews were correct the case’s telescoping handle broke. This is a common occurrence of this type of case. TravelPro has several authorized repair centers throughout the country. The one nearest my location happened to be located in New York City. Now as many of you know parking in the city can be a challenge. Yet I had figured that a trip into the city early in the morning would enable me to get my case repaired without to much trouble. However, I was not able to get out of my home quite early enough. Now I was operating with a time limit because the repair shop was only open until 1:00PM. This wouldn't have been an issue if I had gotten out of my home early. Unfortunately I didn't get on the road until just after 11:00. Now I had made several trips into the city with very little challenge finding street parking on Saturdays so I didn't think there would be much trouble in getting into the city finding parking dropping off my case and getting back out. I figured the hour and a half time limitation wouldn't be much trouble. This proved to not be true; as I got into the city and discovered no parking opportunities. Because I had chosen to make the trek on my own I did not have a partner that could have driven around the block while I dropped off the case. I had to find a location to park. Street after street proved to provide no parking. I thought to myself, "as a leader I am supposed to make better decisions" and yet I fell victim to the same desires we all face. I missed the following fundamentals: Overly optimistic assumptions Not enough resources No clear alternative if the scope proved difficult Not completely understanding the limitations/issues/risks involved The key with any situation is to learn from the event. Whether it be a positive outcome or a negative outcome. The Buddhists have a saying, “it is not the situation that is bad or good rather, it is how you react to it” Yes I was frustrated with not getting my travel bag in for repair. Yet the lessons I can take away are a value indeed. Overly optimistic assumptions Whenever we embark on new project or activity all of the requirements may not be readily available at the time. Most projects need an element of contingency placed in them to address unexpected challenges.

In this episode of CIO Playbook with Jeffrey Hurley I continue the analysis of the Digital Government document: Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve the American People. This is the final part of the foundation work in understanding the two approaches to development of a strategic plan for reforming the US Federal Government technology organizations. We will cover remaining principles: Shared platform, Customer Centric, and Security and Privacy References:Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve the American People The CIO Playbook is a podcast dedicated to the development of technology leadership and is hosted by Jeffrey Hurley, a seasoned global technology leader who has held positions with Fortune 500 companies throughout the world including diverse countries: Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, United Kingdom, and the United States. He is currently based in Toronto, Canada and New York, US.

In this episode of CIO Playbook with Jeffrey Hurley I continue my review of the US CIO documents for reforming the federal government technology; focusing on Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve the American People. Continuing with the work we started laying a foundation for developing a strategy by first looking at what the two US CIO's outlined for their respective organizations. We will then move on to the process of building a technology strategy. Not a lot of show notes this week because I had some website issues that had to be addressed.

In this episode of CIO Playbook with Jeffrey Hurley I will be discussing five benevolent leadership traits to increase your benevolent leadership stance. 1)      Encourage others. Take a moment and recall times when you have felt encouraged. Was it things said by others, actions they took on your behalf, or some other mechanism that encouraged you to keep going in the face of adversity? As these ideas come to mind remember to do these very same things for others. Being aware of what motivates you and then taking those same actions to motivate others can be a powerful tonic of encouragement. When team members are discouraged or frustrated with a project or activity asking how you can help is one approach; they may not have an answer. It might be worth offering help by asking, “would it help if I…” as a leader you can change deadlines, remove roadblocks, and get additional help in ways team members cannot. 2)      If you have a “gut feeling”, reach out. Often your sixth sense has picked up on something that you are not readily noticing. Acting on that sixth sense is often a good idea especially when it involves your team. I had a situation recently when I had a “gut feeling” that I should reach out to a staff member and share a few words of encouragement. I chose not to act on the feeling and several weeks later the staff member submitted his resignation. I explained that I had wanted to reach out and he said that if I had reached out when the thought has come to me he wouldn’t have gone after the other opportunity. Now it was too late. Act on those sixth senses. 3)      Write a note. If you hear mention of good work a member of your team is doing write a short email and say, “you did a great job at…”, “I was impressed that you…”, or I heard that…is pleased with the work you are doing” We don’t always get to hear about how our work impacts those around us in a positive way, often it is when things are not going well when we hear about it. As a leader it is important to keep this in mind and listen for positives and then share them with the individuals on your team. Being told you are good at something can often make the difference between a difficult day and a really good day 4)      Be present. As a leader it is important to be seen. Walk your floors, say hi to the staff. If you have a team who is under “crunch time” and they are putting in the extra effort to make the deadline stop by and look in on how they are doing. Just by being out on the floor can demonstrate to your team that you know the hard work they are doing. 5)      Write a note of praise. If someone from another team has done a great job, write a note to their boss. Often great work isn’t always recognized and sharing your observations gives that visibility to the other leaders in the organization. Bad news seems to travel very fast, while good news travels much slower. As leaders we should strive to get good news traveling faster. The CIO Playbook is a podcast dedicated to the development of technology leadership and is hosted by Jeffrey Hurley, a seasoned global technology leader who has held positions with Fortune 500 companies throughout the world including diverse countries: Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, United Kingdom, and the United States. He is currently based in Toronto, Canada and New York, US.

In this episode of CIO Playbook with Jeffrey Hurley I have the opportunity to interview Dave Kubersky Managing Director and President of SimCorp North America. SimCorp is a provider of investment management software solutions and services for investment management organizations. The company was founded in 1971 and holds a very strong presence in Europe. They have recently expanded their international business and view North America as an excellent opportunity. In this interview with Dave we discuss the challenges of maintaining a successful corporate culture while taking advantage of the opportunities presented by rapid business expansion. If you would like to learn more about SimCorp please visit their website at: www.simcorp.com The CIO Playbook is a podcast dedicated to the development of technology leadership and is hosted by Jeffrey Hurley, a seasoned global technology leader who has held positions with Fortune 500 companies throughout the world including diverse countries: Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, United Kingdom, and the United States. He is currently based in Toronto, Canada and New York, US.

In this episode of CIO Playbook with Jeffrey Hurley we will continue our analysis of the 25 point plan to reform federal technology. Delving into points 13 through 25 looking for opportunities to capitalize on the information provided leveraging into in our own technology departments. Show notes are light this week because I am travelling on business. I have included the links to both the 25 point plan and the TechStat materials below: Notes: 25 Point Implementation Plan to Reform Federal Information Technology Management TechStat Toolkit

Vivek Kundra served as the first chief information officer of the United States from March, 2009 to August, 2011 under President Barack Obama. In December of 2010 he published the “25 point implementation plan to reform federal information technology management”. Eight months later Steven VanRoekel was named as the new CIO for the United States a position he still holds today. In May of 2012 Steven published his plan for a digital government titled: “Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve the American People” The US CIO oversees federal technology spending, federal IT policy, and strategic planning of all Federal IT investments. The CIO is charged with establishing a government-wide enterprise architecture that ensures system interoperability, information-sharing, and maintains effective information security and privacy controls across the Federal Government. In this multi-part session I will first discuss Vivek’s 25 point plan, then Steven’s Digital Government Strategy and look to compare and contrast strategy; ultimately examining the importance of leadership consistency in the implementation of multi-year strategies and ultimately how to effectively design for leadership succession without constantly heading down the Rabbit-hole. First let me explain what “heading down the Rabbit-hole” means, Kyle M’s post, ‘Down the Rabbit-Hole’ – What Does it Mean? On October 28, 2009 says they following: “The following sentences are where things start to become interesting; Alice decides to follow the rabbit, and she catches up with it “just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge. In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.” If we’re to accept the rabbit as a metaphor for a new idea, concept, or opportunity, it should be rather obvious what “chasing the rabbit/idea down the ‘rabbit-hole’ represents: following through with any new avenue that has been presented, solely for the excitement of discovery and adventure. Even though Alice isn’t sure where ‘chasing’ this rabbit will lead, she’s enthralled enough in its originality to pursue it without question.” Second, let me explain the importance of consistent strategy. In their book, “Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works” A.G Lafley and Roger L. Martin say, “It is natural to want to keep options open as long as possible, rather than closing off possibilities by making explicit choices. But it is only through making and acting on choices that you can win.” As we go through these documents together you will discover the different approaches both of these leaders took to reforming or preparing the government for the future. Vivek focused a lot on process, certification, and education. Steven VanRoekel focused on transformation of the fundamental platforms to address digital change, including mobile device optimization. With that let’s review Vivek Kundra’s 25 Point Implementation Plan to Reform Federal Information Technology Management Vivek began his plan with the following highlights: Turnaround or terminate at least one-third of underperforming projects in the IT portfolio within the next 18 months Shift to a cloud first policy. Each agency will identify three “must move services within three months and move one of those services to the cloud within 12 months and the remaining two within 18 months Reduce the number of federal data centers by at least 800 by 2015 Only approve funding of major IT programs that: Have a dedicated program manager and a fully staffed integrated program team Use a modular approach with usable functionality delivered every six months Use specialized IT acquisition professionals Work with Congress to Consolidate commodity IT funding under the Agency CIOs and Develop flexible budget models that align modular development Launch an interactive platform for pre-RFP agency-industry-collaboration

In this episode of CIO Playbook with Jeffrey Hurley I will be discussing the exit memo written by Andrew Mason the CEO of Groupon and how as leaders we can leverage five personal strategies to enable constructive leadership and move on from disappointm...

In this episode of CIO Playbook with Jeffrey Hurley I will be discussing the potential for CIOs to become COO or CEO. The origin of the idea of CIO to CEO appeared to dominate the technology media for a brief period of time and I will reference two such articles in this week’s discussion. In Tina Fey’s best selling memoir, Bossypants, Tina shares lessons she learned as a writer for Saturday Night Live and one of those lessons stood out to me, “The show doesn't go on because it’s ready: it goes on because it’s 11:30.” Despite all the effort we may put in to make the perfect solution there are circumstances when time commitments force us to put forward work that we know is not our best. Tina said that she had to learn to let go “You can’t worry about it. As long as you know the difference, you can go back to work panning for gold on Monday.” As leaders we have to release our desire for perfection and let mistakes go, learn from them, and then move on. The CIO association of Canada and Ryerson University sponsored a white paper titled, “CIO to CEO” by Kenneth A. Grant and Gabriela Urbanik. As a leader moves up the organizational ladder behavioral skills become a more important driver of leadership success. Many CIO’s often tend to battle negative technology stereotypes Technology is becoming a key to strategic conversations and IT leaders are getting a seat at the table for these discussions. To achieve the CEO level role, CIOs will need to choose action of analytics. Releasing the desire to explore the what-if scenarios associated with software development and set the course for the team and communicating the direction effectively. Korn/Ferry research shows that: Behavior style, rather than intellectual ability, prevents many CIOs from becoming COOs or CEOs The lack of key, specific behavioral skill most often thwarts the ambitions of CIOs hoping to achieve promotion   The difference maker in getting the top roles boils down to two main factors: business focus and good at technology organization basics. Business Focus This is not just understanding the business, but being viewed as a partner to the business. Someone who can actively participate in the conversations speaking the business’ language rather than technology language Competitive, market driven, market value, return on investment, customer retention, profitability, drive sales and revenue Good at technology organization basics Being able to run your organization smoothly is an important measure of success. This is more than just being able to manage staff. It is demonstrated ability to deliver technology, reduce costs, and develop your internal talent. Taking calculated risks in the technology space with the newer technologies. Being willing to fail on occasion for the right reasons and when failure happens managing it well. There are a set of competencies listed: Ability to communicate at the executive level Effective Relationship Builder Able to develop your people Building of successful teams, succession planning IT Governance Good governance structure is a sign of organizational maturity and how external parties will view your organization. This includes exposure to the board of directors of your organization. It is managing the strategic view vs the necessary evil. IT is a tight tightrope being walked as a leader of technology with ambitions for greater responsibility Change Leadership Technology is at the genesis of much of the organizational change. The leader seeking a larger role will first assume the change agent role and manage organizational change not just the technology portion of change. What is your action plan for CIO career progression? First you must take responsibility for your career to advance beyond your role. Taking challenging high visibility projects outside of your comfort zone. You must become a “connector” The white paper outlines a multi-credibility building process

In this episode of CIO Playbook with Jeffrey Hurley I will be discussing the power of small wins your ability as a leader to influence them and the impact they have on team success. “Today will take its place as a single tile in the mosaic of our fi...

In this episode of the CIO Playbook with Jeffrey Hurley I will be discussing the threats posed to industry by the aggressive moves of many companies to patent multiple technology solutions and the corresponding automation of business processes. These patents when granted have enabled organizations to seek licensing and royalty agreements from others deemed to be violating the patent Terry Gross from NPR’s Fresh Air interviewed Charles Duhigg a New York Times reporter who co-wrote the article “The Patent Used as a Sword” with Steve Lohr. In this interview they discussed how Patents are actually written into the US Constitution with the idea that ownership of intellectual property or a new innovation would encourage people to invent new things and allow them to share how the new invention works. The concept is, if the inventor does not have to worry about their idea being stolen by someone else then they can share the invention others and thus spur further innovation. I believe this was a great idea and has spurred innovation in the US economy resulting in incredible idea generation and growth. Unfortunately, the use of patents as a tool for innovation has taken a turn and is now being used to block entry into markets and prevent innovation through the broad definition of software and technology by the courts. “Congress modified the Copyright Act in 1980 to explicitly extend copyright protection to computer programs.” In a 1981 decision (Diamond v. Diehr), the Supreme Court ruled an invention using temperature sensors and a computer program to calculate the correct curing time in an otherwise usual process of molding rubber could be patented. The patent office had rejected the patent application, arguing the only new aspect of the invention was the computer program, which repeatedly solved a well-known chemical equation using temperature data provided by sensors. The Supreme Court disagreed, arguing the invention was an improved process for making rubber goods using a computer program. Abstract Ideas are not patentable Prior to this decision the software industry and courts all held the same view that abstract ideas and mathematical formulas cannot be patented. In the 1972 US Supreme Court case Gottschalk vs. Benson the court ruled a numerical algorithm was not patentable stating, “The patent would wholly pre-empt the mathematical formula and in practical effect would be a patent on the algorithm itself.” The patent office regularly rejected applications arguing that many of them involved using a computer to do a previous practice or application and there was nothing new or no physical transformation. This stance of the patent office began to change as more and more cases went to the courts, and the courts were finding in favor of the patent applicant over the patent office. Two cases are considered the touchstone or landmark that drove the changes we have seen dominate the technology industry and are now impacting every industry. Software Become Patentable On July 29, 1994 The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned the long-standing Patent Office policy of denying patents on inventions that were functionally implemented in software in the “In re Alappat” case A key finding in the decision is, once a computer program is loaded into the memory of a computer it can be viewed as a new machine eligible for patent protection. While the decision did not make software patentable, it offered the software, electronics, and technology industries an opportunity to request patents protecting the value of an idea to a much greater extent The majority of the judges in the case stated that because the claims cover software programs running on a general purpose computer (this would be a personal computer, a server, tablet, even many of the switches and routers in our data centers) the computer becomes a new machine once the software is loaded into memory and can then be protected with a patent

How many meetings have you sat through and looked around the table to see no one taking notes. If there is no need to take notes what is the point of having the meeting. Studies show if we don't write it down we will forget shortly after leaving the meeting. I use two different mediums based upon situation or compliance limitations   Laptop or tablet Bound journal For most of my daily activities I prefer to have the bound journal as the other laptops and tablets tend to distract from the personal connections that are such an important part of business. When conducting larger meetings around projects or business strategy we use the other tools for expediency. I have found that the simpler the method the more likely we are to do it on a regular basis. I use a modified version of the Cornell Note Taking System. I always carry a bound note-book with me and start each meeting with a blank page on the left and right of the book. The right hand side of page is for the detailed notes and the left hand side I keep the action items and the meeting summary (which I write up after the meeting) To make my notes as readable as possible, I expect to be referring to them at a later date, I use bullet lists marked by four different symbols: - A dash for a general item of a statement made by someone * An asterisk is an important fact [ ] A square check box for a to do item assigned to myself ( ) A circle for task to be assigned to someone else, with responsible person I indent my notes from the left edge of the paper allowing me to put my symbols in the left margin. For process flows or other visual diagrams I draw them right into the notes so their context is not lost. Because meeting handouts can be difficult to keep track of, I will also create short summaries or hold them to be stapled into the journal later.I also have a vocabulary of abbreviations that I always use similar to the following: w/ with w/w worked with s/b should be If you are a visual learner I would suggest incorporating different colors into your note taking either with "highlighters" or with colored pencils this is more a personal preference and I found that while I like using the multiple colors there was not enough time to effective take notes and engage in the dialog while trying to add color. After the meeting I sum up each page on the bottom left section of the journal, often because there is not time to type up minutes right away. This way at the end of the day or when I had the notes to an assistant it is easy to add tasks to the calendar, send out the reminder emails, and follow up on the questions. I take notes in every meeting I attend and go through a journal about every month. Want to know how to write meeting minutes that get read? To get people to read your minutes ensure they are brief, easy to read, with all of the key points, and action items. Then use a format that can be read on a blackberry or other mobile device. I developed the following format focusing on summary points like this one below: •           Topic 1 o          Speaker summary, additional detail (only if needed) o          Item summary •           Topic 2 o          Speaker summary o          Item summary •           Decisions Made o          decision one o          decision two o          etc. •           Action items o          Action - Assignee - Due Date o          Action - Assignee - Due Date o          etc. The upper portion of my notes consist of the topic, the speaker, and a summary of what they said in bullet point form. The middle portion of my notes consist of the decisions made in the meeting and a summary of what is next with those decisions With the lower portion providing a list of action items. Most of us don't care who attended the meeting, what time it started, or what the dial in number was, so I leave them off of the minutes. Not all fonts and formats translate well to mobile devices,

In this episode of the CIO Playbook with Jeffrey Hurley we are discussing the Top 25 Oddball Interview Questions of 2012 as ranked by Glassdoor.com. What is all of the uproar about oddball questions in job interviews? Most candidates hate them becau...