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What CEOs want from CIOs

Although focused on the CEO - CIO relationship, today's reading "What CEOs Want from CIOs" by Thomas Wailgum contains lots of insight not only about what a CEO might expect from a CIO but just as valid for what CIOs might expect from their Directors, what Directors might expect from their Managers, etc. I think you'll find the ten issues summarized there to be very insightful. They are:

1 Everything works all the time.

2 They think, talk and behave like they're running a P&L.

3 I know they'll tell it to me straight, always.

4 They're proactive about ways to apply IT.

5 They don't whine about reporting relationships.

6 Their objectives seem to be in synch with the needs of the business.

7 They manage my expectations.

8 They've built a strong team that's competent, customer-friendly and seems energized.

9 I can depend on them to be honest about necessary investments and timelines.

10 They give me confidence about business continuation.

As Wailgum notes, these originate with Jack Groban http://www.jackgroban.com/ head of an executive search firm with more than 25 years of experience working on executive searches, many of them for CIOs.