In chaotic times, some flourish while others flounder. It's increasingly clear that to survive in the new economy companies need to forge ever-stronger bonds with business partners; use IT as a linchpin; and create a chain that drives out costs and generates value.
Okay. Okay. Okay. So last month I put a new twist on the continuing saga of editorial categories: I ran the same one I had the month before. Well actually I didn't, but that's another story. Cross my heart, I really did write one and frankly that's what ticks me off. I could have done it at some point when I was really brain dead - although in August it was a line-ball call.
I'm writing this from a hotel room at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
Why am I here? I'm at Sybase's Tech Wave conference. My fellow attendees are, well shall we say, technically inclined.
This month's cover story "Wolf at the Door" reports on the rise of the CTO (chief technology officer) position and its opportunity and threat for CIOs.
I'm going to introduce a new type of editorial; I'm going to tell you about something that's fun: The Hollywood Stock Exchange (hsx.com). Read no further if not in to movies or music but if you are, and like to take a punt, this Web site is crash hot.
I know I'm going to date myself, but when I started out companies hired people with skills and ability, not "talent". Welcome to the all singing, all dancing New Economy. It boggles the mind.
Just a few years ago the pundits were saying CIO stood for "career is over". I'm sure more than a few of you would agree that was a miss. Now Forrester has the bell tolling for IT department and you're moving on - or out.
Speaking of change, I know there's a list which ranks the most stressful situations a person encounters in life: new job, a move, divorce, death of a loved one and so on. Each involves major change. I wonder if anyone's ever put together a workplace stress list?
Australia's CIOs primarily use the Internet, integrators and resellers, vendors and IT publications to obtain information they need to do their jobs. You don't value newspapers very much - especially daily publications - and have no use for radio or television for technology information. And it's still early days to say that daily e-mail news services will be read as heavily as publications.
When money enters the equation, we need to differentiate between selling and selling out. As human beings, we can't help but be subjective in the best of situations. To maintain that you can keep your objectivity and accept major gifts (no matter how they're packaged) is the equivalent of saying, "Of course I care for you, just remember to leave the money on the dresser on the way out."
Isn't the goal of this type of program to capture and keep loyal customers? Isn't there a rule of thumb which says it's cheaper to keep a customer than find a new one?
Change management? We here at CIO can speak from experience the next time that popular topic lands on the lunch table.
The challenges confronting us as the magazine for IT executives are mirrors of the challenges confronting you. As you adapt to the constantly changing demands of your organisations, staffs and vendors, so too must we adapt in order to communicate the most relevant, most meaningful information to help you become more successful.
Letter from the editor, reader feedback and how to reach us
I'm writing this editorial from the New Zealand offices of IDG Communications.
Springtime for CIO