What Makes a Good CIO

Francis Wilkin, senior director at Spencer Stuart, describes the qualities of a good CIO:

“A good CIO doesn’t just understand IT, but understands how to knit the technology into the fabric of the organisation. You need somebody who can think strategically, who has vision and who understands the length and breadth of the business, so they are spotting where it is that IT can be applied to achieve a business advantage.”

Now, that's an excellent description of a CIO.

The CIO, I believe, is a modern-day alchemist. His task is to take the base technology created by high-tech companies (for example; Microsoft, Oracle, Apple), and transform that technology into a business advantage (not, create a new application server). To accomplish this goal, requires knowledge of business and technology -- integrated thinking. In fact, it’s the ability to combine business and technology elements that enables innovative design.

What’s more, when you think far and wide about your business, you begin to understand where to position options within your technology tapestry.

In the Mobile Doughnut Theater post, we discussed how marketing and options can be used to create business advantage.

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