Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »
June 17, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM U.S./ET (GMT-4)
Larry Bonfante, CIO of the U.S. Tennis Association, will discuss the skills and approaches that your rising IT leaders must learn to be effective in an executive capacity.
How to Handle Your New CEO: Managing Turnover at the Top
June 18, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM U.S./Eastern (GMT-4)
Turbulent times have increased turnover at the top. Find out what Council CIOs have done to "break in" new CEOs—build relationships, set expectations, educate on the role of IT.
Mid-Market CIO Panel: Tips and Techniques for Improving Vendor Relationships
July 15, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM U.S./Eastern (GMT-4)
We'll highlight relationship priorities and best practices identified in a Council study, and we'll interact with a CIO panel on the approaches they've used to improve strategic vendor partnerships.
Executive Competencies Assessment Tool
Assess Your Business Leadership Skills with the Council's new benchmarking tool. Rate yourself in change leadership, strategy, customer focus and more.
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November 02, 2006 — CIO —
We recently heard thatYouTube.com, the video share site, was purchased for more than $1.65 billion. Not bad for a venture that was developed by two men (and helped by a third) in a garage. Coincidently the video venture was purchased by another company that had also spent time in a garage—Google. Sergei Brin and Larry Page, co founders of the that startup company, had rented a garage in a suburban house in Mountain View, California, while they worked on their search engine. Two decades earlier, two Steves (Jobs and Wozniak) also did garage time when they were building an early version of the Apple Computer. And the grandaddy Silicon Valley company of them all, Hewlett Packard, began its life in a garage.
So what is it about garages that incubate businesses so well? Is it the aroma of gasoline mixed with oil, or the scent of newly mowed grass still sticking to the stored mower? Or is it a steady tracking of field mice in and out of the haunt that bring new ideas? Likely none of the above has any affect on business. What the garage symbolizes, however, is something more powerful: a commitment of people to their ideas, either in singles, twos or threes. The garage then becomes not simply a repository of ideas, but an active workshop where ideas are applied to the marketplace. (See The Economist, Oct. 5, 2006.)
Garage as Innovation Tool
Awhile back, former HP CEO Carly Fiorina was featured in an HP television commercial in front of the original garage where Bill Hewlett and David Packard built their first oscilloscope in the late 1930s. The association between Fiorina and the garage was meant to demonstrate visually that HP was still an innovative company. And, despite the boardroom spying scandal, the company has developed new products that customers want. The slogan for the company is simple and to the point: “Invent.”
Every business should encourage a degree of innovation. And in fact, most companies like to boast of their innovative prowess, but like many companies, they confine innovation to research and development. That is, they look for new ideas from people charged with coming up with new ideas. While that’s not a bad policy, it does tell everyone else in the company that innovation is not something they should worry about. That’s too bad because good ideas can come from anywhere and anyplace and, of course, anyone. The challenge is to capture them and seek to capitalize on them. And the garage is a good place to start.