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 »
Webcast: In the Google Apps Cloud: How to Achieve Your Business Objectives
Dec 3rd, '09, 1 - 2 pm US/Eastern (GMT-5)
Join Council member Brent Hoag, Director, Global IT, at JohnsonDiversey, as he discusses the adoption of Google Apps which has helped meet four corporate goals; sustainability, simplification, increased employee productivity and global collaboration.
Webcast: Collaboration Initiatives: Benchmarks & Best Practices
Dec 15th, '09, 4 - 5 pm US/Eastern (GMT-5)
Join Council members Ruth Thorpe, VP & CIO at the U.S. Pharmaceutical Operations of Sanofi-Aventis, and Gary Kuyper, CIO at Bethany Christian Services, as they speak about their collaboration initiatives and experiences in how and why they chose the social networking and collaboration tools they are using and their business goals for collaboration, and facing culture change challenges.
Data Overview: Collaboration Initiatives Field Guide: Benchmarks & Best Practices
This appendix to the Council Field Guide provides an analysis which discusses benchmarks for collaboration IT implementation costs, adoption rates and payoffs. The overview identifies top IT and business goals and satisfaction rates for collaboration initiatives as well as best practices and lessons learned for implementing collaboration IT.
Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »July 11, 2008 — CIO —
It's a good time to aspire to IT stardom.
For one thing, there's the growing number of IT leaders who enjoy celebrity status, people like Gregor Bailar (the former BankOne CIO who retired early to become a consultant and philanthropist), J.P. Rangaswami
Moreover, companies' view of IT itself is changing. Companies are looking for IT leaders who can be bona fide business strategists, which means more control, power and opportunity.
But you can't capitalize on such opportunity, unless you're getting noticed—and getting talked about. Quite simply, "being a best-kept secret will not deliver the promotion or raise," says publicist Wendy Serafin, principal of PR and marketing firm Nifares Group.
To make sure your unique talents and value stay—or get—in the spotlight, try these six ways of generating buzz.
"A crucial piece of your job is actually to make friends with people at [your] company," says Penelope Trunk, former software industry marketing executive and current career columnist. Being hardworking and demonstrating excellence is important. However, Trunk points out, there's lot of research that shows people would rather work with someone who's likable and incompetent than those who are competent but not likeable. "And we also know intuitively that the boss always promotes the person they like the best."
Being a star is about buzz, and buzz is created when people talk about you. And "if you don't have friends, no one's going to talk about you," says Trunk. So put down that project work, and get away from your desk. Wander around the office and strike up random conversations. Go to lunch with coworkers, talk about common interests with your boss. Bring in bagels for your team. Above all, make sure the adjective "isolated" can't be applied to you.
To those who consider themselves too shy or introverted for networking, Trunk minces no words: "Get over it." Isolating yourself is career suicide. Socializing doesn't have to be hard either, Trunk points out. Those who find such social activities difficult may be putting too much pressure to say something sparkling and witty, she says. Simply being genuinely interested in others and friendly, revealing a bit about yourself, and being a good listener goes a long way toward connecting.