Computerworld — Here's a tactic CIOs don't learn in business school: How to inflict guilt on vendor reps to make sure their technology works reliably.

The 2009 CIO 100 Winners: Driving Future Business Growth with Technology Innovation
CIO 100 2009: How We Chose the Winners

Walter Fahey, CIO at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, said the 705-bed facility recently used the services of longtime vendor Verizon Communications Inc. to upgrade its networks in order to support electronic health records and transmit patient data to smartphones and other wireless devices used by doctors.

In an interview, Fahey said he frequently brings vendor sales representatives, including those from Verizon, into a Maimonides operating room and delivers a little speech. Fahey explains how important it is for complex applications to run reliably on robust networks to ensure that surgeons and nurses receive the right patient information at the right time.

"I bring the vendor reps in the operating room and tell them, 'Imagine if one of your relatives were here in surgery. Serious stuff. All this information has to be read, and it's really, really important,' " he said.

It can't hurt to use guilt as a negotiating tool to make sure vendors install technology properly and keep it running when needed, Fahey said, adding, "Guilt works because it's logical."