Develop a strategic plan: Ron Kifer, group vice president and CIO at Applied Materials, created a high-level 90-day strategic plan before his first day on the job. Within his first 30 days, he incorporated specific pain points of the company, the type of CIO leader required and the mandate of the executive team. The plan laid out steps to support the mandate and position IT as an innovation leader. (To download Kifers initial 90-day plan, go to www.cio.com/inprint.)
Track relationships: Vicki Petit, vice president of information services at furniture manufacturer KI, created an Excel spreadsheet to track hours spent per month on building relationships in five areas: vendors, cross-functional meetings, individual business leaders, professional associations and external peers. She sets yearly goals in each area and reports results to her boss monthly.
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Get a coach: Michael Abbene, CIO at Arch Coal, used a coach (a former CIO from a different company) to offer guidance during his first 90 days. They had weekly phone discussions and regularly met face-to-face. The relationship continues today—18 months after he became CIO.
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