by Elana Varon

What We’re Reading

News
Feb 12, 20093 mins

Books, Blogs and the latest research about IT, management and leadership as compiled by the staff of CIO magazine.

Tough times call for trusted leadership. Whether you’re addressing your staff about budget cuts or answering a question at a board meeting, you don’t want to look like you’re hiding something. Morgan, a communication coach, tells you how to align what you say with your body language. If gesture and posture are in synch with your words—and you convey your meaning with passion—you’ll be a charismatic speaker whose message rings true. And because communication isn’t one-sided, there’s advice for being a charismatic listener, too. Jossey-Bass, 2009, $27.95

“How to Fix the Innovation Gap”

The McKinsey Quarterly, January 2009

Research: In this multimedia presentation, former Cisco CTO Judy Estrin talks about the importance of basic research and learning from failure. Read snippets or watch segments of the interview. See the McKinsey Quarterly

Counterintuitive

By George Colony

Blog: The founder and CEO of Forrester Research seeks to “question prevailing sentiments” via research that affects CIOs, CEOs, CMOs and strategy professionals. blogs.forrester.com/colony

The Power of Less

The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential

By Leo Babauta

Book: Babauta, who writes the blog Zen Habits, interprets the simplicity movement for workaholics. One piece of advice worth considering: Don’t write any e-mail more than five sentences long. Hyperion, 2009, $16.95

Bytes from Lev

By Lev Gonick

Blog: The vice president of IT Services and CIO at Case Western Reserve University opines about IT’s impact on academia and society. Recent entries address broadband, outsourcing and the economy. blog.case.edu/lev.gonick

“The Next Wave of Green IT”

Deloitte/CFO research services

Research: You’ve consolidated servers, rationalized applications and bought a ton of energy-efficient hardware. So what’s next when it comes to going green? That’s the question at the heart of this study, which explores how global Fortune 1000 companies are changing their IT practices to save money, improve performance and shrink their carbon footprint. www.deloitte.com/us/nextwavegreenit

Technologizer

By Harry McCracken

Blog: The former PC World editor in chief covers the consumer tech landscape, from Windows 7 to gaming. technologizer.com

Business/IT Fusion

How to Move Beyond Alignment and Transform IT in Your Organization

By Peter Hinssen

Book: The entrepreneur and business school lecturer offers a manual for becoming a “fusion leader” at the helm of an IT department that is tightly integrated with business operations. The book is divided into readable chunks about topics ranging from alignment models to lateral (the opposite of logical) thinking. Mach Media, 2009, $58