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<p>Preface xi</p> <p>Acknowledgments xv</p> <p><b>Part One—Key Change Drivers and Trends Impacting the CIO Role Today 1</b></p> <p><b>Chapter 1 Why the Role of the CIO Continues to Change 3</b></p> <p>The State of the CIO 6</p> <p>How Important Are Core Technology Skills? 9</p> <p>What Did I Do to Prepare? 17</p> <p>Recommendations 19</p> <p>Notes 20</p> <p><b>Chapter 2 Technologies and Trends Driving Today’s IT Innovation 21</b></p> <p>Follow the Money 21</p> <p>The Major Technology Trends Driving Change 25</p> <p>Predictions for the Future 33</p> <p>What Did I Do to Prepare? 34</p> <p>Recommendations 35</p> <p>Notes 37</p> <p><b>Chapter 3 IT Standards and Governance and the Impact of Consumer Devices 39</b></p> <p>IT Governance and Its Benefits 39</p> <p>How IT Trends Affect IT Governance 41</p> <p>Portfolio Management of IT 51</p> <p>The IT Strategic Plan 54</p> <p>What Did I Do to Prepare? 56</p> <p>Recommendations 58</p> <p>Notes 60</p> <p><b>Chapter 4 Service Level Agreements: A Key to Improved Customer Expectations and Better Contracts 61</b></p> <p>Service in the Age of the Customer 61</p> <p>Service Level Agreements 66</p> <p>Annual Staff and Customer Surveys 73</p> <p>Vendor Scorecarding 76</p> <p>What Did I Do to Prepare? 81</p> <p>Recommendations 82</p> <p>Notes 83</p> <p><b>Chapter 5 Today’s CIO: The Teacher to the C-Suite 85</b></p> <p>Gaps in Expectations between CIOs and CEOs and other C-Level Executives 86</p> <p>Educating the C-Suite 87</p> <p>Creating a High-Performing IT Team through Education 88</p> <p>What Did I Do to Prepare? 97</p> <p>Recommendations 99</p> <p>Notes 100</p> <p><b>Part Two—The Modern-Day CIO 101</b></p> <p><b>Chapter 6 What Executive Recruiters Are Looking for, from Consulting Experience to Leadership Skills 103</b></p> <p>How to Get Noticed 103</p> <p>Leading Generation Y and Mentoring 106</p> <p>Tomorrow’s Leadership Skills 120</p> <p>What Did I Do to Prepare? 121</p> <p>Recommendations 122</p> <p>Notes 123</p> <p><b>Chapter 7 Cloud Computing Strategies and Risks 125</b></p> <p>A Cloud Computing Overview 125</p> <p>Growth Trends and Costs 135</p> <p>The Security and Risks of Cloud Computing 140</p> <p>Integrating with the Cloud 145</p> <p>What Did I Do to Prepare? 150</p> <p>Recommendations 150</p> <p>Notes 152</p> <p><b>Chapter 8 The Consumerization of IT 155</b></p> <p>Consumer Devices Permeate the Corporate World 155</p> <p>Growth Trends for Mobile Computing 160</p> <p>Increasing Costs and Security 163</p> <p>Mobile Device Management 164</p> <p>What Did I Do to Prepare? 168</p> <p>Recommendations 169</p> <p>Notes 170</p> <p><b>Chapter 9 Social Media Changes Everything 173</b></p> <p>Social Media Categories 173</p> <p>Social Media Titans 175</p> <p>Social Media Are the World’s Reporters 177</p> <p>Businesses Using Social Media 179</p> <p>The Risks of Social Media 182</p> <p>Facebook Fatigue? 184</p> <p>What’s Next in Social Media 185</p> <p>What Did I Do to Prepare? 189</p> <p>Recommendations 189</p> <p>Notes 191</p> <p><b>Chapter 10 What’s after the CIO Role? 193</b></p> <p>Career Next Steps 193</p> <p>What Did I Do to Prepare? 198</p> <p>Recommendations 198</p> <p>Conclusion 199</p> <p>Notes 200</p> <p>About the Author 201</p> <p>Index 203</p>

<p><b>GREGORY S. SMITH</b> currently serves as a CIO for an organization in the Washington, DC, area. He previously served for nine years as the vice president and chief information officer (CIO) at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Washington, DC. Mr. Smith is the author of <i>How to Protect Your Children on the Internet: A Road Map for Parents and Teachers and Straight to the Top: Becoming a World-Class CIO</i>. He has published many articles over his career, including “Talking at the Top of the World” in <i>CIO</i> magazine, along with a variety of technology and business topics in <i>Forbes, eWeek,</i> and <i>Computerworld</i>. Mr. Smith received a BS in computer science from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an MS in business from The Johns Hopkins University, where he also served as an adjunct faculty member in the Carey Business School graduate programs. He can be contacted through his website: http://www.gregoryssmith.com.</p>

<p>The CIO’s world has changed dramatically—from the “old days” of centralized computing on mainframes, client-server technology, Web 1.0, telecommunications advances, and mobile computing gains to new drivers for change including cloud technology, social networking, the virtualization of everything technical, smartphone/tablet technologies, and the advancement of consumer devices in the business world. </p> <p> Now in a fully updated second edition, <i>Straight to the Top</i> helps sitting CIOs, aspiring CIOs, and other business professionals understand the drivers, complexities, and positioning of IT as well as the qualities necessary to attain the role of first-time CIO. <p><i>Straight to the Top, Second Edition</i> expertly coaches aspiring CIOs on building the requisite skills with expert guidance from leading CIOs and author Gregory Smith’s own observations throughout his more than twenty years of experience working in the information technology field. <p> The new edition offers a rare look at the qualities, skills, and experience that executive recruiters are seeking when searching for CIO candidates, with guidance on: <ul><li>Cloud computing strategies and risks</li> <li>Why social media changes everything</li> <li>The key change drivers and trends impacting the CIO’s role today</li> <li>Why core technology skills are so important</li> <li>The technologies and trends driving today’s IT innovation</li> <li>IT standards and governance and the impact of consumer devices</li> <li>Creating a high-performing IT team through education</li> <li>Getting noticed by executive recruiters</li> <li>The effects of consumerization/BYOD on IT services</li> <li>Improving customer service and SLAs</li></ul> <p>Providing an organized and comprehensive view of the CIO job and its important role in modern organizations, <i>Straight to the Top, Second Edition</i> equips sitting CIOs and CIO candidates with the strategies and knowledge necessary to be successful in the new mobile/social/cloud-based normal—and provide technology leadership as a world-class CIO.

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