Blog Entries for tomhoff

3 Ways CIOs Can Become More Innovative

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Tue, 10 May 2011 22:00:00 +0100

I read an interesting article about the role of the IT organization in enterprise innovation, written by a former colleague of mine, Charles Babcock. The story, "IT Must Play a Central Role in Enterprise Innovation," spoke to many of the key challenges that both CIOs and their IT teams face in their efforts to help drive (not just support) innovation within their companies.

The story, which was based on reactions to the issue from a panel of CIOs and other industry expe [...]

Even Business-Savvy CIOs Need a Tech Brain Trust

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Sun, 08 May 2011 22:00:00 +0100

CIOs are more business-savvy than ever. They don't have a choice. After all these years of struggling to align IT with the business and striving to meet the needs of business leaders and business unit employees, successful IT leaders find themselves working alongside their business peers, including fellow C-level executives.

Of course, I would be remiss not to mention that a growing number of CIOs have transitioned over from business roles in the last several years. Still, wh [...]

M&A Study: Little Correlation Between Deal Size, Frequency and Performance

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:00:00 +0100

If you've ever worked for a company that's acquired one or more companies or has been acquired by another firm, you've probably been witness to some deals that have generated a decent amount of value and others that didn't work out so well.

Now, McKinsey & Company has released the results of a study where they examined patterns of deal sizes and the frequency of deals among the world's top 1,000 companies by market capitalization as measured by excess tota [...]

5 Ways to Foster a Culture of Continuous Innovation

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 22:00:00 +0100

Many IT and business leaders are keen on driving innovations that can help their organizations generate new revenue streams, increase market share or improve organizational efficiencies. But being able to do so on a continuous basis requires companies to create an environment that encourages and cultivates innovation across different levels.

Of course, this is easier said than done. According to a 2010 study conducted by Ernst & Young, while 82 percent of the 263 entrepreneu [...]

Can You Run Your IT Organization Like Facebook's?

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 22:00:00 +0100

In a recent interview with CIO UK, Facebook CIO Tim Campos discusses the company's strategy for moving as much of its IT operations as possible into the cloud. In fact, roughly 70 percent of Facebook's internal IT activities are now managed and operated in cloud-based environments, according to the article. The types of applications and activities that Facebook currently does not operate out of the cloud are things like business intelligence because, as Campos sees it, "th [...]

3 Ways CIOs Can Help Optimize the Multichannel Customer Experience

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 22:00:00 +0100

Customer experience is high on the priority list for many IT leaders. As I noted in a blog I posted last month, 82 percent of 100 CIOs and CTOs from companies with 500 to 10,000 employees that were recently surveyed by Yankee Group place customer experience as their top strategic priority this year.

As the economy continues to improve and companies look grow their businesses by adding new customers and retaining existing customers, it's important for CIOs, CTOs, and other exe [...]

McKinsey: Broken Talent Pipeline Keeping Women from Senior Ranks

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 22:00:00 +0100

What are the factors that prevent a greater number of women from climbing the corporate ladder? There's been no shortage of discussion on this topic, yet in most respects women continue to face a glass ceiling, particularly in historically male-dominated professions such as finance and IT.

According to a Sept. 2010 article co-authored by Wayne Brown, the VP of IT at Excelsior College and the founder for the Center for Higher Education Chief Information Officer Studies I [...]

5 Ways to Test Customer Experience

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 22:00:00 +0100

The other day I was reading about how Avaya, the enterprise communications systems and services provider, has opened a customer experience center in Galway, Ireland. The R&D facility provides Avaya customers direct access to the company's developers who can demonstrate how they can develop custom environments showcasing Avaya's systems while providing customers a glimpse into the company's future technologies and a chance to offer their feedback on them.

Creating [...]

A Potential Blow to Government Transparency

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 22:00:00 +0100

A couple of years ago, the Obama Administration began making good on its promise to make the federal government more transparent about how tax dollars are allocated for IT and general government spending. Sites such as ITDashboard.gov offer general information on more than 7,000 federal IT investments and specific details on 800 "major" investments as classified by federal agencies.

But now, reports are circulating that the government is planning to shut down a number o [...]

Relying on IT Services Providers to Deliver Innovation

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 22:00:00 +0100

A CIO for a large energy company in the Midwest was telling me about a series of outsourced services the company receives from a handful of major IT services providers. The energy company outsources nearly all of its IT infrastructure support and services, with the rationale being that the company's business is to provide power to consumers and commercial customers, not IT services.

What interested me most about the agreements the energy company has in place with the IT servi [...]

Five Ways to Combat Stress in the IT Organization

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 22:00:00 +0100

We all keep hearing about how stressed out the average worker is. And even though the economy continues to show signs of improvement, hiring within many organizations has remained tepid. Revenues are picking up but staff growth hasn't kept pace with new project demands.

How big a problem is this? Consider a recent survey conducted by the American Psychological Association as reported by CNN in which more than a third of U.S. employees (36 percent) say they're experiencing [...]

Four Examples of Customer-led Social Media Innovation

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:00:00 +0100

A growing number of companies are tapping into social media channels, including online communities and forums and through use of tools such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter to engage with customers and business partners and create a conduit for new product, service, and customer experience ideas.

Given the rising interest that CIOs have in improving customer experience, driving innovation, and, of course, fulfilling their commitment to delivering genuine business value [...]

One "CIO" Who Delivered Real Business Value Rises to CEO

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 22:00:00 +0100

Just to be clear, this is a story about a CIO who spotted the warning signs about the housing bubble ahead of the market and helped lower his company's exposure to risky subprime mortgage-backed securities. He's a CIO who has delivered tremendous business value to his company.

But he's not the type of CIO you would normally read about in CIOZone.

On March 22, MetLife named Chief Investment Officer Steven Kandarian as its next president and CEO. Kandarian, who steps in [...]

Has Social Media Innovation Hit a Wall?

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 22:00:00 +0100

I recently read a blog where the author contends that innovation in social media has leveled off and the most significant innovations that could possibly be introduced already have been. In the author's opinion, all noteworthy innovations that have occurred since 2005 have stemmed from microblogging, including Twitter, Foursquare, GetGlue, and Instagram.

So, have we reached the final frontier on social media advancements? It's an issue worth exploring.

It's not [...]

Leadership: Natural-Born, Scientific or Both?

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 22:00:00 +0100

Some people seem to be born leaders. They're able to command respect and attention from both peers and staff based on how they carry themselves.

People can also be taught to manage. And while MBA and executive programs pride themselves on their ability to churn out next-generation leaders, ultimately, leadership seems to be an intrinsic quality that one either has or they don't. You can be taught to manage but you can't necessarily be instructed to lead.

But pe [...]

Higher Job Performance Linked to Honesty, Humility

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:00:00 +0100

The more honest and humble an employee is, the better their job performance is likely to be, according to a recent study conducted by Baylor University.

The Baylor researchers and a business consultant they worked with surveyed 269 employees across 25 different companies in 20 states who work in positions that provide healthcare to "challenging" clients. Supervisors of the employees in the study rated the job performance of each employee across 35 different job skills a [...]

Top Tips for CIOs to Improve Customer Experience

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 22:00:00 +0100

For years, CIOs have ranked the importance of aligning IT with the business as their top strategic goal. And while business alignment hasn't necessarily diminished in importance, many forward-thinking IT leaders are pushing the ball forward.

For instance, according to a new study by Yankee Group, 82 percent of 100 CIOs and CTOs from companies with 500 to 10,000 employees ranked improving customer experience as their top strategic priority.

The findings underscore how C [...]

Three Leadership Lessons from The King's Speech

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 22:00:00 +0100

With The 83rd Annual Academy Awards just behind us, many of the Best Picture nominees are still fresh in our minds.

In contemplating the winner of the Best Picture category - The King's Speech - it led me to consider the key leadership lessons that CXOs and other decision-makers can draw from King George VI, the famed leader portrayed by actor Colin Firth who guided Britain through the dark days of World War II.

As many readers are aware, King George VI, or "Berti [...]

Mixed Outlook for IT Jobs, Spending

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:00:00 +0100

Growing confidence by CFOs and other corporate leaders in the strengthening economy is expected to lead to increases in IT spending this year. However, the forecast for IT job creation isn't quite as sunny.

According to the Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Survey of 848 CFOs across the world, finance chiefs plan to spend 9 percent more on capital expenditures over the next 12 months and nearly 5 percent more on technology. Overall, CFOs are anticipating a [...]

Five Tips for Making Great Presentations

tom.hoffman24@gmail.com — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:00:00 +0100

One of the most important traits in great leaders is the ability to communicate effectively and clearly, regardless of who your audience is. This includes having a knack for delivering impactful presentations, whether that's on a stage in front of several hundred people, in a board meeting or to a group of staffers. It's a particularly important requirement for CIOs who often have to speak to a diverse set of audiences.

Let's face it, some people simply have a gift [...]