As C-level executives, CIOs run the IT organization. Two levels down the ranks, however, their middle managers make IT run. After all, these managers -- the directors of managers -- are the ones who carry out the CIO's agenda. Yet they're among the likeliest in the organization to leave. They're entrusted with interpreting the decisions CIOs make at the corporate level and putting them into action.

This week I spent much of my time doing research for a trends in business process outsourcing (BPO) piece that will be coming soon to a smart, tech-oriented portal near you. ☺

I mention BPO now because one notion that came up repeatedly in describing the new, lean corporate America was the idea of  “doing more with less.”  More than one specialist remarked on the quest for a lighter operational footprint in the aftermath of economic downturn.  It’s still in play in a fragile recovery that’s in early days. Even the recovery, as it continues to unfold, won’t save us from fewer bodies and work sourced differently, it seems.