Adventures of an IT Leader

1. Adventures of an IT Leader

2. 1) What kind of company is IVK? What Situation are they in? 2) If you were Jim Barton, would you take the CIO job at IVK? Why? Why not? What would you want to know before you decided? If he accepts, what should he do first? 3) Who is Carl Williams as the CEO? What are his distinct objectives? 4) After searching on the words �IT management,� Barton writes on his whiteboard �IT management is about management.� What do you think Barton is trying to get at with this statement? Do you agree with the statement? Ch1: The New CIO

3. 1) There is a group of CIO�s with technology backgrounds similar to Bill Davies, who, after awhile in the job, begin to be referred to in the company as �benevolent dictators.� Many of them, like Davies, are fired. a. Why do you think that these CIO�s become referred to as �benevolent dictators� and why do you think many of them get fired? 2) Davies predicts that Barton will be gone in a year; why does he say this? Do Maggie�s notes (exhibit at end of IVK-2) shed any light on Davies� assertion? Why was Davies fired? 3) What should be Barton�s plan for reaching out to other CIOs and industry experts to gain expertise quickly about running an IT department? Whom should he talk to first? Ch2: CIO Challenges

4. 1) Why is Barton having so much trouble getting his direct reports to commit to an offsite meeting without their technical experts? Do you think that having the �sidekicks� is necessary for having the kind of meeting that Barton wants? 2) Do you agree that IT is a �unique� business function, that it is different from other departments in the organization? 3) What depth of understanding must a CIO leader have to be effective? Ch3: CIO Leadership

5. 1) Is Geisler giving Barton the run around in responding to Barton�s request concerning IT expenditures? If you think so, what would you do? 2) What is the purpose of a �chargeback� system for returning IT costs to business units? Why implement such a system? As we learn in IVK-4, at IVK, business units control all of the IT budget; what do you think of this arrangement? Should Barton try to �pull back� some of the budget that is allocated to business units, to create his own discretionary budget? 3) How should Jim Barton respond to the CEO�s question: �Are we spending the �right� amount on IT?� Ch4: The Cost of IT

6. Ch 5: Value of IT 1) What are the key components of IT value? 2) How does IT create or enable the creation of value within a company? How should we value IT capabilities required to keep us in business, but that do not differentiate us from competitors? 3) What light does the consultant�s report shed on the matter of Davies� firing and the subsequent choice of Barton as CIO? What does it add to the IT value discussion? Ch 6: Project Management 1) What is the nature of IT application development in respect to effective project management? 2) How would you implement the kid�s advice to budget in a way that allows learning on a project? Ch 5 & 6

7. Support/factory - concerned with present static budget should favor operations planning is reactive Turnaround/strategic - concernd with future operations dynamic budget should favor development planning is proactive SUPPORT-TURNAROUND-FACTORY-STRATEGICSupport/factory - concerned with present static budget should favor operations planning is reactive Turnaround/strategic - concernd with future operations dynamic budget should favor development planning is proactive SUPPORT-TURNAROUND-FACTORY-STRATEGIC

8. Ch 7: The Runaway Project1) What are the root causes of the problems that lead to the Infrastructure Replacement (IR)?2) What should Barton do to get the IR initiative back on track? Should he fire NetiFects?3) How do you manage problems you cannot anticipate? Ch 8: IT Priorities 1) Why do you think the previous CIO, Davies, created slush fund slack for budgeting IT projects? Under Davies, whose neck is in the noose if a project goes bad? 2) Do you think Barton�s approach of providing the best information at the time is a better approach than Davies� approach? Under Barton, whose neck will be in the noose if a project goes bad? 3) Should Barton try to take control of the entire IT budget? Should he ask for a percentage of the overall budget to be placed under his control? Or should he try to fix the committee structure put in place by Davies? Ch 7 & 8

9. Ch 9: IT and the Board of Directors 1) What are the board of director�s responsibilities in respect to IT oversight? 2) What should Barton do about �managing Carraro�? How about managing Williams? 3) How is Barton doing after almost three months as IVK�s CIO? What is you assessment of his performance? Ch 9

10. Ch 10: Crisis 1) How should Barton handle the meeting with the analysts? What questions should he be prepared to answer and how should he handle them? 2) Why can�t perfect IT system security be achieved? If security can never be perfect, how should you manage against malicious threats? Ch 11: Damage 1) Which option for securing IVK in the aftermath of the security incident would you choose? 2) Did CEO Williams make the best decision for IVK? 3) Why didn�t Williams fire Barton? Ch 10 & 11

11. Ch 12: Communication 1) Conventional wisdom suggests that it�s important to manage your boss. As a CIO, what is the best approach to managing your boss? How should Barton handle the bad advice coming from Williams? 2) How should Barton communicate with people outside the IT department to rebuild his organization�s credibility? 3) In an environment of Internet access and real-time information, how effective is the �Doctrine of Completed Staff Work�? Ch 13: Emerging Technology 1) What advice would you offer to Barton to help him break the cycle of constant firefighting? Is Barton becoming like Davies? Is this inevitable? 2) As IT increasingly penetrates our daily lives, do you think the younger generation (such as Barton�s nephew Jack) might do work differently than earlier generations? If so, what kinds of difficulties or opportunities might arise from this difference? Ch 14: Vendor Partnering 1) How important is control to a company like IVK when outsourcing IT. How should control be maintained? 2) How should IVK hire to support contract management? Will very good technical employees be needed in a future characterized by high levels of IT outsourcing? Ch 12, 13 & 14

12. Ch 15: Managing Talent 1) What should Barton and Gordon do about the Ivan Korsky problem? 2) How might IT managers best measure and compare the output of diverse employees? Do you think this measurement should impact the kind of deal (contract) that IVK makes with talented employees such as Korsky? 3) What other kinds of challenges are involved when acquiring, training, and managing IT talent? Ch 16: Standardization and Innovation 1) Is trade-off between standardization and innovation? How are the two related in most companies? 2) What do you think of the kid�s toolkit approach to management? How could you apply his ideas? Ch 15 & 16

13. Ch 17: Managing Risk 1) What might have changed to make Carl Williams suddenly more responsive to and engaged in Barton�s IT agenda? 2) How should a company decide which IT risks are worth taking? How do you decide how much to spend to mitigate the risks you�ve opted to take? 3) Would Barton make a good next CEO for IVK? In what ways might he differ from past leadership? Ch 18: Looking Forward 1) Why would Goldman and Luce now be competing to hire Barton based on his year�s experience as CIO and previous experience as a business manager? 2) Which job offer should Barton accept? Why? 3) How should senior managers and the board of directors work together to effectively manage assets and capabilities of the firm? Ch 17 & 18