Breakthrough IT

Book description

Unlock the secret to creating maximum business value from technology

Filled with case studies from leading C-level executives to illustrate concepts discussed, Breakthrough IT is a revolutionary approach to reshaping the corporate information technology function. This innovative, step-by-step guide provides concrete methods every business can implement to yield maximum value and competitive advantage from their IT organization.

Patrick Gray (Harrison, NY) is the founder and President of the Prevoyance Group, an IT strategy consultancy that combines project management and process improvement to ensure large IT departments deliver maximum organizational value.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Dedication
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. Preface
    1. Breakthrough IT Sections and Features
  5. 1. Hell Freezes Over
    1. Why Do You Need Breakthrough IT?
    2. The Triple Threat
      1. Threat: CEO/CIO Relationship
      2. Threat: Cost Pressure
      3. Threat: Commoditization
      4. The Convergence of the Triple Threat
    3. Hell Freezes Over: IT Enables Strategy
  6. 2. Up Periscope!
    1. A Brief History of IT
      1. The Dark Ages of the Mainframe
      2. Power to the People: Desktops
      3. We Can't Go on Like This
    2. Shifting the Focus: Moving IT from Service Provider to Strategic Asset
    3. Calling Sherlock Holmes: Finding Continuing Operations
    4. Changing the Source: What to Do with Continuing Operations
      1. Keeping the Work in House: Insourcing
      2. The “Big O”—Outsourcing
      3. Preparing for a Sourcing Change
  7. 3. ET Phone Home
    1. Free at Last
    2. Separating Process from Technology
      1. Content Ain't King
      2. Technology as a Process Enabler
    3. Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Partnering with the CEO
      1. Selling Breakthrough IT
    4. Talking the Talk
      1. Measuring Success
    5. C‐Suite Conversations: Greg Buoncontri, CIO of Pitney Bowes
  8. 4. Clear the Benches
    1. Hiring (and Firing) the Right People
      1. The Top Job: What to Look for in a CIO
      2. Filling the Ranks of the Breakthrough Organization
      3. Letting Go
      4. What to Look for in the Breakthrough Employee
      5. The Gold Standard: Referrals
    2. Continually Improving the Skills of Your People
      1. Be “The Business”
    3. Meaningfully Evaluating Your People
  9. 5. Milking the Cow
    1. Developing a Project Investment Mix
    2. The PASRBRTKO: Project Analyzing, Selecting, Risk‐assessing, Budgeting, Returns Tracking, and Killing Office
      1. Auditioning and Initiating Projects
        1. Red Light
        2. Green Light
      2. Monitoring and Controlling Projects
      3. Closing and Capturing Knowledge
    3. What the PMO Is Not
  10. 6. Show Me the Money
    1. The Right Stuff: Determining What to Measure
    2. Managing to the Metrics
    3. Beyond the Numbers: The “Gut Check”
    4. Delivering the Goods
  11. 7. Pushing Water Uphill
    1. What Is “Change Management?”
    2. The Role of the CIO in Change Management
    3. The Role of the CEO in Change Management
    4. Change Management at the Line Level
      1. Three Cheers for Change
    5. Influencing Change 101
      1. Tuning the Instrument: Levers to Institute Change
    6. The End of Business as Usual
    7. C‐Suite Conversations: Bridget Reiss and Kathy Allen, CIO and CFO of Millipore Corporation
  12. 8. Cashing in the Chips
    1. My Little Runaway
    2. The Project Killers
    3. Setting Failure Criteria
    4. When the Going Gets Tough—Warning Signs
    5. Broaching the Topic of Cancellation
    6. Canceling Well
    7. Closing Time
  13. 9. Be Superman (or Wonder Woman)
    1. Arriving on the Scene
      1. Fixing the Cracks: Stabilizing Operations
      2. Finding the Source: What Kind of IT Operation Have You Inherited?
      3. Who Works for You?
    2. Tackling the Project Portfolio
    3. Turning the Wheel: Making the Leap to Breakthrough IT
    4. C‐Suite Conversations: Phil Stunt, Vice President, IT International, CA
  14. 10. Capitalizing on Success
    1. Building Momentum
    2. Beyond Breakthrough IT
      1. Continued Commoditization
      2. To Centralize or Not to Centralize?
      3. IT Inside—IT as a Product
      4. Who Has the Data?
    3. The Future of the CIO Role
    4. In Closing

Product information

  • Title: Breakthrough IT
  • Author(s): Patrick Gray
  • Release date: November 2007
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9780470124840