Decoding the IT Value Problem: An Executive Guide for Achieving Optimal ROI on Critical IT Investments

FOREWORD: UNCOVERING AN ESSENTIAL SKILL OF IT MANAGEMENT

I have spent the past three decades providing high-level thought leadership services to the information technology (IT) industry. I have written three books about IT leadership: The Transformational CIO, On Top of the Cloud, and Leading the Epic Revolution. I also write a weekly blog and newsletter on current IT leadership topics.

As a consequence of my work, I read a lot about the role of IT in the modern business enterprise. Here is something I have noticed: Most of the books and articles about IT management tend to focus primarily on either technology (hard skills) or leadership (soft skills).

After reading a draft of Greg's manuscript, however, I realized that what's missing from many of those books is a detailed discussion of a third critical skill: business acumen.

Without business acumen, it is hard to run an IT department for any reasonable period of time. Despite its importance, the subject of business acumen rarely surfaces in conversations about IT leadership.

Greg's book remedies that situation. It is specifically written to provide sound business advice to C-level executives who are responsible for making decisions about IT investments.

If you are a CEO, CFO, or COO, this book will help you ask better and more relevant questions when the CIO proposes new IT projects. It will help you understand the IT value proposition more thoroughly and develop a deeper understanding of how IT drives growth and revenue in ...