The Next Leap in Productivity: What Top Managers Really Need to Know about Information Technology

1.2. Winning the Race with Two Leaps in Productivity

A huge untapped potential for productivity improvement is locked up by the interoperability of IT and the other parts of the business.

But don't expect IT to unlock this potential all by itself. In fact, don't even expect IT to realize that this low-hanging fruit is there. It will continue to lie untapped until the chief executive officer (CEO) leads the charge. That is why Chapter 2 explains how to drive IT strategy from the top.

Achieving this Enterprise Leap in productivity is the responsibility of you, the CEO, the top manager of the entire enterprise. Too many people (and too many books) focus on improving the effectiveness of IT without situating that goal in the context of improving the effectiveness of the organization as a whole. Focusing on IT instead of the organization as a whole leads to opportunities squandered.

As CEO, you must change how the enterprise views and uses IT. Chapter 3 explains why. It argues that IT is one of the enterprise's most valuable assets because it is a tool of change of that drives productivity across the enterprise.

To reap IT's potential as an agent of change, IT itself has to become more nimble, responsive, and productive. That's why IT must improve its own productivity. Chapters 4 and 5 explain how.

Once the CEO can verify that IT productivity has truly improved, then a new partnering of CEO and chief information officer (CIO) can begin. Now, the CIO becomes a source of ideas for improving ...