The Practical CIO: A Common Sense Guide for Successful IT Leadership -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Rapidly Changing Markets Require Transformative Leadership -- Welcome to the "New Normal" -- Drive the Economic Engine -- Reality Check -- Additional Resources -- Chapter 1: Build a Great Team -- Executive Summary -- My Role Model -- Focus on Talent -- Key IT Competencies -- Send Sacred Cows to Pasture -- Never Forget, You Are an Agent of Change -- Start at the Top -- Find a Friend in Human Resources -- The High Performance Team -- Global Team for a Global Effort -- Remember, Communication Holds the Team Together -- Chapter 2: Proactively Establish Goals for IT -- Executive Summary -- You Call the Shots -- Discretionary Spending -- Non-Discretionary Spending -- Service Contracts -- It Pays to Be Proactive -- Whenever Possible, Integrate -- Why I Am Comfortable With Numbers -- Back to Our Story -- One Step at a Time -- Chapter 3: Design the IT Strategy -- Executive Summary -- You Were Hired to Solve a Crisis, But . . . -- Learn from the Masters -- My Approach to IT Strategy -- Chapter 4: Hold All of Your Vendors Accountable -- Executive Summary -- Focus on Win-Win Scenarios -- Real versus Ideal -- Insist on Continuous Improvement -- Contract or No Contract, Get What You Need -- Internal IT Suppliers -- Escalate Problems Quickly and Decisively -- Leaping Into the Fray -- Chapter 5: Before Negotiating, Do Your Homework -- Executive Summary -- No Two Suppliers Are Alike -- How Did You Know That? -- Read That Contract Again Before You Renew It -- Make Sure Your Suppliers Follow Your Checklist -- Sometimes Regional Makes More Sense Than Global -- Chapter 6: Manage Contracts, Don't Just Sign Them -- Executive Summary -- The Seed Crystal -- A True Story -- It is Never a One-Shot Deal -- Managing Contracts Like a Pro.

Do Not Focus Solely on Vendor Performance -- The Price of Ignorance -- Structure Contracts to Make Your Life Easier -- Seek Outside Help when Necessary -- Eyeball to Eyeball -- What about In-Sourcing? -- Chapter 7: Work With the Business -- Executive Summary -- IT's Unique Perspective: Worth More Than All the Software in the World -- Formalize a Process for Joining the Discussion -- Processing Insight -- It Takes Two to Tango -- The New Model For Collaboration -- Sometimes There Are No Common Solutions -- Chapter 8: Manage and Market the IT brand -- Executive Summary -- Telling the IT Story -- Branding Must Be Consistent With Reality -- Three Steps in the Right Direction -- Brand Identity -- Marketing the IT Brand -- Marketing the IT Portfolio -- Turn Consistency into a Discipline -- Brand Management is Not Rocket Science -- The Medium is Still the Message -- Chapter 9: Building Relationships Across the Enterprise-And Beyond -- Executive Summary -- Earning Credibility -- Creating Relationships, One-on-One -- Intangible, But Also Valuable -- Role of the IT Board -- Sharing Power and Responsibility -- Learning the Business -- Creating Relationships Upward -- Managing and Delegating Across the Enterprise -- Building Relationships with Vendors -- Getting and Staying On Message -- Make Sure That Everyone Knows That You Are Responsible and Accountable -- Chapter 10: Act Like a CEO -- Executive Summary -- Climbing the Ziggurat -- The Business Within the Business -- Why You Need to Behave Like a CEO -- Take a Step Back -- Style Is Important -- Do Not Forget Altruism -- Outside versus Inside -- Find the Middle Ground -- Afterword -- Endnotes -- About the Author -- Index.