Business and Information Technology

As IT increasingly penetrates into our daily lives, do you think the younger generation might do work differently than earlier generations? If so, what kinds of difficulties or opportunities might arise from this difference?

Reading:

Chapters 1, 2, 3, 13, 14 & 15 in The Adventures of IT Leader 

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TTT TTT-TT-TTT TTTTTTTTTT faced by the average CIO are not usually the stuff of epic drama—except when they are.

Enter our hero: Jim Barton, the new CIO of the fictional IVK Corporation. He is the creation of authors Robert Austin, Richard Nolan, and Shannon O’Donnell, and his story gives a practical yet entertaining look at the true adventures of an IT leader.

Based on the authors’ years of firsthand experience with diverse companies, the story begins as the IVK Corporation struggles to recover from a period of slowing growth and falling stock prices. An aggressive new CEO handpicks Barton to be CIO—even though Barton has no background in IT.

When Barton takes the reins, he must quickly learn to navigate the strange new world of information technology, while meeting the high expectations of the CEO, the board of directors, and his conflicted staff. What he learns in his first year on the job clearly illustrates why the role of CIO is the most volatile, high-turnover job in business. We follow Barton’s adventures as he discovers what effective IT management is all about, deals with the everyday challenges of the job, responds to major crises, and remakes the company’s technology capabilities into a vital strategic asset.

Read the book from beginning to end or treat it as a series of case studies; the “How to Use This Book” section suggests chapters that address specific topics, while the authors’ reflection questions help you puzzle through the problems in

each episode. With vivid characters and memorable scenarios, The Adventures of an IT Leader is an engrossing way to enhance your IT leadership skills.

TTTTTT TTTTTT is a professor at Copenhagen Business School and at Harvard Business School, where he chairs the executive education program for CIOs with cochair TTTTTTT TTTTT, professor emeritus at Harvard and the Philip M. Condit Endowed Chair in Business Administration at the University of Washington. TTTTTTT T’TTTTTTT is a consultant with Cutter Consortium’s Innovation Practice and a PhD fellow at Copenhagen Business School.

(Continued on back flap)

(Continued from front flap)

art direction: stephani finks

jacket and interior illustrations: asaf hanuka