The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership by Martha HellerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
At one time I was a voracious reader of CIO Magazine, to keep track of the corporate IT industry in my role as a new technology introduction analyst for a large company. I learned from the stories and especially appreciated the many sources they quoted, often CIOs in a variety of industries, from companies large and small. There was always something to learn about this role that I aspired to. Although my career took a different turn, I read “The CIO Paradox” understanding that the author was a writer for CIO Magazine, and likely had the kind of style I found easy to learn from, and easy to consume. That is true here. The topics are taken from columns written for CIO by the author. I was able to compare the many tactics and suggestions mentioned in the book to the IT management of companies I have worked for, and could see good and bad. The author comes from a background of recruiting for high level IT jobs, and this informs her book. There are plenty of examples where the author brings in anecdotes of her history of recruiting to describe the types of paradoxes faced by CIOs. My favorite paradox, one that reflects my recent career is illustrated as "As CIO, you are your company's futurist and its archivist." Heller goes on to illustrate this paradox with examples, anecdotes, and at times provides tactics.
The author includes a rather large section on CIO membership on boards. I assume this has become a prominent topic for CIOs related to recruiting, hence this author’s focus, but I didn’t see the obvious relationship to the other paradoxes Heller described. Other than that minor nit, I enjoyed the writing style and most of the topics. This would be a good read for people wanting to become CIOs and for those already there looking for some new analogies they could use in their discussions with business leaders and upper management. I also think this would be a good read right before interviewing for a CIO position for the fresh take on the role. I would gladly read more by this author.
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