This edition first published 2015

      © 2015 Jonathan Mitchell

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      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Mitchell, Jonathan M., 1961–

      Staying the course as a CIO: how to overcome the trials and challenges of IT leadership/

      Dr. Jonathan M. Mitchell.

      pages cm. – (The Wiley CIO series)

      Includes bibliographical references and index.

      ISBN 978-1-118-96887-1 (hardback)

      1. Chief information officers. 2. Information technology – Management. I. Title.

      HD30.2.M577 2015

      658.4′038 – dc23

      2014025612

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      ISBN 978-1-118-96887-1 (hardback)

      ISBN 978-1-118-96884-0 (ebk)

      ISBN 978-1-118-96886-4 (ebk)

      Cover image: © Jonathan Mitchell

      Cover design: Wiley

      INTRODUCTION

      Do you want to be a great IT leader? Why not? For those in corporate or public sector life, becoming a Chief Information Officer, a Senior Vice President or perhaps even a Chief Digital Officer in a large organisation is seen by many – quite rightly – to be the very pinnacle of achievement in the world of Information Technology. Today, an increasing number of IT leaders have become Board or Executive Team members in their companies. Almost all exert high levels of power and influence. However, the life expectancy of this corporate rainmaker is shockingly short. IT leaders often seem to enjoy a span no longer than a mayfly as they flutter away in the turbulent waters of the corporate pond. Few seem to stay the course for much longer than a couple of years and it is rare to find anyone making it to half of a decade or more. Some organisations even change their CIO every year. And most of the endings are not happy ones either. Very often something, or more commonly a whole bunch of somethings, goes horribly wrong and the reign of the noble IT leader comes to an abrupt and brutal end. In some cases the disaster takes the form of a slow-motion train wreck. With growing inevitability, it can be months before the inadvertent act of hara-kiri is finally completed and the inevitable mushroom cloud of dust and the smell of doom imperiously rise from