CIO Canada

CIO Exchange 2010: The Journey from Information to Innovation

2010-08-16T19:30:00Z

Next month the CIO Association of Canada is organizing the CIO Exchange, an event joining the conversation about the changing role of the CIO. It is all about the evolving meaning of the "I" in the "CIO" title, thus the event's title "From Information to Innovation".

Why Innovation?

This may come as a surprise to some, but there is increasing concern about Canadian productivity compared with other industrialized nations. From third position in the OECD countries in 1960 Canada's productivity level has dropped to 15th among the original OECD members and 17th out of the overall 30. Canada also ranks third last in productivity growth since 1980. In the last decade productivity growth in Canada averaged 1% compared with 2.5% for the USA. The increasing productivity gap has serious socio-economic consequences impacting our living standards directly.

The lagging productivity growth is linked, among other things, to a low level of innovation, which in turn can be linked to low R&D intensity (Canada stands 16th here!), investments in technological and human infrastructure, and the way we do things in our organizations. Change that creates value addressing the productivity gap whether scientific, technological, process, business model, or social innovation, falls within the broad definition of innovation. This perhaps explains the recent rise of innovation as a subject, trend, and buzzword across many disciplines and lines of business.

Why the CIO?

The role of Chief Information Officer has gone through radical changes in the past few decades. From the original custodian of IT (and later ICT), it evolved next to aligning technology with business goals and became one of the standard lines of business in organizations. But as technology became pervasive across all lines of business, the perspective of the CIO flipped from a vertical departmental one to a horizontal enterprise-wide one. The CIO became (willingly or not) the one with the most complete view of the structure and processes of the organization and the prime candidate to initiate systemic change across the traditional silos. As awareness of this change spread out in the market place, everybody came after the CIO: equipment and software vendors, management and organizational change consultants, recruiters and HR firms etc. At the intersection of strong internal and external pressures for change, the CIOs are facing a new challenge that prior experience and education did not prepare them for.

The CIO Exchange

Faced with this challenge the CIO community is responding by organizing intense learning from leaders in this space and exchanging ideas and experiences with peers. Hence the CIO Exchange, in which various perspectives of innovation:

The communication of innovation
The psychology of innovation
The leadership of innovation
The economics of innovation
The culture of innovation
The future of innovation

will be explored with presentations by select experts and discussions among peers in breakout groups.

The event is scheduled for September 14, 2010. Details can be found here.

CIO Exchange 2010: The date, the agenda and the theme

2010-07-29T20:38:00Z

We're excited to announce that registration is now open for our second-annual gathering of senior IT executives from across Canada, who be focusing on the one theme that everyone's talking about.

CIO Exchange's tagline is as follows: From Information to Innovation: How CIOs Can Lead Innovation in Their Organizations.When you look at the complete agenda (available here) you'll find we've broken it down into practical areas of innovation economics, communication, culture and more.

Over the next few weeks we'll be announcing our keynote speakers and session leaders. Let the signups begin, feel free to offer any comments and feedback on how we can build CIO Exchange 2010.

CIO Canada Links: The cloud will change the CIO’s job

2009-10-28T13:14:00Z

The cloud will change the CIO’s job
Fierce CIO

The Government CIO 50
Information Week

CIOs see the future clearly, strategically and operationally
WTN

A new kind of CIO
A CIO’s Voice

The new face of the CIO
Sadagopan’s Weblog

CIO Canada Links: CIOs optimistic recession will end in 2010

2009-10-23T13:13:00Z

CIOs optimistic recession will end in 2010
ComputerWeekly

NASA names CIO
Information Week

General Motors CIO to deliver keynote at CIO Global Forum
Telwares

3 Types of CIO: Do you and your company match
Computerworld

CIO Canada Links: Does customer experience affect the CIO?

2009-10-08T15:10:00Z

Does customer experience affect the CIO?

Good experience

Just make the choice, says Mark Hurst. All a CIO has to say is, I'm now committing my career - come what may - to being user-centered, rather than technology-centered, or system-centered, or what have you. And to be clear, depending on the organization, this might get the CIO fired.

Teza CIO says employee reprimanded over code
Reuters

Testifying in the civil lawsuit filed against the firm by Citadel Investment Group, William Sterling said the high frequency trading startup had reprimanded another employee last month after it learned he uploaded code to company computers that he may have developed at a previous employer.

Harvard CIO resigns from post
Harvard Crimson

Daniel D. Moriarty leaves behind a legacy of streamlining IT operations and centralizing procurement—efforts that now save the University over $26 million a year, according to a statement from University Provost Steven E. Hyman

NetMore adds David Shirk as CIO/compliance officer
National Mortgage Professional

Perry Rotella joins Verisk Analytics as chief information officer
Verisk Analytics

CIO Canada Links: Starbucks CIO talks iPhone brand strategy

2009-09-30T13:14:00Z

Starbucks CIO talks iPhone brand strategy
MediaBistro

The CIO as Tarzan
Web 2.0 Journal

Tips from an interim CIO
Baseline

Nirula’s dining table and SAP recipe
CIOL

Macquarie gets a CIO
The Australian

Crowd-Sourcing: Bonzanza or Exploitation?

2009-09-18T13:16:00Z

Have you heard the new term “crowd-sourcing”? At first I thought this was a call for movie extras!It’s actually a creative way to get work done for free or for pauper’s wages.

According toJeff Howe, the person who coined the phase andcontributing editor at Wired Magazine “Crowdsourcing is the act of taking a job traditionally performed by a designated agent (usually an employee) and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call.”Jeff has written extensively on this subject in his blog http://crowdsourcing.typepad.com/

Free or low costtalent willing to bring fresh ideas, conduct research and development, design new products, developtechnologyapplications, act asfocus groups,write articles, take photos, provde consumer reviews….the list is endless. What’s wrong with that? From the sponsoring company’s perspective, nothing!Paul Boutin at Business Weekasks “Every business has customers who are sure they could design the products better themselves. So why not let them?” http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jul2006/id20060713_755844.htm

To creatcontext for crowd-sourcing, just think about Google.Google posts search results according to their user’s choices (andcharge their clients forthe first 3 spots you see). Or Facebook and Wikipedia, where userscreate 100% of content with free labour. Who benefits the most? Last time I checked Google and Facebook are worth a very big bagof cashfor founders and shareholder.Stephanie Findlay’sAugust 4th article in MacLean’s cites a case where the Guardiandeveloped a user-friendly platform thatthe public could use to review and categorize 500,000MP’s expense claims in the UK. The site was launched in a week and within the first 80 hours, 170,000 documents were reviewed by the public, for free, and”inappropriate” spending by MP’s was highlighted.Wow! Crowd-sourcing at its best!

If you’re facing budget constraints,a need to quicklyenter a market,scarcity ofpeople or financial resources,then crowd-sourcing is a dream come true. An innovative leader can quickly put together a contest, internet site,blog, or call to action and distribute iton the internet where it is accessible to anyone and everyone. Thecostmay incluldea cash prize, an offer of a contract or permanent job or nothing more than15 minutes of fame.

Participation is voluntary. Compensation, if any, is clearly stated.

Exploration? Or smart, creative management? ………….. You decide.

Linda Tuck Chapman is a seasoned corporate Sourcing executive and President, ONTALA Performance Solutions Ltd. www.ontala.com. Please contact her at lindatuckchapman@ontala.comor 416-452-4635.