Ending the Isolation: A Conversation with Scott Smeester on Modern CTO
Scott Smeester's discussion on the Modern CTO podcast with Joel Beasley addresses the isolation often felt by tech leaders and the importance of community and mentorship in overcoming it. Highlighting key leadership skills like effective listening and strategic questioning, Scott emphasizes the need for tech leaders to extend beyond technical know-how to embrace innovation and collaboration. This conversation underlines the transformative power of support networks for personal and professional growth in the tech industry.
Why The CIO and C-Suite Need Design Thinking More Than Ever
In today’s changing environment, we not only must work differently, we must think differently. Design Thinking ensures that we are focused on the right problem and producing the right solution by thinking in the fields of Them, Us, and It.
3 Shifts a CIO Must Master In Order To Provide Value
You always have been more. Your love of what technology has longed for others to see its value. That day is here. But you must make some shifts, and you can’t wait to be invited to make them. You must demonstrate your value, or the thing you always knew technology could do will be entrusted to someone else.
Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
How CIOs Get Ahead, Stay In Front, And Not Lose Those Who Follow
What worked in the past doesn’t always work well for you now. It’s not always the sacred cow that needs to be toppled; sometimes it’s your favorite pet.
Generative AI is only exceptional if used exceptionally. Our normal approach to problem solving won’t move AI past average. For better results, keep AI weird.
Resistance to rollouts are common, and failure to overcome them is an agony of defeat in a class all by itself. The art of overcoming is anchored in three essentials often unknown or overlooked by CIOs and technology leaders.
The One Reason CIOs Should Not Let Their Role Evolve
We know the CIO role is changing. Do you have to wait and see what those changes are? Or is there a better way to transform yourself? Move over Darwin, we have some designing to do.
The One Technique You Need To Sharpen and Maximize Your Large Language Model
Large Language Models are just that - large. Like much of our work with others, LLMs require a bit of mentoring and coaching. To draw out the best it has to give, we have to train it to think like the rest of our team thinks.
How Technology Leaders Follow The Money To Lead The Way Into Successful AI
Billions of dollars are being invested in generative AI. People see its power. They also feel the responsibility that comes with it. CIOs know that they can’t hold it back and they can’t rush it forward. Mostly, they can’t have their company ignore it. Let the investments others are making be a credible witness to your argumentation.
This One Reason Is Why CIOs Are More Intelligent Than AI
Effective technology leaders are driven by a certain obsession. Fail to be consumed by it, and the work you put out will be a box to check but hardly art you can’t wait to display.
How To Lead And Manage Your Company’s Use of ChatGPT and Generative AI.
The use of ChatGPT and generative AI has flooded companies with questions and concerns. CIOs are being asked for their perspective and for policies. How do you lead both reactively and proactively while encouraging calm and confident ways forward?
The One Reason CIOs Struggle With Their Own IT Department
IT has been transforming business. Now it's time to transform itself. To do so, you have to get away from organizational thinking, and see IT as a living organism and recognize 8 areas of focus that will promote health and growth.
Disrupt The Disruption: Why CxOs Must Keep Their Title, Exercise Their Authority, And Change The Way They Lead
Leadership trends come and go. Riding them can be a great adventure. But leadership isn’t in the riding, it’s in the landing. Leaders know where to get off and take a stand.
In-between Transformation and Innovation: How Technology Leaders Identify and Lead Transition
Technology leaders are in an opportune moment to move business forward from transformation into innovation. But there is one critical mistake that will prove costly. Effective technology leaders know how to lead in-between movements and avoid outpacing others.
How CIOs and CEOs Navigate The Hype And The Hope Of Citizen Development, Part 2
The answer to talent gaps, backlogs and shadow IT is Citizen Development. It’s not a fad, it’s a movement, and one you must lead and shape to resolve challenges you still face and will face more of in years ahead.
How CIOs And CEOs Navigate The Hype And Hope Of Citizen Development, Part 1
CIOs and CEOs need a cohesive strategy to counter the technology talent gap, backlog and shadow IT. Citizen Development is the framework that will get it done.
How Creative CIOs And Their Teams Increase Productivity In Hybrid Work Settings
CIOs and their team must have creative moments to be productive. Too often, those creative opportunities are crowded out. Three key practices will restore and increase productivity.
How Effective CIOs Determine What The Real Problem Is
Problems surround the CIO. Solving for the wrong problem wastes time, energy and money. Five shifts help the CIO determine real problems from presenting issues.
What The CIO Gets That The CEO And Board May Not Realize
Stakeholders know the value of the CIO. The last thing they want is for their CIO to be led down a wrong path, distracted by the agenda of others, and misdirected by trends that lure them into waste.
The CIO Driver - Part 2: Tell Truth To Yourself Before Another
Before telling the truth to others, tell it to yourself. An exercise in introspection will go a long way to turning hard-conversations into effective, watershed moments of change.
Fire The Punter: How Data And The CIO Leads A Company To Winnable Innovation
Data is the driver. Avoid these five pitfalls in order to stay on course: Style over substance, futile fighting, willful ignorance, chasing aberrations and lazy thinking.
Though small to mid-market companies often cannot afford the full-time services of a CIO, they are still faced with the responsibilities a CIO normally fulfills.
I’m all for networking. I have met incredible people doing so. I was also lonely. No matter how much networking I was doing, I still felt as if I was working in isolation. You can be surrounded by people, but unless you have others in your life who advocate for you, you feel very much alone.
Why The CIO and C-Suite Need Design Thinking More Than Ever
In today’s changing environment, we not only must work differently, we must think differently. Design Thinking ensures that we are focused on the right problem and producing the right solution by thinking in the fields of Them, Us, and It.
3 Shifts a CIO Must Master In Order To Provide Value
You always have been more. Your love of what technology has longed for others to see its value. That day is here. But you must make some shifts, and you can’t wait to be invited to make them. You must demonstrate your value, or the thing you always knew technology could do will be entrusted to someone else.
Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.