Karl D. Schubert, PhD, is former senior vice president and chief operating officer of Zambeel, Inc., a network storage company headquartered in Fremont, California. Prior to joining Zambeel, Schubert was vice president and chief technical officer for Dell. Before joining Dell, he was a senior manager with IBM for fourteen years.

• Preface. Chapter 1: What We Were, Who We Are, and Who We Are Becoming.Brief Genealogy of the IT Profession.State of the Profession.What CEOs Really Want in Their CIOs.Ten Questions the CIO Must Ask the CEO.Notes.Chapter 2: A Fork in the Road: Business or Technology?Designing the Work.Setting Up Shop.The Fork in the Road.Creating the IT Internal Partnership Network.Maximizing the Partnership Network.Evolving CIO Expectations: Technologist or Businologist?CIO and CTO Relationships.Ten Questions the CIO Should Ask Network Partners.Profile of Success.Notes.Chapter 3: A Unified Competency Profile.Technical Skills.Business Acumen.Leadership Competence and Vision.Profiles of Success.Ten Questions the CIO Should Ask Outsourced Service Providers.Notes.Chapter 4: Connecting IT to Value Creation.The Language of the Industry.Embracing the “Perfect” External Customer, or Managing Customer Relationship Value.Enterprisewide Strategic Planning.Continuous and Discontinuous Process Improvement.The CIO and Practical Strategic Planning: More Than Just IT.Planning the Future without Disrupting the Present.IT as a Value Center.Ten Questions the CIO Should Ask the Entire Executive Team during Joint Strategic Planning Activities.Notes.Chapter 5: Focus and Prioritization.CIO Risk Profile Assessment.Aligning IT Resources to Your Organization’s Strategy.Proper Provisioning: Resource Allocation to IT.Adaptive Systems: If We Haven’t Started It Yet, It Costs Nothing to Change It!Charting the Journey Milestones: IT Program Management.Ten Questions the CEO Should Ask the CIO for Successful Alignment.Notes.Chapter 6: Final Preparations.The Trek into (Un)Known Territory: Barriers to Success.Nirvana Accelerators.Decisions a CIO Should Not Make Alone.Distant Horizon.Creating the Horizon.Ten Questions the CIO Must Ask about Future Horizons.Notes.Glossary.Index.