25 Must-reads For CIOs 2017 - Part 1

We reveal some of the useful insights & articles from 2017 offering advice on digital transformation, innovation and business growth. 

Recommended Reading List For CIOs

1. Global Brand Simplicity Index 2017 - Siegel+Gale

The report highlights how simple and clear user experiences drive brand loyalty. Simplicity inspires people to spend more, motivates employees to deliver on the brand promise—and ultimately drives financial gain for companies that embrace it.

  Download the report here

2. 2017 Global Digital IQ Survey: A Decade Of Digital - PwC

 “Digital” was just another name for “IT”, a decade back. The CIO was not generally regarded as a strategic leader. The scenario has changed completely; the CIO isn't a supporting actor anymore. 
 

  Download the report here

3. What the Best Transformational Leaders Do? - HBR

Whereas most business lists analyze companies by traditional metrics such as revenue or by subjective assessments such as “innovativeness,” this ranking evaluates the ability of leaders to strategically reposition the firm.

Read more here

4. Why CIOs Make Great Board Directors? - HBR

There has been a 74% increase in the number of CIOs serving on Fortune 100 boards in the past two years. Useful insights on how CIOs can help address a host of issues of crucial importance to boards. Read more here

5. UX Research Cheat Sheet - Nielsen Norman Group

 User research can be done at any point in the design cycle. This list of methods and activities can help you decide which to use when. Read more here

6. Artificial Intelligence: The Next Digital Frontier? - McKinsey & Company

This report examines investment in artificial intelligence (AI), & describes how it is being deployed by companies that have started to use these technologies across sectors. 
 

Download the report here

7.  2017 State of the CIO - CIO

Where the CIOs are spending their time, how the role is evolving, obstacles they face + more useful insights. 

Download the report here

8. 2017 CIO Agenda - Gartner Inc.

The world’s largest CIO survey tracks how senior IT leaders around the globe are balancing their strategic business, technical and management priorities. Download Here

9. Being Digital: How & Why CIOs In Europe Are Reinventing Themselves For A New Age - Cognizant

Key takeaways from the survey

  • To be seen as a digital leader, CIOs need to nurture strong partnerships with the C-suite. 
 
  • Winning CIOs must also act as digital strategists (73%) and transformational leaders (74%).
 
  • Digital leadership requires the ability to understand and execute on next-gen IT
 
  • CIOs need to recruit, nurture and retain digital talent.
 

Download the report here

10. 2016-2017 Global CIO Survey. Navigating CIO Challenges & Implementing CIO Strategy - Deloitte

Personality is not destiny. CIOs are not limited in their ability to deliver value by their personal attributes or their working styles, but are free to shape their own legacy—and to do so, they must be adaptive in the face of evolving business expectations. Read the report here

11. What’s Your Data Strategy? - HBR

Cross-industry studies show that on average, less than half of an organization’s structured data is actively used in making decisions—and less than 1% of its unstructured data is analyzed or used at all. More than 70% of employees have access to data they should not, and 80% of analysts’ time is spent simply discovering and preparing data. Read the complete article here 

12. The New Class of Digital Leaders - strategy+business

Every digital leader will be forced to balance new digital initiatives with the legacy IT system the company has in place. Read the complete article here

13. 12 'best practices' IT Should Avoid At All Costs - CIO

From telling everyone they're your customer to establishing a cloud strategy, these "industry best practices" are sure to sink your chances of IT success. Read the article here  

14.  Navigating Uncertainty - CIO Survey By Harvey Nash/KPMG 

CIOs are fast becoming strategic innovators in their business. At present, only one in four respondents (26 per cent) report that the CIO is currently leading innovation in their organisations, whereas six in ten respondents (60 per cent) believe that the CIO should be taking a greater leadership role in this area. Download the full report here

15. The DNA of the CIO: Opening The Door To The C-suite - EY

The report explores - 

 
  • What partnering really means for the CIO
  • The aspirations of those in the job - and the skills and relationships that a successful CIO needs to master the changes, challenges and expectations of the role
  • Look at how CIOs are perceived by the C-suite and the elements to building key stakeholder relationships as one of the biggest barriers ahead for CIOs + more.

Download the full report here

16. The Heartbeat Of Modern Marketing: Data Activation & Personalization - McKinsey

Technology has finally advanced to the point where marketers can use real-time data in a way that is both meaningful to customers and profitable for companies. Read the complete article here

17. 10 Principles for Leading the Next Industrial Revolution - strategy+business

Tools and techniques to ensure your company will stand out in the new age of digitization. Read the complete article here

18. The Smartphone Is Eventually Going To Die, And Then Things Are Going To Get Really Crazy - BusinessInsider

The groundwork for the eventual demise of the smartphone is being laid by Elon Musk , by Microsoft, by Facebook, by Amazon, and a countless number of startups that still have a part to play. Read the complete article here

19. 60 Countries’ Digital Competitiveness, Indexed - HBR

By measuring each country’s current state of digital evolution and its pace of digital evolution over time, a map of our digital planet (see chart below) has been created.

Read the complete article here

20. Perpetual Evolution—The Management Approach Required For Digital Transformation - McKinsey

To compete against digital-born companies, traditional companies need to adopt a much different approach to designing and managing enterprise architecture—a model we call “perpetual evolution,” because it emphasizes continual changes to and modular design of business capabilities as well as the technologies behind them. Read the complete article here

21. Are You Giving Users What They Ask For? - UXMatters

If the people asking for something are important business stakeholders, their concerns often become requirements that get injected into the project plan with little to no validation. Check out some great insights here

22. Blockchains Are The New Linux, Not The New Internet - Techcrunch

The similarities to Linux are striking. Linux was both much cheaper and vastly more powerful than the alternatives available at the time. It seemed incredibly, unbelievably disruptive. Interesting read. Check the complete article here

23. 11th Annual State of Agile Report - VersionOne

Measuring how much business value an organization is delivering is an increasing focus. In this year’s survey, business value was cited as the second most popular measure (46%) of an agile initiative’s success, rising from fourth in the prior year. Download the complete report here

24. Digital Transformation Is Coming From The Bottom Up, Survey Shows - Forbes 

It's notable that the digital transformation that has been taking place so far has been occurring more at the grassroots level --employees or managers putting technology in place to boost their areas of the business. Read the complete article here

25. 15 Books To Inspire Business & Leadership Acumen - CIO

A list of memorable books filled with lessons about technology, business and leadership. Read the list here

We'll post the next curated list of must-reads very soon. Meanwhile, if you want to add something more to the list, drop a comment. 

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