FEATURE : INNOVATION
Walid Gomaa , CEO Omnix International
CIOs and IT decision-makers can stimulate innovation by instilling a culture that values creativity , collaboration , and experimentation among their teams . They should actively seek out emerging technologies that align with business objectives and support pilot projects to test novel solutions .
Regularly assessing technology ’ s influence on key performance indicators and advocating ongoing learning ensures that IT remains attuned to evolving business requirements . Ultimately , they must be open to taking well-considered risks in order to align innovation with the enterprise ’ s strategic mission .
Ishpreet Singh , CIO Qualys running operations , so I had a very clear strategy for enabling the business capabilities on our journey to be a billion dollar company , which has mostly stayed the same with the current plan . If you are a strategic person , you can stay connected with your business partners , and pivot quickly to accommodate plan changes .
Chris Day , CIO SolarWinds
The IT team needs to have a seat at the table with business stakeholders to be able to understand , and influence , the high-level decision making and broaden the available approaches for transformation initiatives .
Playing to their strengths , the business stakeholders will be able think in terms of what they are trying to achieve , supported by IT providing insight as to the how .
Business engagement and communication are the two key pillars of success for any CIO . As CIO , you must keep a long term and short term plan in mind and then work backwards . For example , at Qualys , we plan yearly to align our priorities with each business group . My role includes
A favourite quote of mine is credited to Henry Ford , who said : if I had asked people what they want , they would have said faster horses . Instead of focusing on the what , which in this example is to get to my destination faster , people instead focus on the how ’ faster horses .
By simply changing the dialogue to centre around what the business is actually trying to achieve , CIOs can remove some of the artificial constraints and allow for broader thinking and innovation .
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