If you believe what many economists are now saying, we have emerged from a prolonged economic malaise and the United States is poised for growth. Good news surely, but IT leaders have suffered right along with other executives in the corporate suite during these bad old days. The recent downturn cost a lot of talented IT leaders their jobs.It seems, then, to be an appropriate time to ask: “What can IT leaders do today to prepare for the next downturn?”
Having worked with a great number of CIOs on the principles of World Class IT (introduced in my book, World Class IT: Why Businesses Succeed When IT Triumphs), I have learned that the most successful executives focus their organization’s efforts to ensure that they plan for the proverbial “rainy day,” while simultaneously encouraging innovation. There are four main areas on which these leading executives typically focus:
- defining the present and future state;
- strengthening governance;
- motivating employees; and
- investing in the future.