Unleashing the Power of IT. Bringing People, Business, and Technology Together

Timely guidance for transforming IT into a strategic business partner Today's leaders are expected to reduce costs, increase productivity, drive innovation and help the business identify and pursue new business opportunities. Successful IT leaders will be the ones that become strategic business partners and decision influencers in their organizations. Unleashing the Power of IT describes in actionable detail, the new mindset, core skill set, and interpersonal tool set that are necessary for IT leaders to thrive in today's increasingly complex challenging business environment. Provides tangible, hard-hitting, real-world strategies, techniques and approaches that will immediately transform your IT workforce and culture Includes Top Ten lists of tips and techniques, proven frameworks and practical guidance to help you launch and sustain your IT culture change and professional development initiatives Addresses how to build a client-focused IT culture; move your organization from order takers to trusted business partners, market IT's value, lead change with confidence, manage projects and vendor relationships A special feature of this book includes a chapter profiling several world-class organizations that have implemented the principles in this book. Learn about the culture change challenges they overcame and benefit from their best practices and successes.

Using dozens of case studies from well-known companies such as General Electric, FedEx, Procter & Gamble, Merck, Boeing, and Intel, Delahaye president and public relations scientist Mark Weiner offers a research-based model for creating and implementing public relations programs that will generate desired results and improve an organization’s ROI. Written as a highly accessible hands-on guide, Unleashing the Power of PR explains how to use market research methods to plan and evaluate public relations programs scientifically. The author explores the benefit of learning to speak to senior executives in a way that will improve communications and ultimately help strengthen PR performance and results. In addition, the book debunks common myths—such as “PR is impossible to measure!”—that undercut the effectiveness of PR and obscure its real value.

Praise For The Power of Mobility: How Your Business Can Compete and Win in the Next Technology Revolution «Mobility is the next technology force that is redefining how businesses operate. Going forward, the winners will be 'anywhere enterprises' that learn how to combine the Power of Mobility with broadband connectivity to create competitive advantage. Russell's book lays out a straightforward road map for how to do just that.» —Berge Ayvazian, Chief Strategy Officer, Yankee Group «Our experience has proved that integrating the mobility of our services into the lives of students creates tremendous opportunities and new value. The ideas presented in this book will serve organizations and businesses of all types well as they explore the innovative growth that can come with the Power of Mobility.» —Dr. Karen Pennington, Vice President, Student Development and Campus Life, Montclair State University «For many professionals, the workplace is no longer a 'place,' and the work day is no longer a 'day.' The Power of Mobility shows us that companies that recognize this fundamental shift are in the best position to take advantage of mobility to increase business agility, transform the way they serve customers, and enable exciting new business models.» —Don Proctor, Senior Vice President, Collaboration Software Group, Cisco «What businesses need is a plain English explanation of the new values and disciplines of the Mobility Age. In The Power of Mobility, Russell McGuire provides that clear guidance without the 'technospeak.'» —Clint Parr, Chief Executive Officer and President, Anyware Mobile Solutions «Companies that figure out how to keep employees connected and leverage context have the opportunity to outperform their peers in the marketplace. The Power of Mobility explains what this all means in simple terms, describes how companies can build mobility into their businesses, and provides helpful examples for those wanting to gain competitive advantage.» —H.P. Jin, PhD, Chief Executive Officer & President, TeleNav Inc. «The Power of Mobility prepares you, in a step-by-step fashion, to interpret the opportunity presented by mobility into your firm's environment.» —Danny Briere, Chief Executive Officer, Telechoice

The definitive pioneering blueprint covering the what, why and how of the blockchain. Blockchains are new technology layers that rewire the Internet and threaten to side-step older legacy constructs and centrally served businesses. At its core, a blockchain injects trust into the network, cutting off some intermediaries from serving that function and creatively disrupting how they operate. Metaphorically, blockchains are the ultimate non-stop computers. Once launched, they never go down, and offer an incredible amount of resiliency, making them dependable and attractive for running a new generation of decentralized services and software applications. The Business Blockchain charts new territory in advancing our understanding of the blockchain by unpacking its elements like no other before. William Mougayar anticipates a future that consists of thousands, if not millions of blockchains that will enable not only frictionless value exchange, but also a new flow of value, redefining roles, relationships, power and governance. In this book, Mougayar makes two other strategic assertions. First, the blockchain has polymorphic characteristics; its application will result in a multiplicity of effects. Second, we shouldn’t ask ourselves what problems the blockchain solves, because that gives us a narrow view on its potential. Rather, we should imagine new opportunities, and tackle even more ambitious problems that cross organizational, regulatory and mental boundaries. Drawing on 34 years of technology industry experience as an executive, analyst, consultant, entrepreneur, startup mentor, author, blogger, educator, thought leader and investor, William Mougayar describes a future that is influenced by fundamental shifts brought by blockchain technology as the catalyst for change. William Mougayar has been described as the most sophisticated blockchain business thinker. He is a blockchain industry insider whose work has already shaped and influenced the understanding of blockchain for people around the world, via his generous blogging and rigorous research insights. He is a direct participant in the crypto-technology market, working alongside startups, entrepreneurs, pioneers, leaders, innovators, creators, enterprise executives and practitioners; in addition to being an investor, advisor, and board member in some of the leading organizations in this space, such as the Ethereum Foundation, OpenBazaar and Coin Center. Just as the Internet created new possibilities that we didn’t foresee in its early years, the blockchain will give rise to new business models and ideas that may still be invisible. Following an engaging Foreword by Vitalik Buterin, this book is organized along these 7 chapters: 1. What is the Blockchain? 2. How Blockchain Trust Infiltrates 3. Obstacles, Challenges & Mental Blocks 4. Blockchain in Financial Services 5. Lighthouse Industries & New Intermediaries 6. Implementing Blockchain Technology 7. Decentralization as the Way Forward The Business Blockchain is an invitation for technologists to better understand the business potential of the blockchain, and for business minded people to grasp the many facets of blockchain technology. This book teaches you how to think about the blockchain.

Praise for IT Portfolio Management Step-by-Step «Bryan Maizlish and Robert Handler bring their deep experience in IT 'value realization' to one of the most absent of all IT management practices–portfolio management. They capture the essence of universally proven investment practices and apply them to the most difficult of challenges–returning high strategic and dollar payoffs from an enterprise's IT department. The reader will find many new and rewarding insights to making their IT investments finally return market leading results.» –John C. Reece, Chairman and CEO, John C. Reece & Associates, LLC Former deputy commissioner for modernization and CIO of the IRS «IT Portfolio Management describes in great detail the critical aspects, know-how, practical examples, key insights, and best practices to improve operational efficiency, corporate agility, and business competitiveness. It eloquently illustrates the methods of building and integrating a portfolio of IT investments to ensure the realization of maximum value and benefit, and to fully leverage the value of all IT assets. Whether you are getting started or building on your initial success in IT portfolio management, this book will provide you information on how to build and implement an effective IT portfolio management strategy.» –David Mitchell, President and CEO, webMethods, Inc. «I found IT Portfolio Management very easy to read, and it highlights many of the seminal aspects and best practices from financial portfolio management. It is an important book for executive, business, and IT managers.» –Michael J. Montgomery, President, Montgomery & Co. «IT Portfolio Management details a comprehensive framework and process showing how to align business and IT for superior value. Maizlish and Handler have the depth of experience, knowledge, and insight needed to tackle the challenges and opportunities companies face in optimizing their IT investment portfolios. This is an exceptionally important book for executive leadership and IT business managers, especially those wanting to build a process-managed enterprise.» –Peter Fingar, Executive Partner Greystone Group, coauthor of The Real-Time Enterprise and Business Process Management (BPM): The Third Wave «A must-read for the non-IT manager who needs to understand the complexity and challenges of managing an IT portfolio. The portfolio management techniques, analysis tools, and planning can be applied to any project or function.» –Richard «Max» Maksimoski, Senior Director R&D, The Scotts Company «This book provides an excellent framework and real-world based approach for implementing IT portfolio management. It is a must-read for every CIO staff considering how to strategically and operationally impact their company's bottom line.» –Donavan R. Hardenbrook, New Product Development Professional, Intel Corporation

Britain does not have a written constitution. It has rather, over centuries, developed a set of miscellaneous conventions, rules, and norms that govern political behavior. By contrast, Bosnia’s constitution was written, quite literally, overnight in a military hanger in Dayton, USA, to conclude a devastating war. By most standards it does not work and is seen to have merely frozen a conflict and all development with it. What might these seemingly unrelated countries be able to teach each other? Britain, racked by recent crises from Brexit to national separatism, may be able to avert long-term political conflict by understanding the pitfalls of writing rigid constitutional rules without popular participation or the cultivation of good political culture. Bosnia, in turn, may be able to thaw its frozen conflict by subjecting parts of its written constitution to amendment, with civic involvement, on a fixed and regular basis; a ’revolving constitution’ to replicate some of that flexibility inherent in the British system. A book not just about Bosnia and Britain; a standard may be set for other plural, multi-ethnic polities to follow.

Harness «Code Halos» to gain competitive advantage in the digital era Amazon beating Borders, Netflix beating Blockbuster, Apple beating Kodak, and the rise of companies like Google, LinkedIn, and Pandora are not isolated or random events. Today's outliers in revenue growth and value creation are winning with a new set of rules. They are dominating by managing the information that surrounds people, organizations, processes, and products—what authors Malcolm Frank, Paul Roehrig, and Ben Pring call Code Halos. This is far beyond “Big Data” and analytics. Code Halos spark new commercial models that can dramatically flip market dominance from industry stalwarts to challengers. In this new book, the authors show leaders how digital innovators and traditional companies can build Code Halo solutions to drive success. The book: Examines the explosion of digital information that now surrounds us and describes the profound impact this is having on individuals, corporations, and societies; Shows how the Crossroads Model can help anticipate and navigate this market shift; Provides examples of traditional firms already harnessing the power of Code Halos including GE's «Brilliant Machines,» Disney's theme park «Magic Band,» and Allstate's mobile devices and analytics that transform auto insurance. With reasoned insight, new data, real-world cases, and practical guidance, Code Halos shows seasoned executives, entrepreneurs, students, line-of-business owners, and technology leaders how to master the new rules of the Code Halo economy.

The Power of Legacy and Planned Gifts provides practical knowledge and tools nonprofits need to connect with loyal donors, resulting in a stream of future income that will sustain and advance their mission. Filled with illustrative real-world examples and cases, as well as worksheets to guide the reader, the book details a simple, multi-stage process for nonprofits to build a pipeline of future bequest income and offers donors perspective on making their gifts in a way that will best accomplish their goals. Praise for The Power of Legacy and Planned Gifts «Kevin Johnson has done a great job making clear the process and the implications of a bequest to a charity. A nonprofit's workers and its donors will be well served in reading this book.» —Bill Gates, Sr., author, Showing Up for Life «Regardless of the size, vintage, or mission of your organization, you can use this book. If this is the part of fundraising you have been avoiding, Kevin's sensible advice can get your team started and get results sooner than you think.» —Joan Flanagan, fundraiser, Center for New Community, and author, Successful Fundraising «Bequests are the key for small and medium-sized charities to survive and thrive. Kevin clearly shows how board and staff can easily develop the comfort and confidence to build effective relations with donors, and help them tell their stories and express their deepest values through bequests. Oh, that we all had this book years ago!» —Roger Ellison, vice president for planned giving, West Texas Rehabilitation Center Foundation «Kevin's insights into donor motivation and the richness of our story have resulted in a substantial increase in planned gifts to our organization.» —Karlene McCabe, executive director, Greenbelt Land Trust Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Learn the unique leadership strategies of the effective, essential CIO Beyond the Cloud provides a blueprint for leadership in an era of high volatility, rapid transformation, and amazing growth. An effective CIO is essential to the successful navigation of turbulent and uncertain times, and this insightful guide gives you the actionable framework you need to execute the leadership strategies that work. Focused on the major factors that are critical to modern global enterprise, this book delves into communication, collaboration, relationships, technology, innovation, talent management, and more to provide well-rounded guidance toward principled leadership. Simple, straightforward language explains the basics of each area, and is expanded upon by real-world stories and revealing anecdotes gathered from the author's exclusive interviews with visionary thought leaders from major organizations worldwide. You get perspective from the top on established and emerging leadership strategies, helping you put these ideas to work right away. CIOs are perfectly positioned to provide the leadership required to stay ahead of the competition in complex, rapidly shifting markets. They break down walls, align resources, and facilitate collaboration to drive business value and spur growth amidst an atmosphere of hyper-competition. This guide is your practical handbook for becoming the leader that you need to be. Establish trust and cooperation across the enterprise Recruit and retain the top talent in your field Leverage new technology for continuous business growth Inspire loyalty and optimal performance from everyone on the team The CIO has never been more crucial to the enterprise than right now. With clear guidance toward the unique leadership skills the role requires, Beyond the Cloud is the foundational executive guide for transformational leaders in the new business era.

A step-by-step guide to bringing up happy, responsible children… One of the greatest challenges any parent will face, is teaching their children the difference between right and wrong and helping them to learn good social behaviour, whilst maintaining a satisfying, loving relationship. Today, more than ever before, parents are concerned about their children's behaviour and its effect not only on the child, but also upon society. This step-by-step guide provides well-researched information for parents who want to positively encourage their children and teenagers to behave well and to achieve their full potential. A practical guide which incorporates plenty of useful advice on issues such as: ? Providing positive attention for children ? Using rewards ? Communicating Effectively ? Empowering Teenagers ? Negotiating Rules and Boundaries