The Adventures of an IT Leader

Becoming an effective IT manager presents a host of challenges—from anticipating emerging technology to managing relationships with vendors, employees, and other managers. A good IT manager must also be a strong business leader.

This book invites you to accompany new CIO Jim Barton to better understand the role of IT in your organization. You'll see Jim struggle through a challenging first year, handling (and fumbling) situations that, although fictional, are based on true events.

You can read this book from beginning to end, or treat is as a series of cases. You can also skip around to address your most pressing needs. For example, need to learn about crisis management and security? Read chapters 10-12. You can formulate your own responses to a CIO's obstacles by reading the authors' regular "Reflection" questions.

You'll turn to this book many times as you face IT-related issues in your own career.

Becoming an effective IT manager presents a host of challenges—from anticipating emerging technology to managing relationships with vendors, employees, and other managers. A good IT manager must also be a strong business leader.

This book invites you to accompany new CIO Jim Barton to better understand the role of IT in your organization. You'll see Jim struggle through a challenging first year, handling (and fumbling) situations that, although fictional, are based on true events.

You can read this book from beginning to end, or treat is as a series of cases. You can also skip around to address your most pressing needs. For example, need to learn about crisis management and security? Read chapters 10-12. You can formulate your own responses to a CIO's obstacles by reading the authors' regular "Reflection" questions.

You'll turn to this book many times as you face IT-related issues in your own career.

Robert Austin, author of many books, is Professor at Copenhagen Business School and Associate Professor at Harvard Business School, where he chairs the executive education program for CIOs.

Richard Nolan, also a prolific author, is Philip M. Condit Endowed Chair in Business Administration at the University of Washington and Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, where he co-chairs the executive education program for CIOs

Shannon O'Donnell is a Consultant with Cutter Consortium's Innovation Practice; she is also Research Associate at the University of Washington and Visiting Researcher at Copenhagen Business School's Centre for Art and Leadership.