"A must-read for any IT leader."
As a career CIO and founder of CIOMentor Joseph Topinka draws on his own experiences implementing IT Business Partnership Programs to present an actionable how-to field guide to true business technology convergence. IT Business Partners: A Field Guide will help you execute what many business leaders only buzz about.
Within this guide you will learn the argument for business technology convergence via IT Business Partnerships as well as the essential principles and strategies behind successful Partnership Programs. Insightful stories and real-life examples of what works and what doesn't are woven throughout as are proven methods tools and templates to help you through the entire process.
IT Business Partners: A Field Guide provides an actionable plan for you to implement an IT Business Partnership Program in your organization so that you too can achieve business technology convergence.
Foreword by John Sculley
Joseph Topinka is founder of CIO Mentor LLC and CIO VP Multichannel Commerce of Red Wing Shoe Company. Joe is also a Board of Advisor member for Think IT Association and a Governing Body Co-chair for the Mid-Market CIO Executive Summits of Minneapolis. In 2013 Joe was honored as a CIO of the Year by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Joe is a frequent public speaker and leadership coach and mentor. Visit him online at http://www.ciomentor.com/.
"CIOs and their IT organizations are facing a dizzying array of demand from the businesses they support. To succeed they will need to get better at working closely with their business partners to help shape that demand as well as manage its delivery. In his thoughtful engaging book Joe Topinka has defined the role of the IT Business Partner-the lynchpin to any successful IT organization. Topinka has laid out a roadmap for how to find them grow them and make them successful. A must-read for any IT leader." -Martha Heller President Heller Search Associates and author of The CIO Paradox: Battling the Contradictions of IT Leadership
"Every industry has been impacted by advances in technology. Whether you are a CIO a VP of IT or an executive outside of IT it is critical to connect the dots between business strategy and IT strategy. Not to do so runs the risk that a more nimble competitor will win. Joe Topinka has offered a great leap forward for IT and non-IT executives alike to forge a better path toward collaboration and value creation at the intersection between IT and the rest of the business." -Peter High President of Metis Strategy and author of World Class IT: Why Business Succeeds When IT Triumphs
"I'm a passionate believer in the power of leveraging technology to deliver strategic results. This book contains a concise set of pragmatic tools that hits the mark and should be standard in IT organizations." -Belinda Rodman VP Enterprise Strategy Salesforce.com
"Joe is both a visionary and a brilliant tactician. I am especially drawn to Joe's willingness to involve users via observational research in the IT process-he is unique among CIOs. [Topinka] leverages user research to create solutions that not only meet customer needs but drive bottom-line business results. Bravo." -Tom Gomoll Founder Usability Team at Apple and Principal of Gomoll Research + Design
"CIO and IT leaders have the ability to contribute to ROI more than ever. But to do so they must possess a solid understanding of the business itself and specifically the ways technology can be an enabler. Companies are seeking IT leaders that have a unique ability to blend business and technology skills. This book gives an excellent overview of how to more completely integrate those skills. Joe's book hits the nail on the head by clearly laying out these issues and their resolutions." -Bob Concannon Senior Client Partner Korn/Ferry International
"Joe's book lays out a thorough comprehensive path that embodies the principles of business technology convergence. His approach details the skills IT organizations need to achieve this goal." -Faisal Hoque Founder & CEO BTM Corporation and author of Winning the 3-Legged Race and The Power of Convergence
"I know how important it can be for a new CIO coming from a technical background to get an easy-to-understand step-by-step roadmap on how to create a successful business partnership for the IT and business organizations. As technology-enabled systems now touch every aspect of a company's mission CIOs are increasingly expected to be major contributors to company strategy.
What I particularly like about Joe Topinka's approach is it fits perfectly into the project team strategy that companies are finding to be the most productive way to work cross-functionally and with outside-the-company business partners. We live in a virtual world where everything that used to be organized inside the company within functional departments with clear boundaries of responsibility is being reinvented around flexible workflow and project team models. Joe Topinka uses his mentoring experience to help CIOs incorporate this thesis into their work plans to drive bottom-line results." -John Sculley Former Apple CEO
