In the book The Practical CIO I stress the importance for CIOs -- and managers at large-- to build a winning team. A CIO without a great team is nothing, will not accomplish much and may not be able to manage the basics of the IT function, let alone use technology to transform the business and contribute to the business success.

Conversely, there are no limits to a team where team members work together and trust each other. A winning team feeds on its successes and uses the success to self-motivate to accomplish even more.

When I say that it is not the technology, but the team, I know I am saying nothing new. Like many things in life, it is much easier to deal with technology than with people. Because of that CIOs tend to pay more attention to technology than their teams. Changing a person’s behavior is not like changing a computer program. If you want to change a program, go to the code, make the change and the program will start to behave differently immediately. Changing a person’s behavior is complex, challenging and takes time. Some, like my wife for example, may say that it is impossible. I know that she is referring to me when she says that.

Building a great team requires change people’s behavior. A team building CIO should start by having a critical look at him/herself and then build a team that to take advantage of his/her streghts and to compensate for weaknesses. How you do that?

Look for future posts on this topic, here on The Practical CIO.

We all know we should not trust e-mails we receive, particularly the ones that are forwarded from someone else. This story however is interesting.

Luís Fernando Veríssimo a very famous Brazilian writer, has written many books and is a master in writing short, funny stories. His father, Érico Veríssimo, also a writer, has produced work considered classic Brazilian literature. Here you can find information about these two incredible authors: Luís Fernando Veríssimo and Érico Veríssimo.

Recently Luís Fernando Veríssimo visited the US and participated in an event sponsored by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce (BACC) in Miami. I could not resist attending, since I am a fan and read most of his books. During Q&A, Luís Fernando was asked about short stories circulating via e-mail on the internet carrying his name. He said that most of the e-mail stories are not his and you can tell because the author signs Luíz (with a z instead of a s) Fernando Veríssimo. He went on to say that some stories are pretty good and people compliment him on them, stories that he did not write. Apparently there is nothing he can do about it.

Why someone would produce work using someone else name? If the stories are good why not produce under his/her own name? Add a comment below.

Here is a translation of the latest story I received from a friend: More...

IT industry is very dynamic. I cannot think of any other industry where one has so many options to choose from. Just think about how many software languages and tools are available to develop IT products. This is one aspect of the industry that I love. It is exciting and is always changing.

However, these options create major problems for the CIO:

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IBM is spending a lot of money on Lotus Connections. Will the effort pay off? Will IBM be successful?

Answer is: Most likely not!

IBM is starting in the social networking application software game late and has a history of failure after failure when it comes to software. I am old enough to remember a few of them. Maybe you can add to the list.

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Obviously they should and some clearly are, but several act like they are not. Frankly I question if some CIOs have the financial background to reduce/manage IT cost. In order to manage cost there it is necessary to fully understand how costs are booked, how cost reduction or cost increment actions hit the bottom line. Something that looks simple can become complicated when you think about investment and expenses.

IT is everywhere and so is the IT cost. Sometimes a significant part of the cost is not under the control of the CIO. In other situations the Finance group gets involved preparing budgets and estimates and all of this creates the feeling that that nobody is accountable. Obviously you cannot manage without clear responsibility and accountability.

Let me know what you think...