CIO Mind, The Gartner CIO Podcast

This episode explores:

• Is the CIO as a boardroom level executive a reality now, or is this mostly a goal? (1:07)
• Should every CIO aspire to be on a board of directors? (3:48)
• How to get the first job as a board member. (8:24)
• What skills, experience and certifications are needed. (10:42)
• What are the first steps CIOs need to take to start off in the right direction? (19:20)

In this podcast, host Gabriela Vogel and distinguished VP analyst and Gartner Fellow in Gartner’s Executive Leadership Research Group, Tina Nunno, discuss how CIOs can make their way onto the board of directors.

Serving on an external, supervisory board of directors is an excellent way for seasoned senior leaders with a track record to further their careers. As Gabriela and Tina discuss, the first board appointment is difficult to get, but CIOs can improve their prospects by following five crucial measures.

This episode explores:

• Who should care about machine customers — and why (1:33)
• The business benefits of embracing machine customers (8:04)
• If this is a market that is or should be regulated (12:17)
• How to invest in machine customers in a world with limited resources (16:32)
• If consumers should be afraid of this shift (21:12)

Customers are becoming machines. Cars will buy their own gas and tires using sophisticated software and hardware. This affects business-customer relations. Is your business ready? Mark Raskino, co-author of “When Machines Become Customers,” explores what you need to consider in this podcast.

This episode explores: 

• What CIOs need to know about cyberpsychology (2:20) 
• Practical applications of cyberpsychology principles in how we work (3:18)
• Integrating cyberpsychology principles into cybersecurity training (8:10)
• Integrating cyberpsychology with technology to boost performance (12:27)
• Key take-away: Think about the employee experience across all technology platforms (14:08)

By 2025, 90% of progressive employers will integrate cyberpsychology with technology to improve individual effectiveness and team collaboration (see Top Trends for Strategic Portfolio Leaders for 2022). From the social implications of video conferencing to the need for cybersecurity that matches human vulnerabilities, determining the psychological impacts of technology is critical for getting the best results from users and the technology itself.

Generative AI offers transformational potential for the enterprise. From improving employee engagement and customer experience to optimizing IT operations, these innovative tools are changing the business landscape. For CIOs, charting the right steps to seize unprecedented opportunities and recognize inherent risks is essential for capitalizing on this exciting technology. Distinguished Vice President Analyst Arun Chandrasekaran joins CIO Mind Podcast host Eyad Tachwali to talk about generative AI’s impact on enterprises, its risks and what this technology means for enterprises in the near future. How is your organization harnessing or intending to use generative AI? We're eager to hear your experiences and strategies. Join the conversation in our Peer Community.

Arun Chandrasekaran is a Distinguished Vice President, Analyst at Gartner, where his research focus is on providing strategic advice to CTOs and CIOs on how to spur technology innovation within enterprise IT. He is part of the core team that analyzes emerging technology trends and creates the annual Gartner top strategic technology trends research. Arun’s focus areas involve emerging trends in AI, including generative AI, public cloud and cloud-native architectures.

• What are some of the actionable use cases for generative AI? (2:53)
• What kind of risks should CIOs be mindful of as they plan their generative AI pilots? How can they mitigate these risks? (9:09)
• What skills or technology should a company have to make the most out of generative AI? (16:47)
• As a CIO, what are the top three key messages I need to communicate to my CEO and board of directors about generative AI? (18:19)
• GPT-4 and AutoGPT: What do they mean for the enterprise? Where is this technology headed? (19:52)

This episode covers:

• Pain points enterprise architects face that CIOs need to understand (1:23)
• “The Roadmapper”: An activity to help top executive avoid making bad technology decisions (6:26)
• How roadmaps help CIOs discuss technology with the board (10:49)
• Using roadmaps to facilitate IT organizational change conversations with senior leaders (13:48) 
• Heritage management: An approach to discuss old technologies and their value to the business (17:25)
• CIOs can impact thinking beyond management of IT (21:32)

When it comes to implementing or considering new technologies, understanding how they fit in the large picture is not always easy to communicate. CIOs and enterprise architects need to work together to help CxOs know the implications of their decisions before they’re made. By learning to communicate those implications in a more consumable way, CIOs can prevent their C-suite partners from making decisions they’ll regret. VP Analyst Philip Allega joins CIO Mind Podcast host Shawn Murphy to talk about roadmapping as an influential communication tool that CIOs can use to shape their conversations with the board.

This episode covers:

• What digital friction is (1:05)
• How digital friction negatively impacts the customer experience (3:10)
• The culprits that cause digital friction and digital insensitivity (5:01)
• How total experience helps to solve digital friction and digital insensitivity (8:45)
• The components of total experience (10:13)
• The three terms important for creating a shared understanding of being a digital business (11:00)
• The advantages the midsize enterprise can leverage to create frictionless experiences (16:10)

New technology is designed to make life and work go more smoothly. But when it’s unclear how to properly use the technology, when it doesn’t fit the workflow, and when no one really understands it, digital friction slows down progress. Host Shawn Murphy and Gartner Vice President Analyst Joseph Provenza explore speed bumps that trip up digital initiatives and discuss what midsize enterprise CIOs do to lead through the friction that impacts employees and customers.

Over the last decade, digital features and value propositions have been inserted into many more products and services. But making sure that happens coherently at scale isn’t easy. A new kind of professional role has emerged to drive the change forward. DPMs have been appearing everywhere from banks to fast-food restaurant chains. We explore the contours of this critical capability and the CIO’s role in helping embed it into the organization.

This episode explores:

• What is a digital product, really? (1:33)
• What is digital product management? (2:53)
• What usually triggers companies to start employing digital product managers (DPMs)? (5:42)
• What should a CIO be doing to initiate or advance digital product management? (8:58)
• What do DPMs do practically day to day? (10:59)
• Where do DPMs live on the org chart? (13:49)
• Where do people hire DPMs from? What backgrounds do they come from? (15:54)

Erin Neus-Cheong is a senior director analyst in Gartner’s Executive Leadership of Digital Business group. Erin covers digital product strategy, product leadership and product-centric organizations. She is an experienced product leader with significant expertise in product-led transformation and the transition to a product-led organization.

It is true that work in the future will be more human-centered. However, this should not be interpreted as a focus on individuals. Employees expect to be compensated more for performing less work while having more freedom. Consumers want firms to act quickly and smoothly on crucial issues while keeping prices affordable. Investors want companies to demonstrate continued growth while also supporting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities. When all individuals maintain high expectations, things cannot end well. To set realistic expectations, CIOs need to shift their management approach and employee value proposition away from the individual and toward the community. Only then can they create meaningful experiences for everyone.

CIOs know data and analytics initiatives can drive business value, but many struggle to seize the opportunity both can bring. In this episode of CIO Mind, we focus on the topics of decision making and societal change and how insights from data and analytics can aid CIOs in making better decisions inside the organization and out.

Inflationary pressures continue to hit almost all industries and geographies. CIOs must plan ahead and use all available tactics to mitigate the downside as best they can, by protecting what is important, proactively managing consumption and reviewing vendor pricing.

Galliopi Demetriou is a Senior Director Analyst - IT Finance, Economics, Value and Risk at Gartner. Galliopi supports CIOs in their quest to fund growth and innovation through cost optimization and helps them demonstrate IT’s value to the business.