“CIOs, more than any other executive, have an end-to-end view of how the business works and the tools to turn that view into insights. CIOs can see endless opportunities for improvement and change.”

“CIOs, more than any other executive, have an end-to-end view of how the business works and the tools to turn that view into insights. CIOs can see endless opportunities for improvement and change.”

“Someone once told me that, when your operations are not good, you should not talk strategy," says Iyer. "Fair enough. But the opposite is also true. If operations are good, then you must talk strategy.”

“But here's the rub: looking across silos for opportunities to improve capabilities is one thing; creating a vision for how to seize those opportunities as another. Communicating that vision effectively is harder still. But the real work, the deepest work, is in the deciding to stick your neck out in the first place.”

“The CIO is that one leader who can see everything that is happening within the organization," says Victor Fetter, CIO of LPL Financial. "The CIO looks at every transaction and every customer service experience that takes place on the digital platform. With that unique perspective, the CIO understand where efficiency is happening and where it is not. The position, at its most basic level, has moved from someone who just accepted the way things were, to someone who uses that visibility to create aha moments for all leaders across the organization.”

“If you want to have an impact in your company, have a point of view that sometimes challenges the status quo but do the work required to make the point of view an informed one.”

“Lately, however, I have changed my thinking on this. I have a new Greek mythological figure in mind for the CIO; Cassandra. Cassandra made the critical relationship-building error of spitting on Apollo. As retaliation, Apollo gave Cassandra the power of prophecy, but also the curse of never being believed. (Cassandra eventually goes insane, by the way, so you all have that to look forward to.)”