Living in More Than One World

I always look forward to The Economist’s great yearly publication, The World in…In recent years, a web component has been added. The World in 2012 gives us a great head start on the year ahead. The 162-page magazine has a number of thought-provoking articles in such editorial categories as the United States, Asia, Middle East and Africa, Europe, Business, Science and Culture. Unlike in The Economist itself, the articles have bylines; some from Economist writers and editors, but many from high-profile guest contributors. In the latter category, you’ll find Aung San Suu Kyi writing on “A Sense of Balance,” Nandan Nilekani on “India’s identity revolution,” and Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, on “Sharing to the power of 2012.”

The site for TWI2012 also has a blog, Cassandra, and links for previous years of The World in, going back to 2004. As cool and convenient as the website is, I still find the glossy print edition to be handy and valuable, especially for the quick, concise references in the 15 page “The world in figures” section. No matter how all the predictions for the coming year pan out, reading this publication will make you feel smarter and more well-informed.

In his February 24 opinion piece for CIO.com, Why New Technology Demands New Business Models, Jack Bergstrand writes that CIOs (Chief Information Officers) are in a perfect spot to identify and lead significant innovation in their organizations. Yet the from-all-corners and at-all-times demands of their jobs make this a difficult proposition.

The solution, Bergstrand believes, is to apply Peter Drucker’s work on innovation to the technology issues that were barely in existence when Drucker was writing, such as social media and cloud computing. “He had brilliant insights about innovation,” Bergstrand writes, “that can help CIOs take the right risks on new technologies and avoid the failures that ultimately sank so many dotcom companies.”

Bergstrand is founder and CEO of the consulting company Brand Velocity. He was a longtime Coca-Cola Company executive, including being its CIO. And he is quite knowledgeable about Drucker, whose ideas on knowledge work and knowledge worker productivity form the backbone of Bergstrand’s book Reinvent Your Enterprise Through Better Knowledge Work. I met Jack last November when we were both panelists for the Drucker Authors Festival on Drucker Centennial Day 2010, in Claremont, Cal. In talking to him and reading his book, I was impressed that he (like Drucker) was able to draw from many different sources to convey information in a serious, yet accessible way. Besides business and technology, Bergstrand also applies such areas as chess, cybernetics, sports and particularly psychology.

Drucker’s major work on innovation is the 1985 book Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a classic that is not as dated as you might think a 26 year old book would be on these topics. The reason is that its principles can still be applied today, which gets back to Bergstrand’s argument. His CIO.com look at innovation and its problems is also applicable beyond the concerns of CIOs. How can we best innovate as people and within organizations, while making sure our daily work is done the best it can be? How can we discriminate among the countless technological tools that will not only enable but improve our life’s work? The people, and organizations, that find the right answers will help define the future in our uncertain world.

A very short post today, as I get ready to take a few days off. I’ll resume blogging on September 1. In the meantime, whether or not you are a CIO (Chief Information Officer), and whether or not you own a Kindle, have a look at CIO INSIGHT for the Books Slideshow: 10 Kindle Books for CIOs. There are thumbnail descriptions and covers for books aimed at busy technology executives. Many of these titles seem like they would have broader applicability for people who want to understand more about how technology is applied in organizations. The #1 book is CIO Best Practices: Enabling Strategic Value with Information Technology, by Joe Stenzel, Gary Cokins, et al; a 2007 title described as “the bible of technology leadership.” #2, CIO Survival Guide: The Roles and Responsibilities of the Chief Information Officer by Karl D. Schubert (2004), is described as “another IT leadership classic.” Some books are broader than just IT: #6  is Alignment: Using the Balanced Scorecard to Create Corporate Synergies, a 2006 title by Robert S. Kaplan, David P. Norton, the creators of the balanced scoreboard concept. Given that IT exists so an organization can do its work most successfully, #10 is The Business-Oriented CIO: A Guide to Market-Driven Management, by George Tillmann (2008), which “gives the straight dope on delivering business value through IT.” See you in September!