World Class IT: Why Businesses Succeed When IT Triumphs (Wiley Desktop Editions)

217 Pages·2009·2.44 MB·English

by  Peter A. High

Table of Contents

Praise
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Foreword
The Author
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1 - IT and Broader Company Vision
Definition of World Class IT
Example: IT’s Saving Role at United Airlines
Example: IT at McKesson as Corporate Glue
Five Principles of World Class IT
What This Book Will Do
Chapter 2 - Principle 1: Recruit, Train, and Retain World Class IT People
The Future of Work
Best Buy’s ROWE
Ten Subprinciples of the “People” Principle
Metrics
Connecting IT’s People Work with Its Greater Company Role
Chapter 3 - Principle 2: Build and Maintain a Robust IT Infrastructure
Seven Subprinciples of Infrastructure
Metrics
The Infrastructure Principle and Its Connection to IT’s Greater Company
Role
Chapter 4 - Principle 3: Manage Projects and Portfolios Effectively
Testing IT’s Mettle
Eight Subprinciples of Project and Portfolio Management
Metrics
Effective IT Project and Portfolio Management and IT’s Wider Company
Influence
Chapter 5 - Principle 4: Ensure Partnerships within the IT Department and with
...
Why Wasn’t Alignment Principle 1?
Five Subprinciples of Partnership within IT and with the Business
Metrics
IT’s Partnering with the Company and Its Broader Company Role
Chapter 6 - Principle 5: Develop a Collaborative Relationship with External
Partners
Some Broad Considerations
Three Subprinciples of External Partnering
Metrics
External Partnering and IT’s Expanded Company Role
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Praise for World Class IT

“Technology and business leaders alike must understand how to use IT to their
advantage. Today, all businesses are technology companies powered by people;
it is simply a question of degree. Failure to understand this and to harness
technology to a company’s advantage will result in one’s company being a
follower in an industry as opposed to a shaper of it. In World Class IT, Peter
High distills the key principles for business and IT leaders to follow to ensure
that your company is a leader rather than a laggard.”

—Robert Willett, CEO, Best Buy International

“World Class IT taps the experience and advice of the world’s greatest thinkers
in corporate technology and marries it with a simple, yet powerful working
framework. Peter’s access to the best-of-the-best CIOs and his ability to boil
their learnings down to the essentials is invaluable.”

—Gregor Bailar, former chief information officer, Capital One, and former chief
information officer, NASDAQ

“Peter High has made a valuable, highly practical, and rigorous contribution to
principles-based IT resource management. His IT management principles are
products of insightful observations in first-hand work with accomplished CIOs.
Peter has observed these CIOs transforming IT management in their
organizations from a narrow ‘spectator support’ for their senior management
teams to a ‘participative sport’ resulting in a strategic IT asset. This is an
important read for CIOs and their IT management teams.”

—Richard Nolan, the Philip M. Condit Endowed Chair in Business
Administration at the University of Washington, Foster School of Business, and
the William Barclay Harding Professor of Business Administration at the
Harvard Business School (emeritus)

“Peter High has uncovered and illuminated important principles that are relevant
to any IT executive. We find that many of our most successful IT strategies are
reflected in his framework, and I certainly learned from his research, as well.”
—Randy Spratt, executive vice president, chief information officer, and chief
technology officer, McKesson

“Following the principles and subprinciples of World Class IT offers invaluable
insights and will improve performance no matter the company.”

—Tim Harvey, former executive vice president of shared services and chief
information officer, Hilton Hotels Corporation

Copyright © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by JosseyBass
A Wiley Imprint 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741—www.josseybass.com

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted
under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written
permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the
Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-
8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed
to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-
6011, fax [phone], or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Readers should be aware that Internet websites offered as citations and/or sources for further information
may have changed or disappeared between the time this was written and when it is read.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in
preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or
completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales
representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for
your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author
shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special,
incidental, consequential, or other damages.

JosseyBass books and products are available through most bookstores. To contact JosseyBass directly call
our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-956-7739, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3986, or fax
317-572-4002.

JosseyBass also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print
may not be available in electronic books.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
High, Peter.
World class IT: why businesses succeed when IT triumphs/Peter High; foreword by
Includes bibliographical references and index.
eISBN : 978-0-470-54370-2
1. Information technology—Management. 2. Information technology—Economic aspects. 3. Management
information systems. I. Title.
HD30.2.H543 2009
004.068—dc22
2009033970

HB Printing
The JosseyBass
Business & Management Series
For Michelle, who is in a class by herself