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Reviewed by Emma Wood
Written by Bob Boiko
 Any book
the uses the phrase "smack-down" in complete seriousness is okay by
me. Bob Boiko's book Laughing at the CIO: A Parable and Prescription for IT
Leadership succeeds in great part due to its frank and humourous approach.
Touted as "the ultimate cure for executive infophobia" by fellow info
guru Peter Morville, Laughing at the CIO offers pragmatic, attainable
solutions for how to put the "I" back in "IT".
Boiko is a well-known author, consultant and information school professor.
Having worked with Web and other information tools for over 20 years and with
some of the world's largest technology companies, he is particularly qualified
to offer advice on information management. The author of two editions of Content
Management Bible, Boiko knows what he's talking about.
This slim volume opens with a fable: Les Knowles is the newly-appointed CIO of
a large financial services firm. In his first year, he's not only got to
organize units to manage infrastructure, critical information systems and
corporate intranets and websites, he has to deal with the human side of each of
those aspects, not to mention the politics and culture of the firm. Needless to
say, it's a tough year for Mr. Knowles. But, by the end of the fable, he's
finally figured out that information and technology are two separate, yet
equally important things and, unless treated as such, collectively fail.
That fable sets the stage for the balance of the book. Boiko introduces the
concept of Strategy Statements, which he asserts must be the basis for every
decision made about information. A Strategy Statement summarizes the three most
important elements of information management—information, audience and goals—in
the following form:
By delivering to we will be better able
to because .
Of course, creating accurate and effective Strategy Statements takes time
and practice. Fortunately, Boiko offers some tips on how to work through this
process: play first (write on napkins - don't take it too seriously), make a
high-level pass (start with some simple, obvious goals) and revise iteratively
(go over each statement several times, deepening a bit at a time). (By
the way, "smack-down" appears in a step-by-step example of the
analysis and formation of Strategy Statements).
These statements are just one piece of the puzzle but they are a good place to
begin, and a concept that is practical and understandable. Boiko then offers
insight into typical points of conflict between IT groups and other departments
within an organization, providing examples of differing points of view, and
suggesting a compromise for each. Amidst commandments such as "Create
Authors" and "Use Editors", he also declares "Be Librarians".
He also commands: "If your organization has librarians, bring them into
the fold. If you don't have librarians, get some." (Amen!)
As a library technician, I have always tried to maintain good relations with IT
groups - after all, I know on which side my bread is buttered. Reading this
book deepened my appreciation for the difficult and frustrating situations they
often find themselves in. More importantly, I learned new ways of thinking
about and working with information, and better approaches to working with IT
departments.
Emma
Wood is a library technician at Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP, a
Vancouver-based law firm in British Columbia, Canada. She is
an active member of the Library Technicians and Assistants Interest Group and Vancouver Association of
Law Libraries, and edits/co-edits newsletters for both.
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