Closing The CEO-CIO Gap

IT executives continue to cite IT-business alignment as a key worry; at first glance, however, they shouldn't worry — the boss likes them. On deeper reflection, many CIOs and their shareholders should worry because CEOs don't expect much proactive behavior from IT. Forrester's survey of top executives probed CEOs about their view of their CIOs and IT organizations. On the plus side, CEOs seem to be generally satisfied with IT and CIOs — most of all when hired personally, seated at the executive table, and experienced in the job. Unfortunately, CEOs admit to low expectations of the role that IT plays in the enterprise in terms of contribution to innovation, process improvement, and asset management. CIOs own half the responsibility for shaping the CEO's low expectations — which means educating the boss to expect more.