Straight to the Top (PDF)

You have what it takes to be a CIO. Do you have a strategy for
getting there? Now you do.

"Gregory Smith has written the definitive work on how to achieve
leadership success in IT. This well-written and carefully
researched book is a must-read for any IT professional with
aspirations toward the top IT spot. Years from now, seasoned IT
leaders will be crediting Smith's book with playing a role in their
success."

--Martha Heller, Managing Director, IT Leadership Practice, Z
Resource Group, and cofounder, CIO Executive Council

"Wow! Put all the tips, advice, and strategies in this book to
use now. The road to the top is rarely straight--follow
Gregory's advice and the path will reveal itself to you!"

--John R. Sullivan, CIO, AARP

"While most professions have a distinct road map to the top,
there is no standard career path to becoming a CIO. Smith addresses
this unique challenge and provides aspiring CIOs with
encouragement, advice, and essential skills based on years of his
own and other CIOs' cumulative experience -- an important effort
for the profession that Smith's fellow members in the CIO Executive
Council embrace and applaud."

--Mark Hall, General Manager of the CIO Executive Council

"Teaching students what a CIO really does has been tough. We've
had to choose between anecdotal treatments based on trade press
articles and integrated academic frameworks that offer little in
the way of lived experiences. Greg's book fixes that. By organizing
interviews with leading technology executives, trade press reports,
and his own experiences as a CIO, he provides an organized and
comprehensive view of the job and its important role in modern
organizations."

--Fred Collopy, PHD, Professor and Chair of Information
Systems and Professor of Cognitive Science, Case Western Reserve
University