Welcome to our blog, the digital brainyard to fine tune "Digital Master," innovate leadership, and reimagine the future of IT.

The magic “I” of CIO sparks many imaginations: Chief information officer, chief infrastructure officer , Chief Integration Officer, chief International officer, Chief Inspiration Officer, Chief Innovation Officer, Chief Influence Office etc. The future of CIO is entrepreneur driven, situation oriented, value-added,she or he will take many paradoxical roles: both as business strategist and technology visionary,talent master and effective communicator,savvy business enabler and relentless cost cutter, and transform the business into "Digital Master"!

The future of CIO is digital strategist, global thought leader, and talent master: leading IT to enlighten the customers; enable business success via influence.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Refine the Future of Female Leadership

A Company Achieves Uncommon Excellence by bring together Uncommon People for a Common Purpose. (Give Uncommon People a Uncommon Identity)
-Gandi


Today’s turbulent economic macro-environment , multi-center global landscape and overwhelmingly new technologies offer the female executives and leaders unprecedented opportunities and responsibility to make significant positive impact in their organization and even the whole world.

1. Be a Transformational leader than a micro-manager

Innovation is a new way of doing things that results in positive changes.

The statistics from many prestigious academia or media co. (Forbes, Fortune, Harvard Business school, Mckinsey ., etc) has proved the female leaders bring better solid performance for their organizations in the long run.

In this post Great Recession era, though as minority at the whole leadership team, the female executive leaders should standout to standardize the management infrastructure, breakdown the hierarchy and bureaucracy, enhance the corporate governance, take initiative on sustainability, reframe the business model and transform the corporate culture

Not only become the role models for their employees; but also set up a fresh example for their male peers; It’s the historic transformational moment to become an innovative female leaders and make a significant difference.

2. Be a natural magnet than a perfect superwoman

The last thing a competent leader wants is a company consisting of yes people who have identical skills and cooking-cutter thoughts.

Female leaders usually takes much more effort and make more sacrifice than their male peers to climb the ladder, so the nature of “perfection” takes them to the leadership position may not be the unique charisma to make them become the effective leader.

It’s more critical to be a natural magnet to attract the best and diversified talent to work for the organization, rather than you are the best in every perspective. As matter of factor, being a stereotyped superwoman may create a distance or gap between the leader and the team.

3. Be a Game-change strategist than a power player

Our Value are Reflected in Everything we say or Do.

Be a power player is no fault as long as taking advantage of power for good.
Beyond that, the female leaders are the nature strategist as many roles:
--The visionary in your domain and industry;
--The practitioner to exercise the true art of modern management
--the wise mentor and cheerleader to embrace the diversity
--The magnet to attract the best;
--The logic predictor (not necessary a fortune teller though) to prepare the future with scenario planning
--A judge to bring back the common sense and fair value
-A fighter to fight the prejudices or hubris.
-A constructor to reshape, resize or rebuild the corporate ladder..
--A thought leader to voice for those without voice
-A Colorful change agent, a rainbow bridge, and so on…

The tipping point of female leadership in the 21th century:
The more diversified female leader grows, the more organization that will be attracted to the top talent, to help human achieve the full potential and accelerate the new revolution to advance the human society.

Above are some thought after reading the article from HBR:
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/oct2010/ca20101012_599532.htm

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Leadership Innovation: 7 Game-Change Mind Sets for the Future of Leadership

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function “
F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Today’s downturn economy, accelerated globalization, energy shortage and many other uncertainties make the world become a complex, unpredictable macro-environment ever.

The future of leader may have to play “the Big Brain Game”, see through the problems with many different angles, and solve the problems with all possible alternative steps and solutions, more counting on the collective wisdom rather than a dominance voice or absolute right or wrong answers.

The silver bullet in digitized global world is innovation.


1.Be Authentic
Only through the truth, do we come to grace. The value proposition for tomorrow’s leader would be authentic, unique and diversified. Being authentic also means to inspire innovation, to become the change agent, and to make positive influence.

An authentic way to stand out is to have a point of view.

2.Pursuit the Life Purpose Greater than Self
In today’s world of “Pull”, wikipedia and web 2.0 technologies provide unprecedented opportunities for any individual to build up a strong professional and personal brand, and become the leader in his or her own domain.

3.Curiosity Imperatives
Curiosity is a critical piece of raw intelligence, curiosity may even keep people look younger, think fresher and act more flexible. Curiosity is the original drive to motivate people explore broader, learn deeper and help us step out of comfort zone and achieve bigger. Curiosity nurtures the lifetime learner and creative thinker.

4.Cross-Boundary Leadership
The world has been interwovened through the internet and the latest technologies, cross-boundary  such as cross-cultural, cross-industrial, cross-functional leadership innovation  is becoming the new normal, the new leadership is a bridge to connect cognizant difference, engage the diversified talent and reframe the new business model.

5.Unconventional Thinkers
To be unconventional is to be strategic; to be strategic is to be innovative and beyond; the future of leaders need cultivate 4 “I”s (Insight, Imagination, Innovation and Improvement); From Sunzi 36 stratagems to poetry of Tagore “Stray Bird”, multi-cultural wisdom is the hotbed to be unconventional

6.Ask Effective Questions
The question about future is more critical than an answer about yesterday. If today’s executives try to answer and micromanage the short-term concerns, tomorrow’s leaders would more focus on asking the effective questions to lead the future, and draw others into solutions.

“The important thing is not to stop questioning.” Albert Einstein

7.Add Some Fresh Styles
Fashion fades, but style lives: entrepreneur’s spirit, the green lover,  or a global mindset are more than welcomed, no matter which color is your parachute, the beauty of diversity would be essential to the future of leadership.

The management of previous generation have brought authority, idealism and efficiency, sometimes hierarchy, greedy and arrogance, their philosophy might be the game of “WIN”; then the future of leader could be more open, colorful and collaborate, The nature of leadership is more about pursuing the life call of purpose,  to lead through influence.

Please also enjoy the leadership videos from HBR:

http://www.youtube.com/HarvardBusiness#p/u/1/j8WRz3CxafE

http://www.youtube.com/HarvardBusiness#p/u/4/kb2PI0LaxGE