The IT executive's ultimate handbook for survival in a rapidly changing economy The Practical CIO: A Common Sense Guide for Successful IT Leadership provides needed advice for modern executives competing in a challenging global environment. * Proactively establish goals for IT * Hold all vendors accountable * Extract maximum value from existing IT investments * Manage and market the IT brand * Build relationships up, down and sideways across the enterprise and beyond its traditional boundaries * Act like a CEO Brimming with interviews and case studies from leading global enterprises such as Microsoft, Prudential, Citigroup, Chiquita Brands, Smithfield Foods and West Marine. The Practical CIO is designed for clear-eyed IT and C-level executives with no patience for hype or overly optimistic visions of a "better tomorrow." Truly a commonsense guide for successful IT leadership, this book delivers exactly the kind of hard-nosed, actionable advice that executives urgently require.