Brief Byte: By the Numbers: Molding the Federal IT Workforce

75% Agencies that participate in IT Quarterly Forums and Federal IT Summits

50% Agencies that use the Capability Planning and Analysis Tool for IT workforce planning

10% Increase in agencies that participate in the Scholarship for Service Job Fair

SOURCE: Federal CIO Council Strategic Plan FY 2008–2009

You Don’t Say

“It doesn’t have to be the perfect practice, it just has to be better than your practice.”

— Air Force CIO Lt. Gen. Michael Peterson on borrowing smart information technology ideas from wherever you find them

Off the Shelf

What: The Discipline of Market Leaders: Choose Your Customers, Narrow Your Focus, Dominate Your Market by Michael Treacy and
Fred Wiersema
Recommended by: Michael Carleton, Health and Human Services Department CIO
Why: Although he first read the book back in the mid-’90s when it came out, it still resonates and has “good rigor to it.”
Takeaway: To excel, an organization must do well in at least one of three so-called value disciplines: operational efficiency, customer intimacy or product innovation. “Where we in the government can make the most impact is in operational efficiency, but often our customers want customer intimacy or innovation more than they want efficiency.”

What: Leading Change by John P. Kotter
Recommended by: Dave Wennergren, Defense Department Deputy CIO
Why: “He’s got a lot of nuggets in there to help you on the journey to change.”
Takeaway: In particular, this book can help agencies keep their change efforts going by showing how to create a compelling sense of urgency, understand the legacy of change and celebrate successes along the way.
Other Favorites: The Power of Alignment: How Great Companies Stay Centered and Accomplish Extraordinary Things by George Labovitz and Victor Rosansky; Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems by Barry Johnson; and First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman