<b>Essential reading for IT professionals with aspirations toward the top IT spot, and for sitting CIOs looking to refine their mobile, social and cloud strategies and knowledge</b> <p>The definitive work on how to achieve leadership success in IT, <i>Straight to the Top, Second Edition</i> reveals how the role of the CIO is changing due to major trends associated with consumer and enterprise products and technologies driving new mobile solutions in today's organizations; cloud computing and the move away from controlled / internally managed data centers to pay as you use and elastic cloud infrastructure and application services; and the impact social media is having on today's complex organizations.</p> <p>Author Gregory S. Smith expertly coaches existing and aspiring CIOs on building the requisite skills through his observations and experience as a veteran CIO with more than twenty-five years of experience leading IT teams and delivering complex technical solutions in the information technology field.</p> <ul> <li>An invaluable guide to help information technology and business professionals recognize the qualities, skills, and expertise necessary to attain the role of a CIO or enhance the skills for sitting CIOs</li> <li>Equips IT managers, CIOs, and CTOs to strategically plan their career moves</li> <li>Packed with encouragement, advice, and essential skills for aspiring and sitting CIOs</li> <li>Features interviews with leading IT professionals, CIOs, and executive recruiting professionals</li> </ul> <p>Providing an organized and comprehensive view of the CIO job and its important role in modern organizations, <i>Straight to the Top, Second Edition</i> equips sitting CIOs and CIO candidates with the strategies and knowledge necessary to be successful in the new business normal - a mobile, social and cloud-based world, and how to provide technology leadership as a world-class CIO.</p>