PHIL JORDAN - SAILING CLOSE HAULED suggest they engage the board on the need and the destination of digital transformation , define clear actions and clear KPIs , and then show progress . Digital destination , definition and delivery , balance all three or risk getting fired - this is the dangerous game for CIOs in 2017 .” When he gets the chance , Phil Jordan loves boats and sailing . It has some valuable lessons for a CIO , he believes . “ As I see it , one of my key roles is to hold the business on its technological journey and not allow short term tactical headwinds to blow it off course .” You need to keep your
destination firmly in sight , even when reaching it means tacking in a different direction . Without conviction as to the destination , the tack will become its own end . In his work for Telefónica he has had to do a lot of tacking , and explain an apparently erratic course even to his own team . “ In the blurred world I have been talking about , it would be great if there was a GPS for business evolution , but don ’ t believe the consultancies that tell you they have one . It ’ s all about team work , reading the environment , making good decisions and , sometimes , sailing close to the wind .”
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