I just returned from our "CIO '07: The Year Ahead" conference in Phoenix and wanted to pass along some notes, tidbits and interesting things that I picked up through the amazing presentations and great conversations with CIOs. Here we go:

Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski's keynote speech on international relations, U.S. foreign policy and global economic trends was enthralling, informative and useful. At the outset of his talk, I wondered if what he had to say would connect with the audience. Brzezinski is the former National Security Advisor to President Carter and now a counselor and trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Of the many themes he covered, one was the apparent "isolationist" foreign policy that the U.S. was wielding right now -- a "You're with us, or you're against us" line of thinking -- that has alienated many countries from the U.S. Politics aside, I think it was, on some level, applicable to the business-IT disconnect that can wreak havoc at many organizations. CIOs can't ever foster or allow an "us versus them" mentality in their IT departments, as in "the business just doesn't get IT." It's the CIO's job to fix the problem, not let it fester. Judging by the reactions that I heard from CIOs and IT managers in attendance, Brzezinski's presentation resonated quite well. There was not one person in the room tapping away on his BlackBerry during the session.

Innovation is very hot right now, but it's still a rather nebulous concept. Jerry Bartlett, CIO of TD Ameritrade, offered some practical advice on how he fosters innovation at his company, which was less a broad mission statement and more a defined part of his role and his staffers' jobs. He took the time at his company to define what innovation is (and what it isn't), developed guidelines and boundaries for where innovation should come from (and where it shouldn't), how innovation correlated to his own job as CIO, how much resources were devoted to innovative exploration, and what were the rewards and recognitions for those who innovate. Very cool and helpful.

CIOs were interested in the business concepts behind Chris Anderson's book, The Long Tail, which he presented on Tuesday. This session also resonated with the CIO audience, and gave them a new perspective on their jobs -- how shifts in and gains from technology have allowed organizations to capitalize on what typically have been underserved (and undesirable) markets.

CIOs need to start addressing the skills shortage that is creeping up on all in the IT industry. Where it's going to be felt most acutely is not at the entry level, but at the mid-level managerial layer. That notion came out of a session on workforce trends. The problem right now is that as we look at the upcoming Baby Boomer Bust, the pool from which CIOs can draw from to staff these critical mid-level positions is getting smaller and smaller. That's because so much entry-level work has been outsourced to India and others, and few CIOs have been able to (or taken the time to) develop any lower-level bench strength. Even if you outsource, as the panelists pointed out, you do need good, smart people to manage those outsourcing relationships as well as lead related projects. There are other reasons behind this trend, but CIOs should start working right now on trying to develop their benches. There's not that much time left.

CIOs really need to listen to their business users and peers, especially when it comes to knowledge-worker productivity issues, which include expanding telecommuting and mobility options. In short, CIOs shouldn't just try to force a generic solution ("Here's your BlackBerry," or "Take this laptop") out to business users before sitting down and listening to the user. In many cases, a user won't know what the solution is, but by being able to explain the problem to IT, a joint, appropriate solution can be discovered. That thinking will ultimately enable more productivity for the user and offer a greater chance of ROI for the technology.

CIOs don't seem to care all that much about the needs and desires of the next wave of workers, who come from Gen Y and are also referred to as Millenials. The gestalt of the Millenials (a.k.a., the "I'm special" generation) is that they grew up with a boundless sense of self-importance, always have had the Internet, love to share digital content, need to be constantly challenged, want high-level responsibilities immediately, expect a work-life balance with telecommuting options, and will go around IT practices and policies without hesitation. The old-school CIOs I spoke with seemed both annoyed with their audacity and mildly interested in what this new wave of employees could deliver in the IT department.

A quick selection of hot topics that kept coming up in presentations and conversations: smart sourcing; innovation; IPv6; enterprise architecture; mobility; Web 2.0; YouTube and Google; disaster recovery; what's going on in India; and location awareness technologies.

CIOs travel. A lot. I'm always amazed by the amount of travel CIOs have to withstand. With the globalization of business, which, in a sense, brings the countries of the world closer together, it also necessitates a top CIO job that requires a huge amount of travel. (What ever happened to videoconferencing?) One CIO told me, "If I wanted to, I could travel 365 days a year." Of course, most CIOs shake their head and smile and say, "All part of the job," when I ask them about it and how they cope with the strenuous demands on their lives, families and health. But, still, it has to take its toll at some point.

Phoenix, in mid-November is just amazing: sunny, 80-degree temperatures with no humidity and lots of green golf courses. Why do I live in New England, again?

CIOs are competitive. Exhibit A: One of the conference sponsors, iRise, hosted a night at a rack track nearby the conference center. And once CIOs got on those go-Karts and the starting flag came out, they were flying around the track, passing each other and going like crazy to win. There were some spin-outs and Nascar-like driving sequences (thankfully, nobody got hurt), and everybody was comparing their race times afterward like a bunch of excited teenagers.

-Thomas Wailgum 

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