World Class IT ─ Why Businesses Succeed When IT Triumphs

World Class IT
Why Businesses Succeed When IT Triumphs
Peter A. High
Foreword by John Boushy, former CIO of Harrah's Entertainment and former CEO of Ameristar Casinos
Praise for World Class IT
"Technology and business leaders alike must understand how to use IT to their advantage. Today, all businesses are technology companies powered by people; it is simply a question of degree. Failure to understand this and to harness technology to a company's advantage will result in one's company being a follower in an industry as opposed to a shaper of it. In World Class IT, Peter High distills the key principles for business and IT leaders to follow to ensure that your company is a leader rather than a laggard."
—Robert Willett, CEO, Best Buy International
"World Class IT taps the experience and advice of the world's greatest thinkers in corporate technology and marries it with a simple, yet powerful working framework. Peter's access to the best-of-the-best CIOs and his ability to boil their learnings down to the essentials is invaluable."
—Gregor Bailar, former chief information officer, Capital One, and former chief information officer, NASDAQ
"Peter High has made a valuable, highly practical, and rigorous contribution to principles-based IT resource management. Peter has observed accomplished CIOs transforming IT management in their organizations from narrow 'spectator support' for their senior management teams to a 'participative sport' resulting in a strategic IT asset. This is an important read for CIOs and their IT management teams."
—Richard Nolan, the Philip M. Condit Endowed Chair in Business Administration at the University of Washington, Foster School of Business, and the William Barclay Harding Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School (emeritus)
"Peter High has uncovered and illuminated important principles that are relevant to any IT executive. We find that many of our most successful IT strategies are reflected in his framework, and I certainly learned from his research, as well."
—Randy Spratt, executive vice president, chief information officer, and chief technology officer, McKesson
"Following the principles and subprinciples of World Class IT offers invaluable insights and will improve performance no matter the company."
—Tim Harvey, former executive vice president of shared services and chief information officer, Hilton Hotels Corporation

Peter A. High is the founder and president of Metis Strategy, LLC, a business and information technology strategy consultancy founded in 2001. His experience lies in corporate strategy, business-unit strategy, information technology strategy, and all of the areas covered by the principles and subprinciples of World Class IT. Peter and his colleagues have implemented the World Class IT Methodology at many companies in a wide range of industries including financial services, insurance, business process outsourcing, retail, pharmaceuticals, health care, travel and transportation, and media.
Peter has lectured at a number of leading business schools, and he also hosts a widely heard podcast called "Metis Strategy's Forum on World Class IT." Peter graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in economics and history. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with his wife and their two sons. He can be reached at peter.high@metisstrategy.com.

Chosen as third among "The Best IT Business Books of 2009."
—CIO Insight
"What’s unique about this book is that it’s not only a must-read for the CIO (and everyone else in an IT department); it’s for anyone associated with the technology industry. If you are a manufacturer, seller, or service provider of technology, you will gain insight into what makes an IT department world class."
—CIO Digest
"The new book World Class IT (Jossey-Bass, 2009), by consultant Peter A. High, provides solid, timeless advice for CIOs trying to manage IT for business success."
— Mitch Betts, ComputerWorld Book Review

Foreword.
The Author.
Acknowledgements.
Introduction.
1. IT and Broader Company Vision.
2. Principle 1: Recruit, Train, and Retain World-Class IT People.
3. Principle 2: Build and Maintain a Robust Information Technology Infrastructure.
4. Principle 3: Manage Projects and Portfolios Effectively.
5. Principle 4: Ensure that IT Partners within Itself and with the Business.
6. Principle 5: Develop a Collaborative Relationship with External Partners.
Conclusion.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Index.