Top Must-Read Books for NextGen CIOs - 2020

The global Covid-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to CIOs. Building a high-performance culture is very crucial as CIOs pivot their business to the new normal. CIOs can also turn these challenges into opportunities when they embed a learning culture.

CIO leadership has been characterized as multifacet and situational. CIOs need to build an organization that learns, adapts, and grows. CIOs must create structures to incentivize collaborative learning at every level.

As you navigate this COVID19 era, you must consciously transform yourself to meet the challenges in front of you. Here are my Book recommendations for the next generation CIOs.

TECHNOLOGY

1. Competing in the Age of AI

Iansiti and Lakhani share their thought leadership on the AI-driven innovation journey. In this COVID19 era, you need a new operating architecture to create, capture, share, and deliver business value.

It is imperative for traditional companies to rearchitect their operating models to compete and operate in the era of AI. The authors show how AI-driven processes:

• Are vastly more scalable than traditional processes
• Allow massive scope increase
• Enable companies to straddle industry boundaries
• Create powerful opportunities for learning
• Drive ever more accurate, complex, and sophisticated predictions

To succeed in digital transformation you must fundamentally change the operating model of the business through AI. -Khwaja Shaik, IBM Thought Leader 

2. Doing Agile Right

A must-read if you want to scale innovation written by Bain consultants Darrell Rigby, Sarah Elk, and Steve Berez. The authors share their thought leadership to get rea.l business results from agile.

• The authors highlight agile must work beyond IT to deliver customer-centric outcomes.
• Agile thinking must be applied to every aspect of its business: to innovation, to operations, to back-office functions, to corporate headquarters, to top management, and even to the agile transformation process itself. 
• Customer-centricity is at the core of doing agile right and it requires operating procedure improvements on a regular basis with strong feedback loops. 

3. Quantum Computing Dancing with Qubits: How quantum computing works and how it can change the world

The next-generation applications demand new programming models and new design patterns due to the limitations, of Moore's Law. With the proliferation of 5G, the computing will follow where ever there is data. This drives the distributed programming models. Quantum computers won’t replace today’s computers but it will be a complementary technology to classical computing.

Robert S. Sutor's "Dancing with Qubits" is a must-read for your innovation team to learn and experiment with quantum computing.

• Discover how quantum computing works and delve into the math behind it with this quantum computing textbook
• Learn how it may become the most important new computer technology of the century
• Explore the inner workings of quantum computing technology to quickly process complex cloud data and solve problems.

Quantum Computer is a sweet spot to solve a very narrow complex problems faster. A classic computer cannot solve this. - Khwaja Shaik, Member, IBM Academy of Technology

STRATEGY & INNOVATION

4. Lead From the Future

If you want to turn your vision into action, then this is a must-read. Incorporate digital transformation from the long-term view. Innosight's Mark W. Johnson and Josh Suskewicz provide tools that enable any manager to become a practical visionary.

The authors share a powerful manifesto for a long-term vision, focus, and sustained innovation.

• How to embed breakthrough growth, creativity with discipline, rigor, and realism.
• Leadership, strategy, and vision must come together.
• Not enough resources upfront and challenges in the core around prioritization.
• Importance of short-term profitability over sustained innovation.

You may have a right strategy, and technology vision. But, if you do not have the right culture you will not be able to unlock game-changing innovation. -Khwaja Shaik, IBM Thought Leader

5. Winning Now, Winning Later: How Companies Can Win in the Short Term While Investing in the Long Term

If you want to enact meaningful change and achieve long-term success, this is the book for you. David highlights counterintuitive leadership practices that enable you to do two conflicting things at the same time-pursue short- and long-term results.

David lays out three elements of leading a large organization effectively:

• Build and model a high-performance culture. Mobilize groups of people, and engage employees.
• Learn how to improve processes. Make process improvement a constant focus.
• Constantly scan the horizon for growth opportunities. Uncover long and short-term threats to your business. Pick the right direction, and get people moving in that direction.

6. Humanocracy

Bureaucracy paralyzes the organization and frustrates employees. Humanocracy is part manifesto, part call to arms, and empowerment to reform the organization in favor of people rather than control. Hamel and Zanini offer a practical guide for creating organizations that really work.

• Create working environments that give everyone the opportunity to flourish through an entrepreneurial spirit.
• Provide human autonomy, resilience, and energy through humans to unleash creativity.
• Build organizations that liberate the everyday genius of the people inside them.
• Unleash the power of people to multiply value and impact.

LEADERSHIP

7. The Ride of a lifetime

Bob Iger's shares the knowledge and leadership skills he’s gained after more than 45 years in the trenches.

• Serves as a playbook for handling the key challenges of our times.
• Optimism and quality matters
• Risk-taking is essential, and true innovation only occurs when people have curiosity and courage.
• Embrace technology.
• Empathy is essential to build an endurance culture.
• Focus matters by allocating time, energy, and resources to the strategies, problems, and projects of the highest value.

You should constantly hone your leadership craft to lead in today's complex environment. -Khwaja Shaik, IBM Thought Leader

8. The Blueprint: 6 Practical Steps to Lift Your Leadership to New Heights

Doug Conant, Founder of ConantLeadership, former CEO of Campbell Soup Company, and former President of Nabisco Foods share transformational insights for aspiring leaders at all levels. It is the inner work rather than the birthright ,that matters in leadership.

• Refresh your thinking and approach from the lessons shared by Doug to accelerate your personal leadership growth.
• The 6 practical steps provide a foundation for your entire professional life.
• Highlights the importance of courage, integrity, humility, and resilience during these challenging times.

Refresh your thinking and leadership practices to elevate your impact for the generations to come in this ecosystem driven era. -Khwaja Shaik, IBM Thought Leader.

9. How to lead: Wisdom from the World's Greatest CEOs, Founders, and Game Changers

David Rubenstein discerns the attributes of leadership by interviewing with many of our nation's most accomplished leaders-visionaries, builders, transformers, commanders, decision-makers, and masters. This is required reading for today's CIOs looking to up their leadership potential.

• Gain advice and wisdom from CEOs, presidents, founders, and master performers across all walks of life.
• Discover how through vision, determination, and hardship you can turn small ideas into generation-defining ones.
• You have got to believe in what you can do.
• Learn these stories about how certain people became leaders so that you improve your own leadership skills

The more humble you are, the wiser you become to make a difference in all walks of life. -Khwaja Shaik, IBM Thought Leader

10. Your 168: Finding Purpose and Satisfaction in a Values-Based Life

As you embark on your CIO career, you will notice a chronic imbalance between the desire to live your values and the distractions and never-ending to-do lists that can get in the way. If you want to focus on what really matters in life, Harry Kraemer's book is a must-read. The book provides actionable advice, filled with tips on how to live a life of meaning and experience a greater sense of purpose.

• This book will help you to be mindful, to use your time both more shrewdly and more productively.
•  Re-evaluating priorities such as career, family, health, recreation, spirituality, and making a difference.
• Experiencing better balance in real-time amid shifting priorities—personally and professionally.

The powerful motivator in our lives isn’t money; it’s the opportunity to make a difference for the greater good. Having a clear purpose in life is essential. -Khwaja Shaik, IBM Thought Leader

Question: What business technology books did I miss for 2020 — which required books would you add to this list? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

For professional insights into complex issues join the conversation by tweeting Khwaja at @Khwaja_Shaik or connecting with him on LinkedIn.

ABOUT KHWAJA SHAIK

Khwaja Shaik is the award-winning global IT Executive with 25+ years of business technology leadership with IBM, Bank of America, PwC, and GE. He has a worldwide reputation and proven track record in driving digital transformation and the newest innovations.

As IBM’s Thought Leader, Khwaja’s role is to help clients stay ahead of the digital disruption curve by leveraging Design Thinking, Cloud, IoT, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Quantum Computing. Khwaja is among the most exceptional IBMers appointed with the rare distinction of IBM Academy of Technology member. Top 100 technical leaders providing the direction of IBM with innovation that matters.

As a strong proponent of talent development, Khwaja serves as IBM’s Design Thinking Coach for IBM’s Developer Jumpstart Program, IBM’s BlueHack Mentor driving innovation and IBM’s Blockchain Mentor to spur the blockchain ecosystem.

Khwaja also serves as McKinsey Global Institute’s Executive Panel Member, MIT Sloan CIO Forum Member, Gartner’s Research Circle Member, MarketsANDMarkets Advisor, and HBR’s Advisory Council Member driving global thought leadership.

As a global influencer, Khwaja frequently blogs on exponential technologies at IBM, LinkedIn, and Twitter. With his passion for interfaith and nurturing global talent in STEM, he serves on the Advisory Boards of Interfaith Center of Northeast Florida and Museum of Science & History, and the University of North Florida’s Computing Advisory Board.

Recipient of outstanding service awards from the University of North Florida, Bank of America, IBM, and Indo US Chamber of Commerce of Northeast Florida. He is frequently interviewed for industry insights or cited in the news, Thought Leadership POVs, and blogs on disruptive technologies.

Khwaja holds an MBA and Engineering degree. He is a frequent speaker on exponential technologies at various forums i,ncluding CIO IT & Security Forum, MHI Supply Chain Conference, IIT Hyderabad, and Indo US Chamber of Commerce of Northeast Florida.

More details on Khwaja’s career and thought leadership activities can be found via Linkedin, Khwajashaik.com or follow him on Twitter @Khwaja_Shaik

"The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies, or opinions."