How To Lead With Code | Women Rising In Tech | CIOs vs. CDOs | And More

Plus: Ring Lights And Late Nights: How The Remote Revolution Changed The Workforce

Hi there, and welcome to this week’s issue of the Forbes CIO newsletter.

A company’s competitive edge is now increasingly defined by the code that has been developed to enshrine its unique knowhow, no matter what industry it’s in. That’s why the phrase “every company needs to act like a software company” keeps cropping up in conversations I have with corporate tech leaders.

But what does that phrase actually mean in practice? In his latest post, Forbes CIO Network Contributor Vijay Gurbaxani proposes a framework for thinking about that question which lays out five key tests. One is whether a company develops its core strategic software in-house. That’s a goal for a growing number of businesses, including Discover Financial Services, whose CIO, Amir Arooni, I wrote about recently here.

Another test asks whether or not a company has adopted modular software architectures versus more monolithic ones. The former are essential to passing Gurbaxani’s third test: the ability to iterate quickly on new features and products. For many companies, cloud computing is often the key to that capability—and to the ability to scale successful efforts incredibly fast, which is Gurbaxani’s fourth test.

Last, but certainly not least, there’s the question of fault tolerance, or the willingness to accept a higher level of initial errors in software projects than IT is traditionally wired to do. That’s a hard thing for many tech leaders to internalize, but for once the phrase “failing upwards” can actually refer to a good thing.

Thanks for reading and do please send me your tips, thoughts, questions and ideas for future issues. You can also follow me on Twitter and on LinkedIn. And if you enjoy reading this newsletter, please recommend it to others who may find it useful.

Technology & Innovation

Patents: CIOs who have spent time and money developing solutions involving blockchain technology may want to move fast to protect these innovations. One solution is to participate in patent pools, which involve cross-licensing patents within a set group of companies.

Computing: AMD’s latest server processor, the EPYC 7003, is the first one in the EPYC family that can beat Intel’s Xeon in a head-to-head competition. Single-core performance matters because for most software-development and scientific tasks, a powerful core produces the best throughput.

Leadership & Strategy

Consumer behavior: Now that vaccine distribution is under way, how has the pandemic changed the way consumers think about presenting themselves to the world after a year of masks, sweatpants and Zoom calls? Ulta Beauty’s incoming CEO, Dave Kimbell, shares his insights here.

Artificial intelligence: Tackling issues of bias in algorithms is a huge challenge for tech leaders. In this fascinating post, a former Uber executive who worked on machine learning infrastructure at the transportation giant talks about a “moral crumple zone” in which users bear the brunt of mistakes made in developing AI—and how tech leaders can tackle the issue.

Talent & Careers

Employee experience: A report from Harvard Business Review Analytics Services and Salesforce argues that IT should play a larger role in employee experience (EX) to enhance engagement and accelerate growth. It finds that 93% of executives prioritizing employee experience say their teams have the tools and tech to do their work efficiently, but only 31% say EX is a high priority at their organizations. Here are some helpful tips for boosting engagement.

Health and wellness: In addition to employee experience, CIOs need to focus on workers’ well-being. Some companies are leading the way. Research and education business Wiley doesn’t require workers to use vacation time or PTO if they’re sick. Both it and recruitment site Monster provide access to teaching and tutoring resources for parents helping their children learn. The two and KPMG also offer apps that assist employees with healthy sleep, online therapy and other aspects of well-being.

"Where high levels of interaction are key and a strategy needs to be shaped with time spent at the whiteboard, that is best done in person."

Marta Zarraga

CIO, Capital Group

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