This book is for Technology Leaders who need to lead their organization through a corporate spin-off. The breadth and scope of this effort is vast, and the process is both exciting and overwhelming at the same time. It can be unclear how to begin and where to turn to for support and help. You don't have to tackle this alone, learn through the sharing of ideas and experiences that worked for the author in two different divestiture efforts.
Author Leda Csanka presents you with a framework of five principles to put you on the fast to success. She provides valuable lessons and shares her expertise to help you avoid some of risks that lie ahead on your journey:
Prepare: Planning and Partners
Learn the importance of partners and begin with a list of strategic decisions required early on in the effort. Streamline your process and gain confidence in your recommendations with critical vendor selection criteria.
People
Build the right team and lead them to success with proven strategies for both creating the right culture and improving the communication of your team. Learn which roles are critical and when to recruit them.
Program Management
Fast track your project with ideas on how to break the effort into a set of workstreams and think of the effort as a program. Avoid mistakes and reduce risk from lessons learned from the school of "Hard Knox".
Production Ready
Start with a plan on how to both prepare and structure your organization for success. This is more than testing applications in the new Data Center. You need to create all new operational procedures and processes for your organization.
Pacing:
Pace yourself and your team for the road ahead. "This is a marathon, not a sprint". Avoid burn-out and get everyone to the finish line together!
This book is a roadmap, a playbook and a set of reminders that you can pull out and review from time to time to remind yourself and your team that you don't have to walk this journey alone. There others who have traveled this path and you can learn from their experiences.
You won't find a secret sauce, a set of silver bullets or even a magic wand. It's the survival guide developed from the analysis of two very specific projects and the lessons learned on the job from day to day combat in the trenches, making this kind of effort work! You'll come to hear some of the author's story woven throughout the chapters of what it takes to grow from a middle manager in a large company to Chief Information Officer (CIO) overnight and the struggles and lessons learned along the way.
These are practical lessons and advise from someone who made some good decisions, had some good luck, and learned from her mistakes.
"I want you to feel that you and your team are not in this alone, but rather, you have the practical advice of someone who has navigated this path before you. You can jump-start your effort with my proven playbook. Your project will be unique, but you can move forward with confidence and credibility by knowing these best practices." - Leda Csanka
