A Chief Information Officer (CIO) is a relatively new addition to a modern business’s C-suite. However, despite being recent, in an era of digital innovation, it’s become an essential one. Instead of offloading work onto employees, most companies try to offload some of the work onto the IT department. IT specialists, the builders of technology, usually cannot meld their products into business-ready deliverables. That’s where the CIO comes in, to lead tech efforts towards a consistent direction benefitting the bottom line. It’s a difficult job that straddles technical work and business, and there aren’t a ton of good training grounds for this role. However, in this book, Laudato adds to the growing literature about how to build and lead an impactful IT team.

The subtitle reads that this will tell you how to “build” an IT team. That’s a nod to the fact that the CIO is wed mainly to hiring and developing the IT team, which actually does the work. The CIO, however, is judged by the results of others’ work. This managerial tightrope requires technical competence yet a knack in picking the right people for the jobs. This book seeks to fill in the gaps of knowledge so that common mistakes are avoided from day one.

Many aspire to do this office – especially because of perks, like salary and prestige – but few take the time to equip and train themselves properly. Laudato, relying on his years of IT leadership and selflessly and honestly relating many of his mistakes, wants to teach the next generation how to do better and achieve more. He brings in a perspective that is attuned to today’s era of remote work.

While containing some theory, this book is practical in nature. Laudato sprinkles anecdotes from his own career and looks to develop readers’ skills more than developing a thesis. There are only a few good books in this genre, and this recent book (published in 2022) will add to that literary body. He even covers how to handle the job market and to impress your company when you are newly hired!

Those who deal with management and leadership issues pertaining to IT will find this book helpful. While specifically designed towards those aspiring to become a CIO, this book contains lessons relevant to leadership through technology more generally. Most of us technologists (I am an Application Developer by trade) can benefit from becoming better equipped about how to help our company’s leadership through understanding their job. Rather than gunning for a job, reading Laudato’s insights can help us all to become a well-rounded worker. ( )