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Conclusion

At the top of the Laudato Hierarchy of IT Needs pyramid is innovation. Innovation should be the goal of all IT leaders—since innovation is required for companies to thrive and sometimes even to survive. To foster innovation, CIOs must first keep the lights on (KTLO), run a lean and efficient IT Department, and create value for their company. Like any pyramid, this one needs to be built from the bottom up. Each layer provides the building blocks for the next higher level. Although it may be tempting to start at the top, jumping into innovation without completing the previous steps will not be successful.

KTLO starts with people, not technology. The first step is to understand and document service-level objectives, risk tolerance, and uptime requirements. You can't succeed until you know what success is. Once these details are agreed on, the CIO should devise a plan to accomplish them. No IT Department is perfect; minimizing the impact and learning from failures is essential for KTLO.

Once systems are reliable, CIOs need to turn their attention to cost management. As I like to say, “Get it right, then get it cheap.” Running a lean and efficient organization increases the CIO's credibility, and it frees up funds for investing.

With reliable and affordable systems, CIOs can now move up to creating value. Value creation comes in the form of cost reduction, risk reduction, and increased revenue. New capabilities are identified and delivered through IT projects. Well-run projects maximize value and protect the hard-earned reliability and affordability that are in place.

None of this is easy. To get to the top of the pyramid, CIOs must establish the proper organizational structure and populate it with talented employees. These employees need to be aligned and motivated, and they must fully understand both the mission and their role in delivering the mission.

When these things are accomplished, an Amazing IT Team will emerge: a team that is happy, motivated, and continuously innovating.