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Commanders in the military and CIOs (Chief Information Officers) share similarities in strategy. CIOs can learn valuable lessons from the tactics employed by military commanders.

Business Leaders, Especially CIOs, Are Often Overwhelmed. Unfortunately, Being Overwhelmed Can Lead to a Reactive State, Making Them Defensively Responsive Under Pressure.

Strategy lessons for CIOs: insights drawn from military command
Strategy lessons for CIOs: insights drawn from military command

Commanders in the military and CIOs (Chief Information Officers) share similarities in strategy. CIOs can learn valuable lessons from the tactics employed by military commanders.

In today's fast-paced business environment, Chief Information Officers (CIOs) often find themselves overwhelmed, adopting a reactive mindset that can increase organizational risk. However, a shift in approach can empower CIOs to drive their organisations forward while cementing their position at the heart of the organisation.

This shift is inspired by the principles and practices of military intelligence, which emphasise proactive and agile strategies. For instance, modern militaries prioritise offensive action, high combat readiness, aggressiveness and decisiveness, and initiative and flexibility to avoid a reactive mindset.

The intelligence cycle, a widely practiced approach to generating military intelligence, offers a useful framework for CIOs. This cycle consists of five key stages: direction and planning, collection, processing and exploitation, analysis and production, and dissemination and integration.

For CIOs, direction and planning involve understanding the corporate data landscape, while collection encompasses data sourced from various platforms, such as physical access control logs, intranet traffic logs, email traffic logs, and social media feeds. The processed data is then transformed into actionable information for human analysts to draw conclusions and take management action.

CIOs own several stages of this intelligence cycle, including data processing and analysis. By embracing this intelligence-led approach, CIOs can effectively manage insider threats and better profile evolving corporate risks.

The intelligence-led approach taken by CIOs mirrors that of their military counterparts. Just as military intelligence is crucial for effective strategy, without it, strategy becomes a gamble, and the same applies to corporate risk management.

However, challenges for CIOs often lie in identifying and activating disparate datasets across the organisation for analysis. Corporate datasets and information sources can range from email platforms to physical security systems, traffic logs, and open source data from various web sources.

By using the organisation's data more intelligently, CIOs are encouraged to assess risk and reduce threats. This proactive approach positions the CIO as the orchestrator of positive action in the organisation, similar to their military counterparts.

In conclusion, the intelligence-led approach offers a powerful tool for CIOs to navigate the complexities of modern business environments, ensuring strategic decision-making and risk mitigation.

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