CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 18

I sET An ExpECTATIOn
ThAT WE WERE gOIng TO
TRusT EACh OThER AnD
WAITED TO sEE If ThAT gOT
DEsTROYED OR BuILT upOn.
nOW ThOsE ARE sOmE Of OuR
BEsT RELATIOnshIps.

model, it's even expanding to include
connections between the two companies'
legal and finance executives. "This is about
more than just technology," Swanson says.
"This is about growing our business. It's a
different type of engagement, with more
shared skin in the game."
Another best practice is to blur the lines
between permanent and contract staff, as
Guzman did at H. D. Smith. At DaVita, Cullop
does this by having both teammates and
"guest teammates," as he terms them, work
together on everything from strategy to
specific initiatives, and by communicating

defining expectations, then that one person
brings both a single voice and the ability to
deliver results to the table. "I don't want to
have to learn their hierarchy in order to get
things done," says Monsanto's Swanson. In
the case of one large service provider, his
contact is the CIO. "We talk about security,

bill
blausey

CIO,
Eaton

road maps, etc. He may not own all of
that, but if I need to get his security lead
or product person engaged, he will have
demystified the hierarchy and has the pull
to get things done. That's how executive
sponsorship has to work. If it's just a talking
head, it's wasting my time and it's wasting his."
Strong strategic partnerships extend the
points of contact from there to include
other key leaders such as the CTO or the
head of operations, engineering or analytics,
depending on the nature of the engagement.
At Monsanto, given the shift in business

to them as one team.

Ensuring Mutual Success. Strategic
partnerships are a two-way street, and
CIOs committed to their success look for
opportunities to help their partners succeed.
For some, that includes letting them bypass
competitive bids - or at least making
them aware of opportunities when new
things come up.
"We'll give them visibility into the
opportunities, and sometimes give them
first dibs where they own a stack," says
Eaton's Blausey. "We try to be true to those
relationships. We're never going to give
money away, but we do give them a bit of
an edge where they own the space." This
is a fairly common practice, with 64% of
respondents of the CIO Executive Council
survey saying they sometimes allow strategic
vendors to bypass competitive bids, and 2%
saying they always do.
At the same time, Swanson intentionally
creates overlap among vendors to give
himself flexibility to move things around
as necessary. He's transparent about that
because he wants his partners to work
together. "No partner sits in a vacuum of its

18



CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8

Contents
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Cover1
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Cover2
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 1
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Contents
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 3
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 4
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 5
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 6
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 7
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 8
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 9
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 10
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 11
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 12
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 13
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 14
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 15
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 16
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 17
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 18
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 19
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 20
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 21
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 22
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 23
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 24
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 25
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 26
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 27
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 28
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 29
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 30
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 31
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 32
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 33
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 34
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 35
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 36
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 37
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 38
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 39
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 40
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 41
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 42
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 43
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 44
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 45
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 46
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 47
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 48
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 49
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 50
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 51
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 52
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 53
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 54
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 55
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 56
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 57
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 58
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 59
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 60
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 61
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 62
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 63
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 64
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 65
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 66
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 67
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 68
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 69
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 70
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 71
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 72
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 73
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 74
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - 75
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Cover3
CIO Straight Talk - Issue 8 - Cover4
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/hi_tech
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue12
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/assetheavy2020
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/lifesciencesandhealthcare2019
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/womenintech2
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/financialservices2019/
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue11
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue10
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue9
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/womeninit
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/financialservices
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue8
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue7
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue6
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue5
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue4
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue3
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue2
https://magazine.straighttalkonline.com/issue1
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