Stakeholders know the value of the CIO. The last thing they want is for their CIO to be led down a wrong path, distracted by the agenda of others, and misdirected by trends that lure them into waste.

Before telling the truth to others, tell it to yourself. An exercise in introspection will go a long way to turning hard-conversations into effective, watershed moments of change.

Transformation is not an overused word. If anything, it is underused. Leaders embrace it and keep it in front of everyone.

To lead wider, CIOs need to think better. They do so through assessment, inquiry, focus and engagement.

For years now, we have debated to whom the CIO should report. The options are few, but it doesn’t matter. The question was wrong. Fix the question, and the answer is obvious.

Data is the driver. Avoid these five pitfalls in order to stay on course: Style over substance, futile fighting, willful ignorance, chasing aberrations and lazy thinking.