This is what I’ve been hearing from government and industry leaders who invested heavily in information technology (IT) to improve organizational performance but didn’t see the returns they expected. Some chief executive officers implemented instant messaging software across their organizations to improve communication flow, but because users were not convinced that communications were secure, instant messaging was ignored. In other situations, both leadership and staff were uncomfortable with social networking tools because they were used to communicating through other people — not with more direct, less formal means. Today’s IT leaders face myriad challenges in making their organizations effective and relevant. These range from bureaucratic, financial and outside challenges; to building secure information networks where information is managed and readily accessible; to driving cultural change. I faced more than a few challenges when I was an active-duty general. Here’s a snapshot of three of them: Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Pentagon burned for three days. Our greatest challenge was keeping vital communications online. But critical systems in the Pentagon basement were threatened by fire hose water that was pouring down into the basement. Our military and civilian work force did a great job of covering equipment with tarpaulins to keep national-level communications functioning, and these people worked with industry to swing vital voice, data and video communications to various locations throughout the Capital area — places to where senior Pentagon Army and Navy members had evacuated. At the same time, as manager of the National Communications System, I had a mandate from the White House to set priorities for restoring 5.5 million voice and data circuits knocked off the air from the attacks on the World Trade Center. Wall Street chief executive officers and other members of the president’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee volunteered the resources of their firms to help restore government and financial markets. Through incredible coordination, the stock and bond markets were back in service only six days after the attacks. Read the rest of the article at SIGNAL Magazine. Related Content:
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