Summer Reading

Computerworld -

• Total Access: Giving Customers What They Want in an Anytime, Anywhere World, by Regis McKenna (Harvard Business School Press; 226 pages; $27.50). This is a must-read for CIOs and CIO wannabes. McKenna, the Silicon Valley marketing guru who has written four books on technology business strategies and marketing, focuses on how marketing is evolving from a "broadcast" paradigm - the sending of one message to many - to one in which many messages are tailored and sent to individual customers. The hook for IT here is that McKenna devotes a good chunk of the book to the technologies that will enable this transformation and the roles that corporate IT and the CIO will play in it. It's just one example of how IT is evolving from an insular support role to one that requires it to branch out, even beyond company walls, to interact with customers and help drive revenue.
- Rick Saia
• The Little Black Book of Project Management (Second Edition), by Michael C. Thomsett (Amacom Books; 200 pages, paperback; $15). Thomsett, a widely published author on the subjects of business, finance and project management, updates his 1988 work. The book is a quick read and covers all major steps of project management, from creating the project plan to conducting the project review. Thomsett includes examples of project management scenarios, as well as sample charts. At a time when management wants better cost controls and quicker returns on investments, IT managers should find great value in this book.
- Rick Saia
• Unforeseen Circumstances: Strategies and Technologies for Protecting Your Business and Your People in a Less Secure World, by Alexis D. Gutzman (Amacom Books; 224 pages; $25). If hard-drive-hungry viruses and highly publicized corporate security breaches weren't enough of a call for companies to beef up their security strategies, the Sept. 11 attacks should have been. In this well-researched and easily digestible tome, Gutzman examines topics ranging from unconventional security threats to choosing the best biometric technologies for your organization's needs. But Gutzman goes beyond traditional security matters and explores issues such as the debate over face-to-face meetings vs. virtual meetings (teleconferences and videoconferences), which companies are considering turning to as they cut back on travel for budgetary and security reasons.
- Thomas Hoffman
• Voice Power: Using Your Voice to Captivate, Persuade, and Command Attention, by Renee Grant-Williams (Amacom Books; 197 pages, paperback; $17.95). If you're in a leadership role in which effective public speaking skills are essential, you probably know that sometimes it's not