This is a column by CIO editor-in-chief Maryfran Johnson and is based on a conversation with our very own Enterprise CIO Forum Council member Wayne Shurts, CIO at mega-supermarket chain SUPERVALU. Shurts relates how good it is for him to get into the stores from time to time. I know I feel better when I venture forth. 

Johnson's column was based on a CIO magazine cover story by the very capable Kim Nash: "Five ways CIOs benefit from face time with customers"     

Seventy percent of IT executives say that building relationships with customers and clients is critical. The same percentage also say they have difficulty establishing those relationships with other C suite executives. These are the conclusions of an IDG Research Services Quick Poll on personal effectiveness. Find out what your peers are saying about the importance of relationships and their ability to make and retain them.  

Download Personal_Effectiveness_Research_Study_Results.pdf

A colleague sent me a headline and executive summary from a Forrester "Forrsights" piece called "The new IT security buyer landscape" by Heidi Shey and Stephanie Balaouras. I have not yet had a chance to read the paper, but the executive summary has caught my attention when you juxtapose it against recent conversations and discussions I've had with some of you. The core question out there seems to be - "is this the year we reinvent the CISO?" and I'm hesitant to answer anything besides an emphatic yes.

Question: Has the time come when nonsense Tech company names like Google, Yahoo, Zynga, Hulu, Tivo, Twitter, Flickr, Admob, Groupon just sound dated and way too cute to convey any gravitas, trust or value. How about we declare that Gen-XYZ startup names are officially cliche as of, well, last month. Thankfully, near-zero buzz or very many venture dollars have decended on the following real-life social hopefuls: Fogdog, Tingtag, Flubit, Wazu, Xobni, Smule, Skimble, Blotr, EatLime, BooHoo, Jambl, Hamjab or Qik. Let's hope this fad will soon be Hizztri.