The Accidental CIO: A Lean and Agile Playbook for IT Leaders 1st Edition

In this book I liked the language and structure: the author reveals the essence of the CIO's work in a clear and understandable way. The gamut of tools for solving problems: from strategy development to working with people. “No water”. This is a vivid example of sharing experience from a mentor.

"I really loved reading the Accidential CIO. It’s a great combination of big picture strategic thinking with hands-on pragmatic “how to’s” for the CIO role."

I read this as an advance reader review.The content covers basically everything a CIO may need to be conserned with and hence it is a very condensed and detailed book. All chapters are very well written and clear in their content and you will get a large set of insight and tools to try.So if you are an Enterprise Architect, IT leader or currently a CIO, I would suggest that you read this book, but not end-to-end. Consider 1-2 problems you are currently focusing on and then use those to decide, which parts of the book you should read to get some hints and pointers on how to attack the problem in your context.This is exactly, what Scott is also very clear about that there is no right or wrong - only right for specific context. Which is also what makes it hard to read the book end-to-end. There are so many different angles and considerations that it may become hard to understand, if you do not have 1-2 of your own challenges ready to try out the content on.Why not 5 stars?I would have given this 5 stars if- there had been a guiding map of the chapters on how all the content fits together- some of the content would just have been referenced instead of added (e.g. material on agile and Kanban)

The Accidental CIO by Scott Millett is an insightful and articulate guide that every IT leader should have on their bookshelf. Whether you’ve found yourself in an IT leadership role by design or by circumstance, this book offers a reassuring and relatable perspective on the challenges and opportunities of modern IT leadership.What I appreciated most about this book is how it validates much of the approach I’ve taken in my own IT journey, while also introducing new concepts that challenge me to think differently and push my strategy to the next level. Scott’s deep understanding of lean and agile methodologies is evident, and his ability to apply these principles to real-world IT scenarios makes this book both practical and thought-provoking.The author’s transparency in sharing his experiences, both successes and lessons learned, makes this book feel like a conversation with a mentor. The advice is not just theoretical; it’s actionable and relevant, with a clear roadmap for building and running a successful IT organisation in today’s fast-paced business environment.If you’re looking for a book that combines strategic insight with practical advice, The Accidental CIO is it. Thank you, Scott, for sharing your journey and providing a valuable resource for the IT community.

The Accidental CIO explores the operational and strategic aspects of IT within modern businesses. While the primary focus is on CIOs/CTOs, it also analyzes several challenges that IT Directors and IT Leaders will encounter. Section III (Chapters 10-13) can also be very valuable for Enterprice Architects. This is a professional development book that provides excellent guidance, by sharing practical advice and personal experiences from the author's journey. It can help shorten the learning curve and provide the resources needed to excel in the position.The book includes well-structured references and a great bibliography, presented in a practical way, using well-known real-world examples. It includes well-established frameworks and valuable tips — whether the goal is to build more agile teams, hire the best talent, or understand how a business actually works.Overall, if you’re an IT leader (or want to be), Accidental CIO is a down-to-earth guide that will help you level up your game. Highly recommend grabbing a copy!

A thoughtful and well-structured overview of the areas that a modern IT leader needs to address to be an effective contributor to enterprise success. Written in plain English, the book covers a wealth of models, frameworks, philosophies, and practical advice on how to manage the paradox of challenges CIO’s face. A wide range of subjects from strategy creation, strategic planning, operational execution as well as the design of an operating model.Part 1 gives an overview of the challenges and introduces the new ways of thinking (Wardley Mapping and Systems Thinking) and working (Agile and Lean) required to address them.Part 2 distils the IT operating model into the five components, emphasizing the need to be adaptable when choosing how to implement each part.Part 3 covers how to model business architecture, how to create a strategy and plan, and finally how to execute the plan. I particularly liked how the author tied the whole process of strategic planning together using an example case study in the final chapter. There’s a lot of information, but the book follows a logical structure with plenty of diagrams to help communicate more complex topics.Overall, fabulous book to help guide modern IT leaders.

I've read most of Scotts earlier books and was already a fan, but this is a massive step up. It's the best book I've read since The Phoenix Project series. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to progress into managerial or executive roles.

I have only read Part 3 of the book, 4 chapters on business, strategy, planning and execution. But it is easily the most pragmatic advice I have read on the subject. It nicely balances high level concepts with tangible ways of putting them into practice. There is a lot of information here and it goes deep on advice and ways of operating, but the structure enables the wood to be seen for the trees. Whilst the book has the title of CIO, the information is applicable to both CTO’s and CIOs - in my experience it’s hard to tell the difference.If parts 1 and 2 are half as good as part 3 then this is an essential read for any CIO/CTO.