A few weeks back, I got my copy of “The Art of IT-Management: How to Successfully Lead Your Company Into the Digital Future” by Tobias Faiss. I have planned to read it this summer during some time off to get and reflect on critical views from peers on IT management.
As a Chief Information Officer, staying on top of trends is part of my job, but this book turned out to be more than just a professional curiosity.
First off, let me say that this book is not just for IT managers and leaders but I I would say for all IT professionals as well as professionals who work with IT professionals.
Tobias writes in plain English. There are no complex words or sentences, making it “light”, easy and quick to read. It’s written in a way that anyone interested in IT can pick up and enjoy.
The book is also about leading an IT team in today’s fast-paced world. It covers a lot of ground — from creating IT strategies that last to making sure that your tech plans are in line with your company’s big-picture goals. What I really appreciated were the down-to-earth explanations about things like cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI). If you struggle translating tech-speak to business language, these parts are really helpful.
Even if I do not agree with all the management style shared and promoted by Tobias, it still gives an interesting angle of view.
One important part I liked about the book is the importance of training,. I think this theme really stood out in the book. Tobias talks a lot about training teams and embracing new tech trends. He uses real-world examples to show why this is so important. As a CIO, I couldn’t agree more. The world is changing fast, and our teams need to keep up. This isn’t just theory; it’s something I see in my work every day.
When I got my degree, Cloud Computing, Big Data and Generative AI weren’t the themes we had in our syllabus. In order to be able to stay up-to-date, ensuring self-training and team training is definetly a game changer. Also, as I am instructor on Udemy and think my views on this might be biased, it somehow “validated” this orientation.
What also caught my eye were the quotes and figures that Tobias sprinkled throughout the book. They aren’t just thrown in there; they add to the story. They make you stop and think. Some of the quotes made me pause and reflect on my own leadership style. It’s rare that a book on IT management gets you to do that.
On top of the “thoery” and the “IT management” parts, the book shared great practical advice. The author isn’t just talking about high-level concepts. He gives hands-on tips on how to be a better IT leader (or how to be a better IT professional). As someone who’s always looking for ways to improve, I found this really helpful.
For IT professionals (and I would specifically say, for “ICs” — Individual Collaborators), I strongly believe that the book provides great advice on how to understand the big picture, embrace change and ensure alignment with the organization strategy. In my previous experience, it is not uncommon that ICs stay focused on their core skills and sometimes show a certain resistance to change (adopting a new technology, adapting to a new strategy), and I believe the book takes a good approach on that, on how it is important to embrace new changes (AI as an example, but not only), and also ensure team members and ICs understand the organization strategy and look to the same direction as the rest organization, making their contribution a valuable addition to the whole setup.
The book also touches on Cybersecurity, a topic that’s on everyone’s mind these days. I found the insights on how Cybersecurity is changing IT to be spot-on. It’s something we all have to deal with, and the author take on it was both enlightening and practical.
In a nutshell, the book felt real to me. It wasn’t just a bunch of buzzwords. It was like having a conversation with a fellow IT leader who’s been there and done that.
So, should you read “The Art of IT-Management”? If you’re involved in IT in any way, I’d say yes. It’s not just a guide; it’s a good companion.
You can find it in both Kindle and Paperback. Give it a read. If you are a Lifelong learner, it will give you a good addition.
Stay curious, and happy reading!