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Smith School Hosts Annual CIO Forum
 The
Smith School hosted another
successful eighth annual CIO Forum
Friday, Nov. 9, 2007 at Van Munching
Hall, presented by the
Center
for Electronic Markets and Enterprises
(CEME) and the
Center
for Health Information and Decision
Systems (CHIDS). Technology and
innovation were the themes of the
daylong event. The keynote speech was
given by Lemuel Lasher,
chief innovation officer and president
of Computer Sciences Corp.’s Office of
Innovation. Lasher talked about his
unique position as a chief innovation
officer and was very well-received by
the audience of more than 100 attendees
from the CIO Forum and 50 participants
from the
Smith CIBER's Globalization &
Innovation Conference, which was
held in conjunction with the forum.
Lasher discussed how
important innovation is in the workplace and
explained how CSC has effectively
incorporated innovation into its
organizational strategy.
"Innovation results from the creative
application of intellectual capital in a
disciplined manner to a problem,"
said Lasher. Lasher likened innovation
to photosynthesis, a metaphor that
others built upon throughout the day.
For innovation to occur, Lasher said
that you need four things: a grain of
sand in the oyster (an idea),
creativity, intellectual capital, and
discipline. It's not really about
getting there first, it's about having
the right business model, he said.
Lasher also talked about how at CSC they
look for the 'next practice' -- an
incredibly unique and practically
applicable idea -- instead of just
settling for the 'best practice' that
everyone is doing because it works.
Attendees learned about "Innovating
with Information Technology in
Healthcare," from
William O'Leary, director of
Health and Human Services, Microsoft
U.S. Public Sector. O'Leary's talk about
a consumer-centered connected health and
human services vision was followed by a
panel discussion, "Information Technology and
Public Health," moderated by
Smith's
Dr. Galit Shmueli. Panelists
included
Howard Burde, Partner &
Health Law Practice Group
Leader, Blank Rome LLP;
Joshua Epstein, Center for
Social Dynamics, The Brookings
Institution;
and
Dr. Brian R. Jacobs, chief
medical information officer, Children's
National Medical Center. Panelists
discussed how information technology is
changing the health care industry.
Jacobs said that medical errors are the
#5 cause of death in this country and
one-third of patients say that they have
had a health care error. Why so many
medical errors? Jacobs gives a few
examples of problems: handwriting
illegibility, scattered patient
information and lack of access to the
most recent and best information for
doctors to use in the decision-making
process.
During lunch, attendees met up with
those from the Smith CIBER's
Globalization & Innovation Conference
and listened
Harvey Seifter,
founder and director of the Creativity
Connection, for a luncheon keynote,
"Using
Creativity to Find Innovation."
Seifter encouraged the audience to tap
into their inner creativity and said
that an artist uses skills, processes
and experiences to foster innovation and
there is no more chaotic place than that
of a blank canvas... "every artist is a
quintessential problem-solver," he said.
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Harvey Seifter,
founder and director of the Creativity
Connection |
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Speakers, panelists and
attendees were able to network
and mingle throughout the day. |
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"The Innovative CIO" panel
discussion included
panelists (l to r)
Dr. Jeffrey Huskamp; CIO, University
of Maryland;
Barbie S. Bigelow, CIO,
Lockheed Martin’s Electronic
Systems;
Robert Spicer, CIO,
Chevy Chase Bank;
and
Ray Wulff, CIO, British Embassy /
British Defence Staff – U.S. |
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After the forum, there was an
international career fair held
in conjunction with the CIBER
Globalization & Innovation
Conference. |
The afternoon panel discussion, "The
Innovative CIO" was moderated by Smith's
Dr. Joe Bailey and included
panelists
Barbie S. Bigelow, CIO,
Lockheed Martin’s Electronic
Systems;
Dr. Jeffrey Huskamp; CIO, University
of Maryland;
Robert Spicer, CIO,
Chevy Chase Bank;
and
Ray Wulff, CIO, British Embassy /
British Defence Staff – U.S. All
panelists agreed that the CIO position
is ripe with opportunities for
innovation. Huskamp said that CIOs are
in a unique position because they meet
regularly with all stakeholders in an
organization and can "connect the dots"
and see possibilities that others may
not. Spicer said that it is important
for the CIO to be part of the executive
team so he/she can listen to the
business issues of the organization in
order to come up with innovative
solutions. Wulff added that it is
critical to do a comprehensive inventory
of resources not only within your
organization but also with your
partners. "You may have resources where
you might not expect," said Wulff.
"Don't rely only on what's at arm's
length." Acknowledging that at Lockheed Martin
their work really is rocket science, Bigelow said, "Innovation from
where I sit is about technology, but
also about finding a better way to do
things." Adding that you get a better
solution the more diverse the ideas that
go into it.
CIOs
gained insight into how to involve new
business models and new business practices
built on the capabilities of new information
technologies, and forum sessions
addressed how to inculcate a culture of
innovation in an organization.
Established in 1999, the CIO Forum is
a yearly meeting of top chief
information officers, technology
strategists, and academic researchers,
in mid-Atlantic states. Events are
highly interactive and focus on the most
important issues confronting technology
strategists in the emerging digital
economy, including e-commerce, the IT
talent shortage, Internet strategy,
multi-sourcing, next generation
architectures, and other topics. Check
back next summer for details and
registration information for the 9th
Annual CIO Forum.
►Lem Lasher's
presentation is available online (PDF) |
