MAY, 2020ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY REVIEW8 LEADING OUTSIDE THE TECHNOLOGY BOXBy Bill Zebrowski, CIO, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)I have been in the tech industry for a little over 30 years starting as a technician building AT&T and Compaq DeskPro computers with a whopping 10M hard drive to my current position as CIO for a regional transit authority. I have seen many technologies come and go. I still kick myself for not buying stock in Apple and Microsoft when they were first formed but who knew then.Anyway, I thought I'd be the last person to give advice on technology leadership but after thinking about it, why not. I held about 10 different positions in technology over the past 30 years and each time was to take on a new challenge in a different business industry. I have always found it interesting going into a new organization and learn about the business I was supporting and how technology fits as a proactive and contributing service that delivers solid results. I also found that was not easy to do. In many cases, I came into situations that ranged from disastrous to hearing comments such as "nobody likes IT and we do it ourselves." I always looked at these challenges as great opportunities if I can turn things around and build a culture that embodies the goals of the organization fused with technology. That's what I think I'm good at, turning things around.The strategy I've used when I go into an organization is low key. I look at the landscape of the organization, have stand up meetings as I call them (no more than 15 minute meetings) with peers in the organization and get to know them and the business culture and their pain points. Everyone uses computers connected to networks, servers, and the Internet. This is common for most organizations. What makes it different OPINIONIN MY
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