The ideal IT environment exceeds the enterprise's strategic goals while nurturing the individual to achieve exceptional productivity and job satisfaction. The ideal IT environment is rare, but it does exist -- at Standard & Poor's. In this book, the CIO of S&P's Credit Market Services IT organization and one of Sun's leading consultants show you exactly how to achieve the same extraordinary results within your IT organization. Through actual examples from Standard & Poor's, the authors provide both intuitive "rules of thumb" and an intellectual framework for building and running an outstanding IT organization. This book goes beyond talk, showing exactly how to build IT organizations that manage technology as a strategic asset, partner with the business, build a culture based on shared values, create exceptional value -- and are recognized for it throughout the organization. Ken Moskowitz and Harris Kern show how to manage both risks and expectations; how to establish and deepen partnerships throughout the enterprise; how to build a track record of success; and how to create an IT organization full of people who actually look forward to Monday morning. For all IT executives, IT line managers, and line-of-business managers seeking to maximize the value IT adds to the enterprise.