September 19, 1994
Issue: 493
Section: Book Review

The CIO's Machiavelli --
An intriguing look at how information technology
has influenced corporate politics

By Bruce Caldwell

The Politics Of Information Management.
By Paul Strassmann
(The Information Economics Press, 800-800-0448, 1994, $49)

Paul Strassmann's most recent book, The Politics Of Information Management, is a lot like the author's home in New Canaan, Conn. Both are amply adorned with historical and literary artifacts.

``I have always been interested in how the written word influences power,'' says Strassmann. That interest was evident in two of his previous books as well, Information Payoff-The Transformation Of Work In The Electronic Age (1984) and The Business Value Of Computers (1990). His latest book will be available Oct. 15, and like the others, is self-published.

More Than Academic

Strassmann has lectured widely, from the Imperial College in London to the National Defense University in Washington, but his interest in his subjects and information technology is more than academic. Strassmann served as director of defense information at the Defense Department from 1991 to 1993, where he oversaw a $10 billion annual budget for information technology and laid the groundwork for a $35 billion cost-reduction program.

But sparring with generals over plans to shrink their empires was actually less intense, Strassmann says, than the political battles he participated in at Xerox Corp. and the other companies where he held high-level information systems positions.

Despite that disclaimer, Strassmann's latest book was born of the realization that the military officers he dealt with at Defense were more concerned about the organizational consequences of systems integration than in Strassmann's arguments about why such integration made sense and was a means to an end.

Don't look for gossipy tidbits in the 500-plus pages of The Politics Of Information Management. The hefty volume, leavened with cartoons, ironic footnotes, and a satirical glossary, is a serious study of the evolution of politics in information management.

Although it's modeled after Machiavelli's The Prince, the classic Renaissance guide to power and political intrigue, Strassmann's book reflects the views of a Jeffersonian democrat, advising readers on how to apply democratic principles to the management of information to survive corporate politics.

Strassmann's own experiences provide the book's best lessons. For example, he notes that he went against the tide at Kraft General Foods Inc. in the 1960s by buying a Honeywell Inc. computer instead of an IBM machine. That made him an excellent job candidate for an information technology position at Xerox, which was trying to compete with IBM in the late 1960s.

This won't be the last word from Strassmann. A fourth book, The Alignment Of Information Management With Business Planning, will be published next year. Offering detailed economic analysis of 200 major corporations and their use of information technology, the book will focus on the quantitative underpinnings of Strassmann's management theories.

More In The Pipeline

In addition, a slim paperback volume of the epigrams, cartoons, and glossary from The Politics Of Information Management will come out in February. Next September, Strassmann will publish a book on information warfare, just as he begins teaching a new round of classes at the National Defense University. Addressing the needs of the post-Cold War military, the book will explain how to render your enemies ``deaf, blind, and stupid.'' No doubt it will be recommended reading for those who didn't heed the tips in Strassmann's earlier books.