Earlier in January of 2011, I had an opportunity to interact again with the well known technology CIO (Chief Information Officer) Kamalesh Dwivedi, in the land of rising Sun. Kamalesh is truly a CIO for the global companies, as clearly evident from his success in a very short time at the Japanese company, BellSystem24, head quartered in the heart of Tokyo. He lives in Tokyo, a long way from his adopted hometown of Denver, Colorado in US and his parental village Kesath, Bihar, India (population 5000-6000). In just over five months in Tokyo, he already communicates in broken, simple Japanese with the leaders on his staff. The seven lessons of success that he practices, based on my observations, hearing and interpretation are:

1. Focus – Remain focused, keep executives and other people focused around few things that can be accomplished successfully.
2. Mentor – Mentor leaders, peers and technology leaders. Ingrain the language of business in technology leaders.
3. Flexible – Be flexible in accommodating the needs of the customers (internal or external).
4. Communicate – Communicate, communicate and communicate often at all levels of organizations, the projects, programs that are in focus.
5. Brand ambassador – Be a brand ambassador for the company, not just yourself or your organization or your unit.
6. Marketing – Marketing is one of most important key  to success for any business or unit. So market internally (as a CIO) effectively.
7. Celebrate – Celebrate often with the team and extended team for both minor and major accomplishments.