Last CIO Standing: Joke Contest

As I've said several times, I'm committed to passing along every CIO joke -- both by and about CIOs -- that I hear. Unfortunately, I don't have a joke this time. But I do have a little bit of insight that concerns a certain top technology executive's sense of humor -- or lack thereof.It's based on InformationWeek's CIO Effectiveness Survey 2007. To try and gauge the characteristics of highly effective CIOs, InformationWeek queried more than 700 business executives, not only CIOs and VPs of IT but also IT managers and staff, senior corporate managers (CXOs such as CEOs, CFOs, and COOs), and line-of-business managers. The complete results of the survey will be published on Dec. 10. But here's a small slice:

Which of the following personal characteristics would you like to see your CIO improve?

Better public speaker: CIO/VP -- 44% IT M/S -- 41% CXO -- 40% LOB -- 63%

Better sense of humor/better joke teller: CIO/VP -- 22% IT M/S -- 35% CXO -- 14% LOB -- 33%

Obviously, you might benefit from sharpening your stand-up skills, at least as far as your colleagues are concerned. So, how about a joke-off? Here's an easy one -- complete this old standby:

How many CIOs does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Be nice! No profanity, obscenity, or (gratuitous) derogatory remarks. The best submission will win an InformationWeek/CIOs Uncensored tschochke. Winners will be judged on originality, wit, and verisimilitude.

Stay tuned for more insights from InformationWeek's CIO Effectiveness Survey 2007.