How CIO's are Effectively Aligning

Recently I read with interest, a CIO Insight article involving Jeff Kubacki from Kroll Inc. He reviews a few tricks he's learned over the years about collaboration and getting projects approved by all key stakeholders.

Is Jeff getting it right with his peers? Is Jeff getting it right with his vendors? His teams? Are collaborative standards far behind? What are your thoughts? Here is the link:

Link: Kroll's CIO on Effective Alignment

Purchasing Has Been Trained

By now we all know that purchasing stakeholders have been trained to commoditize you and your offering. They are being told to NOT disclose needs to vendors. They are being told to ask for discounts over and over again. They are going to dinner or playing golf with you becasue it's free NOT because they are going to buy from you necessarily.

What are you doing to overcome commoditization and build strategic business value in yourself and your company?