CIO Magazine has delivered their annual "State of the CIO" article covering a survey of nearly 600 CIOs and aggregating the responses into an overall view of the profession.

The best part of the article is the first two pages, where we are told to stop talking about innovation, ROI, and alignment. Amen! You don't have to talk about it if you're in there doing it. All of those things should be givens for corporate CIOs. I'm a consultant, I get to talk about that stuff (usually to CIOs who have not yet gotten the memo). The rest of you guys, give it a rest. Make it happen or go home.

The rest of the article delves into the facts and figures of the responses and reveals some interesting trends. More CIOs than ever are reporting directly to the CEO-that's good, although at only 41% there is huge room for improvement. Interestingly, there are more CIO-labeled positions than ever, as well. That's surprisingly considering other recent trends.

Aside from that, there is the expected news about how radically they are all reforming their organization's accounting, finance, and supply chain processes, usually single-handedly and with fresh-baked cookies served alongside. This is what you get when you ask people to self-report on their accomplishments, of course. But it's positive that they are in positions where they can at least attempt these major efforts and one hopes that the outcomes are as rosy as they foresee.