Demand for people with these skills far outstrips supply, so CIOs must get creative. One option is to give IT training to qualified business professionals.

You first have to identify managers who have a passion for business systems and confirm that they have good logical-or even engineering-skills that you can build on with IT coursework. This may be easier than convincing technology professionals to expand their skills, because they may find it difficult to acquire the necessary communication and negotiation expertise.

Another option is to hire business students with minors in management information systems who have attended schools with a strong IT faculty in their business school. Getting involved with funding internships and starting leadership programs will give CIOs the opportunity to get the best students.

Then it's up to you to keep this next generation of IT leaders motivated-and helping your company innovate.