"Preparing for multiple corners and multiple unknowns and questioning the conventional wisdom is important," Maloney says. "You need to open the window on scenario planning and not bet the farm on one thing occurring."

5. Start using social systems yourself

CIOs who use social software won't get caught out in meetings and might come up with new ideas on the cheap but it's important get your hands dirty.

"Show you're investing time in using it yourself," Mahoney advises. "Someone can tell you what it's like to eat a nice cheese or walk through the entrance of the Taj Mahal but it's not the same as doing it yourself."

6. Start taking cloud computing seriously