"Never let 'it's hard' be the reason that you don't tackle tough issues," says Matt Lynch, senior vice president and CIO at ShopKo Stores Inc. in Green Bay, Wis. Lynch sets very high standards and helps his people reach them.

He advises building a master plan. "The thing to do with the future is not to forecast it, but to create it. The objective of planning is to envision a desirable future and to invent ways of bringing it about," he says.

Lynch is quick to qualify this with a warning to "be constantly on guard against the pursuit of perfection." He also says, "People respond to challenges that are achievable. They truly flourish when they stop fighting fires and apply their talents to making measurable progress in driving IT and the business to the next level."

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Retention: This time it's personal