| Regardless of whether a company uses Outsourced | | | | in code. To put it another way, executives don't need |
| IT or in house employees, eventually executives will be | | | | to know about the sausage making, just the sausage. |
| called upon to make an IT decision. | | | | IT should present clear information on the total cost of |
| The server needs a new hard drive; the network | | | | ownership, risks, the amount of change the users will |
| needs new switches; the acronym of the day is being | | | | go through, timeline and some other broad ideas. |
| acrimonious. Executives need to handle these | | | | 3. New projects should begin with business problems, |
| situations well, but in many cases, they aren't | | | | not solutions- IT projects should never be justified after |
| comfortable getting technical. | | | | the fact. Step 1 is recognizing the problem. Step 2 is |
| This leads to the feeling of being held hostage by IT. | | | | setting goals. Step 3 is building requirements and criteria |
| The executive can only rubber stamp their | | | | for evaluating solutions. Step 4 is considering the |
| recommendation. Even worse, some executives | | | | various options. After all of that, make a decision on |
| decide not to decide. They play defense and fix only | | | | product. |
| things that are entirely broken. | | | | 4. Don't buy toys- Companies that don't follow point 3 |
| Like night into day, this leads to costlier expenses and | | | | often end up trying to justify owning a toy. IT playthings |
| downtime. More importantly, technology acts like a | | | | are distractions without purpose. If the project or |
| utility, not a tool, and the advantages technology should | | | | product doesn't tick off a clear objective, don't invest in |
| provide are lost. | | | | it. |
| Executives make better business decisions than IT | | | | 5. Get involved before the budget is submitted- |
| decisions, and with these principles in mind, they can | | | | Constant communication between the executive and |
| turn nearly any IT decision into something more | | | | IT is critical for aligning IT Strategy with business |
| palatable. | | | | objectives and plans. Constant executive involvement |
| | | | drives IT to find solutions for problems and make |
| 1. Don't troubleshoot an IT problem- Executives are not | | | | bigger contributions to the company. |
| IT people, and shouldn't be involved in the process of | | | | 6. Clearly set expectations for IT- Don't settle for |
| identifying the causes and solutions of IT problems. | | | | stable IT. Of course it should work. Of course the |
| That diagnosis needs to come from people with | | | | server shouldn't crash. With today's technology, this is |
| technical backgrounds. Executives decide between | | | | a given. Don't settle for it. IT should also create |
| options, risks, and expenses, not brands, hardware | | | | business advantages, solve business problems, and |
| specifications, and theory. | | | | automate processes. |
| 2. Gather plenty of the right kind of information- | | | | The most important point is to avoid being intimidated |
| Executives need to know the layman's understanding | | | | with IT. This will help you get the most for your |
| of what is going on; they shouldn't immerse themselves | | | | investment and do the most for your company. |