It’s Not OK to be Ignorant About Technology Anymore
So says Forrester’s Research Chairman and Chief Executive Officer George Colony. (HT The Magic Software Blog)
Business leaders need to know finance. They need to know the pulse of marketing and sales and operations. But too often when it comes to technology, leaders can be content to let “that guy” handle it.
Such an approach made some sense 10+ years ago, when technology was on the periphery of many businesses. But today technology is so closely intertwined with business goals that it has become mission critical.
This underlines Colony’s main point, that technology has ceased to be primarily about information and is now about business.
Colony stresses that business technology:
- Increases revenue
- Reduces overhead
- Expands market share
These are core concerns of a business leader, and in today’s business world they require familiarity with business technology.
You don’t need to be a techie. Frankly, it’s probably best not to be, so there is no temptation to get into the details of the technology itself. There’s no need to be able to parse SaaS or LAMP. But there is a need to know what relevant business technology is out there for your company, so you can drive innovation.
Where do you start?
Get an educator.
Someone who can explain technology in business terms instead of technology terms. Yes, they need to speak the language of technology, but they also have to speak business and plain English.
Technology is mission critical, and it’s not OK to be ignorant anymore.
A video of Colony’s presentation is below.
