Business is business and IT is IT and never the two shall meet. At least that’s how it often seems when a CIO tries to show business management how a technology initiative can lead to tangible benefits.
Helping enterprise business leaders, C-suite colleagues, and boards understand the value inherent in complex new technologies is a challenge most CIOs face from time to time. Rather than focusing on the tech, IT leaders must clearly articulate the business value generated by technology solutions, said Jagjeet Gill, a principal with business advisory firm Deloitte Consulting.
“A CIO … needs to work with other functional leaders in departments like sales, finance, and operations to help other CXOs and the board understand how different tech can help solutions that drive growth and competitive differentiation, address emerging risks, and improve operational performance,” he said.
According to Gill, recent research indicates that tech-savvy enterprise boards perform better than their less knowledgeable counterparts. He says that on average, businesses with tech-savvy individuals on their boards experience 5% greater revenue growth over three years, and 8% better year-over-year stock performance. – year.
Becoming an effective business communicator requires knowledge, commitment, patience, and a large amount of practice. Here are seven tips to help you get started.
1. Speak like a business leader
Speaking the language of the business and having a deep understanding of enterprise needs will bring credibility and, by extension, trust, says Mike Tweedie, CIO practice research lead at Info-Tech Research Group . When business leaders begin to view technology leaders as true partners, they are more likely to engage, be open to change, and trust that promised results will be realized, he explained.
The days when top management viewed IT as a cost center are long gone. “Today, technology must be seen as a business partner and an agent of change,” Tweedie said. “IT leaders are expected to be able to work seamlessly across silos and be enablers for all lines of business, proactively accelerating unprecedented user and customer experiences.”
A CIO should be less of a mentor and more of a guide, says Tweedie. “Understanding the needs of the business – how the widget is made, how it generates value, expected results – is where this relationship develops.”
2. Network with your peers
Carter Busse, CIO at intelligent automation platform provider Workato, emphasizes the importance of networking with management colleagues. Each interaction provides an opportunity to ask questions, listen, and share information and insights. “We don’t have a water cooler in this remote world, but setting up biweekly meetings with my peers helps me understand their priorities and gives me a chance to communicate the basics,” said Busse. “These meetings also help build the trust that is so important for success as a CIO.”
Knowledge communicated to management colleagues must be aligned with the core mission of the business. “As CIOs, we first need to share our business knowledge, followed by how the technology initiatives our team is working on align with the company’s mission,” Busse said. “It’s important to work on a shared level of understanding first to make sure the message gets through.”
3. Give advice and collaborate
Work with key executives one-on-one to build the knowledge and confidence they’ll need to understand current enterprise IT challenges and opportunities. “Then work together to develop an action plan,” advises Suneet Dua, chief product and technology growth officer at business advisory firm PwC.
Every business leader has a different relationship with technology as well as a different level of IT knowledge. Creating personalized discussions, specific to the enterprise and the leader’s role, will help build a more tech-savvy C-suite, which can lead to improved support and adoption of proposed IT solutions.
Before starting a technical discussion, it is important to consider the perspective of the recipient. What are the goals of their department? What do they care? How does the technology or issue fit into the larger business strategy?
Dua believes it’s the CIO’s job to help enterprise leaders connect the dots between IT and their departments’ priorities to achieve business goals more effectively and efficiently. “Providing business leaders with KPIs and expected results will help validate the need for IT improvements and emphasize the expected benefits, which will help drive adoption,” he explains.
Any knowledge sharing should highlight how IT creates value for the entire business. “For example, a discussion on automation should emphasize how it reduces mundane work, allowing employees to work on other tasks and improve overall productivity,” Dua said. “Leaders must always understand the ‘why’ behind a particular technology decision or proposal, because that deeper knowledge can drive disruption, and ultimately, get faster results. adopt.”
4. Support the current business strategy
Knowledge shared with enterprise leaders should include how technology enables business strategy to drive results in areas such as revenue growth, margin improvement, and customer experience. “Explain how proactive budget planning can help avoid business risks in the areas of scalability, reliability, and performance,” advises Deloitte’s Gill.
CIO explanations of tech solutions should include case examples of how features and functionality enable business processes, as well as outline business operational KPIs that the IT solutions can improve, says said Gill.
5. Encourage curiosity and embrace influence
As technology plays a critical role in today’s business, CIOs must actively encourage executives to be open to acquiring IT knowledge. “Currently, many business leaders are not truly committed to understanding the CIO’s perspective or technology-focused topics,” says Helena Nimmo, CIO at software development company Endava.
CIOs start at a disadvantage when discussing technical issues with business leaders, due to the fact that IT is, for many business leaders, a strange and foreign territory. When a CFO, for example, discusses “transfer pricing” during a meeting, most executives may not know all the technical nuances of the topic, but most have a general idea of what is meant. of it and how it affects the business.
“Often, the same level of understanding isn’t shown when CIOs throw around technology terms like ‘agile’ or ‘in place,'” Nimmo said. “CIOs should take advantage of any and all opportunities to explain the context and outputs of technology, because technology is both a necessity and an enabler of overall business functions.”
Whenever a key executive appears reluctant to delve into technology topics, or pushes back on complex issues, Nimmo suggests recruiting key IT team members to step forward and advocate for guidance. their leader. Such individuals can play a trusted influencer role with the tech-challenged executive, helping the leader become more comfortable with key IT issues, he says.
6. Focus on business impact
CIOs describing a proposed initiative should focus on the project’s ultimate business impact as much as, or more than, the technology itself. “Explaining the benefit of a technology, as well as how to use it, will help leaders understand the importance of the digital processes in which they are investing,” said Chris Bedi, CDIO at the cloud-based service provider which is ServiceNow.
Bedi emphasizes the importance of anchoring IT strategies and decision-making in terms of real-time results. “Working with clear, achievable business goals in mind ensures that the desired results are achieved,” he says.
7. Build your business knowledge
Just as enterprise leaders need to acquire IT knowledge, CIOs must work to become more business savvy. “For a CIO to effectively communicate and educate their colleagues, they must also have a clear understanding of business priorities and how the business works,” Gill said. “This understanding will help the CIO effectively advise board members and management on emerging technologies and trends in the marketplace.”
CIO/CXO education should be a two-way street. Work with key executives one-on-one to build the business knowledge and confidence necessary to understand current business needs and goals.