The Technology Doesn't Matter

CHAPTER 1The Problem

Sitting across the desk from this accomplished business leader, I could sense his frustration. Matt is the senior executive overseeing a group of relatively diverse businesses, while also managing mergers and acquisitions for the stakeholders. He is a seasoned financial leader who has led the successful turnaround of struggling companies. This guy is a problem solver, and he knows what he's doing when it comes to business management. But he is at a loss for how solve this problem.

“I've got a bunch of business leaders who don't understand technology, and a bunch of IT leaders who don't understand business. So they don't talk to each other. And that means I don't have a clear picture of what risks and opportunities we have relative to technology. I also don't know if we are investing in the right things and getting the value we expect out of our investments in technology.”

Matt knows that technology is a critical factor for the success of any business today—and not just the practical application of leading-edge technology solutions. He understands that technology could be, no, must be, a strategic asset to each of the companies in his portfolio. But despite his success in other areas, he doesn't know how to align the business and technology strategies. That's what he hired me to do.

This wasn't the first time I'd walked into such a situation. In fact, every new role I've taken on for the past 25 years has been a turnaround project. In the beginning, I was ...