The Technology Doesn't Matter

CHAPTER 6Managing Sideways

I've spent a lot of time in this book talking about the need to align the technology strategy with the business strategy and how business leaders and technology leaders can more effectively relate to each other. But the underlying objective is to help both sides understand that technology is not separate from the business. Technology is the business. Sure, IT is a distinct function within a company, just like HR, accounting, sales, and all the other functional units. Each of those functions has its own need to align its strategy to the business objectives, and each may also have its own challenges in relating to its business partners throughout the company. That challenge is not unique to IT.

That reminds me of a fun story. (Warning: here comes a tangent that is only loosely related to the topic at hand.) I once had a week-long business trip to France to visit a division of the company I was working for at the time and train their sales team on our new e-commerce platform. While I was there, my host for the week was the general manager, a proud Frenchman from the Brittany region. But the head of sales was also in town for my training session, and he was from Great Britain. He also seemed to feel responsible for showing me around in the evenings. So, every night after the workday ended, these two gentlemen took me sightseeing and out to dinner—the French GM with an operations background and the English sales director. That week was, without a doubt, ...