The Technology Doesn't Matter

Chapter 12Sustaining an Aligned Technology Culture

I started Chapter 1 by telling you about my first conversation with Matt after he hired me into the newly created role of CIO at the Pohlad Companies. Matt laid out the challenge that became the central problem of this book: business leaders who don't understand technology and technology leaders who don't understand the business, and therefore don't communicate well with each other and fail to deliver an aligned technology–business culture.

We then embarked on a journey together to discover the solution to that core problem, approaching it from multiple angles. I shared the story of Mark at Carousel Motor Group and referred to them throughout the book because they were a prime example of the original problem and also a brilliant turnaround success story of what can be achieved when the IT leader and business leaders lean into the work of learning, understanding each other, and building an aligned technology–business culture.

Over the next several chapters, I offered guidance to both business leaders and technology leaders on the behaviors and attitudes that have proven successful for me and people I've worked with and mentored over the years. I also shared stories from fellow CIOs and business leaders from other companies on how they approach the task of creating an aligned technology–business culture.

We started with people, obviously, because the most important part of technology–business alignment is the people. And the ...