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Nine Signs Your CEO Is Clueless About IT

By Don Reisinger on 2011-08-09


You may take the view that the world is divided into two distinct tribes, one made up of those who understand the value of IT, and the other made up of those who absolutely do not. Chances are, your company employs people belonging to each tribe. Those in the former tribe respect use policies, remember to lock their computers down, and generally adhere to all the rules you’ve established. Those in the latter tribe do nothing of the sort. And, when it’s all said and done, the latter proves to be most troublesome to the state of IT in your company. Unfortunately, some of your worst offenders happen to reside in the C-suite. In fact, in far too many cases, it's your CEO who is most clueless about the value of IT, and as a result commits some of the most egregious blunders. Here are nine signs that you work for a CEO who just doesn't "get it" when it comes to understanding the power of IT in your organization.

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Investing Too Little

You know what it takes to ensure that the solutions used in your company will work properly, and you also realize that it costs money to get the right products. CEOs who don’t invest enough in IT aren't just a problem for you—they jeopardize the future health of your organization.

Expecting Too Much

Whether or not your CEO leans toward frugality, most tend to expect too much from IT. They want every latest and greatest investment to show marked improvement over the last solution, plus throw in some new, advanced features they formerly didn’t have. Sorry, CEOs, that doesn’t happen too often.

Stripping the CIO of Power

You were hired to do a job that, logically, a CEO wouldn’t be able to do. So, why do so many CEOs try and take over your job by making decisions on computers, servers, and other products without asking for or caring about your input?

Hinting At Change

You know the type: They'll walk in to your office and say that they heard from a good friend about a new technology that really benefited their office, and ask you to check it out. In most cases, that technology is something you’ve already checked out and tossed aside as a loser.

Not Following Use Policies

How surprising is it to find your CEO surfing where they shouldn’t, checking Facebook, and using the products you provide them with in ways violate the firm’s use policies? CEOs who don’t pay much attention to use policies aren't only undermining your authority; they're putting your company's data at risk.

Failure to Understand IT's Power

Most CEOs don’t realize how much power you and your IT workers actually have. They don’t fully understand that, in many cases, you can access just about anything you want on the network without any trouble. The fact that many CEOs don’t know this is not a good thing.

Forgoing Patience

When you give your CEO a new smartphone or computer running an updated operating system, they typically expect to be up-and-running out of the gate. They don't acknowledge the need for a learning curve, and tend to leave their patience at the door.

Not Thinking of IT Strategically

IT investments need to be thought out strategically, and spending needs to be done at precise times with insight into what kind of return your company will get on that investment. CEOs who are worried more about the revenue-side of their operation fail to think about the strategic implications of IT investment.

Overlooking the IT Link to Corporate Performance

CEOs don’t always see the potential revenue gains that can come from IT investment. Too often, they simply categorize spending on a new cloud solution or computers as an expense. You'll need to help them understand that investing in technologies to enhance employee productivity improves your company’s chances of generating increased revenue. IT is an investment—not just an expense.

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