#CIO should feel the business, be on time

Sometimes, the business may not want to move at the same speed that you do. In this case, CIO needs to recognize where the business comfort level is. Do they want to be cutting edge, or are they comfortable being a late adopter of a technology or tool?

Being a late adopter can be a safer approach, while being an early adopter can confer competitive advantage. Yours role as a CIO, isn’t to advocate for either, but to read the organization and understand how best to achieve its goals. This can be frustrating for technology leaders who often are impatient to deploy new technology that will bring new capabilities. Advanced technology is exciting. But your role as CIO isn’t to be excited about the technology. It’s to be excited about your organizations, your missions, and the people you serve.

Besides, every new technology comes at a cost, not only direct but also in effort on the part of both IT and the business. The Cio needs to decide how much of our resources we’re willing to expend to make sure it’s going to work.

Even technology with a lot of benefit has a cost burden associated with implementation and refinement and making sure it meets the needs of the organization. Is the benefit of that advanced technology worth that cost and that lift?

Or would it be better to optimize what the organization is doing with current technology and then adopt the advanced technology later when it’s better suited to move smoothly into the enterprise? That is the question. The Cio should weigh considerations like these all the time. That’s a tradeoff and there’s no right answer.