How can the board of directors guide the business to leverage technology for a sustainable competitive advantage?
Influence of the Board
The board of directors represents the shareholders and is responsible for the oversight of management’s actions. They guide and approve the company’s strategy and budget, and the board establishes governance to ensure fiduciary responsibility.
I’ve reported to boards for more than 20 years as a seated executive and consultant. They are all different in terms of focus and level of engagement. But two things nearly all of them have in common are a desire to better understand how the company can leverage technology and how to challenge and guide IT.
These questions are particularly important today as businesses are facing digital transformation to remain competitive. Frankly, your company’s survival may depend on its ability to leverage technology.
How can we help the board understand the strategic value of technology? What tools can we give them to challenge management to create a differentiated customer experience and a sustainable competitive advantage?
Leveraging IT
This series of articles, over the next several weeks, will present a comprehensive approach to improving business outcomes by better utilizing technology. This is not a technical guide. Rather, it is a handbook for board members and senior executives. Remember, you don’t need to understand technology, but you must understand what technology can do for your business.
We will discuss the relationship between IT and the rest of the business, including the board. We’ll also explore how to embed technology into the business strategy and measure its impact. And we’ll present the questions the board can ask management, including the CIO, to challenge them to leverage technology and demonstrate the results. We’ll show how to do all this without needing technical prowess.
If you are a board member, senior executive, CIO, or IT leader, you should gain a lot of insight from this series.
As always, if you want more information or don’t want to wait for all the upcoming articles, email Emily Ford at Emily@WolffStrategy.com and she’ll be happy to set up a complimentary 30-minute consultation with me.
Larry Wolff is the founder & CEO of Wolff Strategy Partners, a boutique consulting firm specializing in Enterprise Strategy Management, Digital Transformation, IT Leadership, and Executive Coaching. Larry has served as CEO, COO, CIO, Chief Digital Officer, and management consultant for public, private, international, and emerging growth companies. His specialties include corporate and IT strategic planning, technology led business transformation, business and IT turnarounds, merger integration and large-scale project rescues. His methodologies span industries and scale to companies of all sizes.
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