The CTO trying to buy an IT vendor solution that he knew was right but couldn’t get it over the line in the C Suite — how we did it

“The CEO is familiar with X IT system from another company he worked at and he doesn’t want this new IT system, even though the system I’m trying to implement is fit for purpose for our company size and the IT scope. How do I get our CEO to agree with this new system?”

That’s the question I got from a CTO trying to buy an IT vendor solution that he knew was right but couldn’t get it over the line in the C Suite.

The reason the CEO is not approving this is because they feel safe with the system that didn’t get them in trouble before, even though that very system could get them in trouble now because it doesn’t work for this company size and scope.

But they don’t know that!

You as the CTO know that!

So your job now is to become curious about what is it about the previous system that makes the CEO feel safe and demonstrate how that worked for that company, but will not work for this one.

You also have to talk about what risks there are with that system and how these would be mitigated by this new system.

Every decision anyone makes is emotional, they’re just justifying it with facts that suit them.

Show them the story of how the previous system was great somewhere else there but the risks it would create if implemented here and… you’ve got the deal!!

Don’t keep banging on about how great the new system is as that’s not what it’s about.

It’s about the risk to the business posed by said system!

Is it possible to turn someone around with facts without changing their feelings?

#ceo #cio #cto #procurement #reengineeringleadership

Photo: From CTO Craft Conference 2023