What can the CTO do when the board asks them to implement the latest tech fad?

CTO’s job is to explain: “Why this new tech IS or IS NOT good for our business”.

Non technical CXOs often get swept up into these hot tech terms (e.g. AI, blockchain, cryptocurrency, etc) their investors or competitors talk about and ask their CTOs “to do something about it”.

Instead of stepping up to show why this is or is not good for business, CTOs often feel like they have to come up with something.

Instead of seriously considering the business impact of adopting AI for their business, many CTOs panic and feel cornered “to implement something with AI”.

What they should be doing is think about the following:

Is it going to impact the bottom line:

Helping customer acquisition or hindering?

Is it going to increase the rate of customers abandoning carts?

Or reduce the number of complaints?

Or increase the number of complaints?

What is your reaction as a CTO when the CEO/board say “we should do something with [insert latest tech key word]”?

#cto #ceo #board