Misaligned priorities

I probably wrote “aligning tech with business goals” so often on LinkedIn that it’s a meme by now.

It’s always fascinating to see how quickly a CEO can rapid-fire what their top priorities are.

Often, after I poke around for a while, it turns out that no one is taking those seriously.

One person builds the “top priority” thing in his spare time while others fight fires and deal with daily work.

Why is that?

I’ve found the cause to be a disconnect between business and tech (but can also include other departments).

A lack of transparency and silo-mentality are the usual culprits.

Then, side effects like low motivation or inexperience can compound those effects.

To fix it, you must first fix communication.

Define the “top priorities” and turn them into actionable goals based on reality and supported by numbers, not would-be-nice fantasies.

Then, you must let the team know—down to the junior engineers.

Good leadership in key positions is needed to translate those goals into their domains, such as sales, tech, and product.

There needs to be the capacity to act on those initiatives. If everyone is burning the midnight oil, just keeping the lights on, you won’t move an inch.

If you do all that successfully, you ignite a spark that moves people into action.

And motivated people produce spectacular results.

P.S. If you know a CEO of an SMB with an engineering team of 5-15 people, I’m doing market research for a new product, and I would love to do a 15-minute interview with them. I’d appreciate an intro! Just hit reply if someone comes to mind. Thanks!

Best regards,

Taj