Educating Non-Tech Execs about Tech (In 5 Hours or Less)

[JMaguire]

Tech expert Steve Andriole gives advice for communicating with non-tech bosses about the needs of the tech department:

http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/col...le.php/3697601

Andriole writes:

"First, it occurs to me that the program should be designed to be delivered as a whole or in parts, or in abbreviated form, with all of the parts compressed into a single presentation. Why all this fidgeting with the pieces? Because senior executives have ADD and there’s no way to predict how long they’ll sit still or how much time they’ll actually commit to learning more about technology."

What do you think? What's the best way to inform management about technology?

[shackledupgto]

Focus on benefits, not features. For example, if you're talking about disk mirroring, and your audience is the CFO, don't go into technical details about how the mirroring actually works. Liken it to keeping a spare set of keys, for example. Talk about how mirroring helps keep the data safe, by keeping a spare set around.