I need salespeople to sell
I get frustrated some times when they sell the wrong thing, and I have to figure out a solution, but overall, my salary depends on having sales people focus on selling.
Similarly, I want my controller to focus on the numbers.
There are exceptions. I remember a time when the CIO of a company I was working for was fired, and the CFO stepped in until a replacement was found. I sat in a HW review with the CFO and the directsors of IT talking about some of the issues. He blew them away when he quickly analysed and dismissed some of their less thought out solutions. Thet didn't know that before he got a business degree and an accounting designation that he was an engineer. He lead the meeting by walking up to the white board and diagramming things out.
Much depends on the kind of business you are in. Certainly if you expect to use technology as a strategic tool, you should know something about it. Wal Mart execs, for example, rely heavily on their tech, and most know it well. Other businesses rely less on tech, and for them, the non IT gang should be able to rely on the counsel they get from IT.
James
