Scandal has rocked the world of business success research. Turns out a Harvard scholar has fabricated findings, and he is not alone. 

The field isn’t tucked away in a sleepy corner. It’s highly influential, their teachings cited in best sellers, TED talks, airport books,and television shows. 

Turns out we may need to rethink if procrastination makes you more creative or that you are better off with less choices (I never believed that, but hey, it’s what the science said).

Unless it didn’t.

How do we cut through the claims and build confidently and competently?

The Problem With Headlines

Have you been to a conference, heard a person lay out the strategy for their success, then try to apply it back home only to have it end in a disaster?

Have you read recently that AI has already peaked?

Did you hear that remote work is more productive? Did you hear that remote work is less productive?

The issue with headlines and headliners is context,

Theirs may not be yours.

I live in Denver. You have to take elevation into account when you bake. If I only go by the recipe someone wrote in Death Valley, I’m in trouble.

CIOs provide CEOs with context. Your CEO is bombarded with voices, opinions, studies and headlines. Left to themselves, all that clamor conflicts, confuses, and complicates decisions they will need to make.

Like A Fine Wine

I’ve met young leaders who are wise beyond their age. At the same time, there is a reason that phrase exists.

You find few substitutes for experience. Experience has, over time, seen a lot of different contexts. Leaders with experience lean on insights they have gained in different times, places, and circumstances. They certainly trust hard-earned wisdom over formulas or sciences of success. 

You have learned best from leaders who are very intuitive. They see what others can’t and sniff out what others never sense.

CEOs provide CIOs the benefit of their experience. 

Consumption Not Assumption

You cannot assume that CIOs are giving their CEOs context or that CEOs are giving their CIOs wisdom.

Such commitment requires being intentional. 

To the CEO:

How are you meeting with your CIO and imparting the benefit of your experience for their own leadership development and team success?

Who do they have, along with you, that can help them see, think, do, and sniff differently? (Think peer groups, mentors, coaches, and consultants)

How and when do you ask questions of your CIO in order to learn about technology and developments in the industry?

As much as I have appreciated good books or talks my leaders recommended to me, the lessons I remember best were spent over coffee or lunch with them when they relaxed and just shared from their life experiences. 

And, in turn, I felt pretty good when I could educate them on something outside of their experience.

Anything short of CEOs and CIOs sharing context and experience is scandalous.

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