Technical Debt and its Consequences

“Wayne Sadin on Digital Strategy” episodes explore the fast-changing and high-stakes world of digital business. We focus in particular on what CEOs and boards must do to lead their companies successfully into the Digital Age. Today, we talk frankly about the recent Capital One data breach, whether AWS bears any responsibility for it, and how companies of all sizes should be thinking about security and the cloud.

Episode 8

In this episode Wayne and I discuss technical debt. I ask him is this technical debt in the financial sense of debt – or is it because you haven’t made the investments to keep up with modern technology? Wayne says it’s the latter. He says technical debt keeps you from delivering and executing on all the business strategies that leaders want and need.

Wayne quotes a CEO as saying, “My Windows XP computer boots up every day, so what’s wrong?” He compares it to a P-51 Mustang fighter plane from WWII. Yes, Wayne says, you could do that – but if you go head-to-head against a Chinese MiG, who would win? Hackers, he says, are flying MiGs.

Wayne goes on to say that Russell Reynolds coined the term “QTE,” which stands for qualified technology executive – an individual possessing a high degree of current technology-relevant domain experience. It was modeled after the Sarbanes-Oxley QFE – a qualified financial expert.

Finally, he puts a plug in for the Digital Directors Network run by Bob Zuckis at USC. Membership is free for board-qualified technology and cybersecurity experts and corporate directors who want to develop their digital diversity skills in the corporate boardroom.

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