Though CEOs regularly meet and work with finance, sales and operations teams, they typically have a much less hands-on role in the IT division — much to the detriment of the entire organization.
A recent Harvard Business Review article suggests that when software bugs and other tech-related issues are immediately reported to the CEO, not only are those issues resolved more quickly, but overall IT operations ultimately run smoother as well. In the 1990s, both IBM and Microsoft suffered from serious quality issues related to recurring software bugs; per HBR, as soon as their respective CEOs issued stern calls to action, performance turned around and customer satisfaction began to rise.
CEOs should take the lead in establishing a quality management system. When initiating a proactive IT environment, two simple questions will help executives immediately understand just how effective each piece of software is: "What criteria was used to determine when the product was ready to be shipped?" and "What is the current defect status after the first six months?"
With a system in place to ensure executive oversight of IT operations, "the CEO is unlikely to see many old bugs simply because of the fact that nobody wants to give the same excuse two months in a row," according to HBR.
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