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Decision Making

Industry Articles

Why Layered Approval Fails Technology Leaders... And The Levers That Reverse It

Technology decisions often stall inside an approval chain nobody designed on purpose, even when ownership of the decision is completely clear. This article separates decision rights from approval architecture and names the specific levers, from collapsing redundant sign-offs to running independent reviews in parallel, that rebuild an approval chain for speed without lowering the organization's risk standard.
Scott Smeester
July 28, 2026
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Why CIOs Avoid Explicit Tradeoffs... And Why It Hurts Them

CIOs routinely omit the one piece of information executives need most: what is being given up to fund the ask. The executive room reads that omission as incomplete prioritization, and adjusts trust accordingly. The CIOs who declare the sacrifice ... and stand behind the call ... earn a kind of credibility that thorough analysis alone cannot produce.
Scott Smeester
March 2, 2026
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What Most CIOs Get Wrong About C Suite Peer Groups

Most executive peer groups reward comfort and validation. CIOs who settle for affirmation over structured confrontation are weakening their decision quality and eroding the political capital they need when it matters most.
Scott Smeester
February 17, 2026
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Leadership Blogs

When To Quit On Your CEO

The winning is in quitting.

Scott Smeester

April 17, 2025

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It's Not The Blind Spots That Get You

Why you aren’t seeing what you need to be seeing is different from not seeing

Scott Smeester

February 20, 2025

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The CIO's Answer To Overwhelm

You can only accomplish so much. The answer isn’t saying no.

Scott Smeester

January 30, 2025

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