For the past 30-plus years, technology has tortured us. It's always too little, too late, and costs too much. In the anticipation and excitement of the new, it's easy to forget the past. Don't. Never forgive. Never forget. Make sure the gain is worth the pain. Wait to upgrade existing technology until you can hardly stand it. 

That's a scary question to ask yourself. But unless you do, your boss may decide to ask it himself. And that will be scarier by far. If you think you may be replaced, you might as well replace yourself (with your new-and-improved self) and get your boss thinking about how you are the answer to his prayers rather than the cause of his problems. 

IT should be managed as an investment, not as an expense. The only factors that should gate IT spending are the quality of the investment opportunities and the capacity of the organization to manage IT-enabled change. When it comes to IT, it takes money to make money and it takes money to save money. CIOs that are doing their jobs will spend whatever budget they have and will keep asking for more.  

IT is at a crossroads - it needs to either figure out how to bring shadow IT out of the dark - and into the light - or risk being marginalized as increasingly tech-friendly business leaders take innovation into their own hands. Shadow IT reflects a need. Rather than shutting it down, IT should be building it up.  

Have you heard the latest? The CFO is the new CIO. In some companies, CFOs are assuming responsibility for IT.Technology may be getting easier to use, but managing IT is getting harder. Exploiting technology is a full-time job best guided by a seasoned pro. The CFO, they believe, can provide the necessary central coordination to ensure that IT-enabled investments generate value and that IT is operating in a cost-effective, high quality, and secure manner. 

Jerks get the job done but leave misery in their wake. Here are five strategies for managing difficult-but-talented employees, and what to do if they don't work.     Talented jerks. Every organization has them. They're knowledgeable and relentless. They're the "go-to" resource whenever there's a crisis or an important project. They get things done but they leave bruises... 

Mamas, don't let your children grow up to be Steve Jobs. His style of leadership produced misery as well as value. It doesn't have to be that way. There are those who believe that his products and his temperament were inextricably linked, and that he could not have accomplished what he did without being -- in many ways -- an ass. But I believe it's possible to be focused, control-oriented, and fanatical about one's work without being mean. 

At a conference I attended, one of the speakers observed that venture capitalists (VCs) are rejecting any and all business plans that include capital spending for IT. Their rationale is all about focus and flexibility. "Pay as you go" IT (enabled through cloud services such as software-as-a-service, platform-as-a-service, and infrastructure-as-a-service) free management to focus on the product, not the plumbing.... 

There's a gap between IT supply and demand into which money tumbles, never to be seen again. CFOs can help close that gap (and rescue that cash) by leveraging their non-IT workforce's increasing technical sophistication. Also, changing the IT organizational model may help narrow the gap. It could free up some of the specialized resources in IT so that it will be able to focus on higher-value opportunities. 

The Internet has shifted the balance of power in the marketplace to the customer, and dramatic, albeit unknown, changes to your business model are required.A huge IT project is rolling down the rails, hell-bent for disaster. What can you do to apply the brakes or switch to a safer track? An open leadership question for CFOs.