It seems perfectly natural to me for IT professionals to resist the call to better understand and more fully serve the business. Like many of you, I pursued a career involving technology because I had a keen interest in it, not in business. I believed that IT professionals didn't need business acumen -- a belief that's so widely held within IT's ranks that it has become a dangerous and destructive myth. Sure, I understood that the business's concern was making money, and I wanted IT to support that goal in every way it could. But anything beyond that -- anything proactive rather than reactive -- was not my responsibility.

My wake-up call came during a conversation with a member of the executive committee, whom I reported to. "We're very happy with how the IT function is productive and helping us avoid cost," he told me, and I was glad to hear it. But then he made it clear that the business expected more from us. "We'd be even more pleased if the IT team would occasionally bring us new ways that it could help us improve service and increase revenue." And then the kicker: "Could you see what you could do in that regard?"

My office was in another town, and the drive gave me time to think about that message. My team and I were being asked to introduce beneficial IT changes to improve business results. We were going to be expected to take the lead, whereas until then we had always waited around for new system requirements from the business.