In an interview, Modruson said that IT managers obviously must touch on technical terms when meeting with business managers. "It's a matter of knowing your audience and of putting things in context," Modruson said. "It you want to provide MPLS, don't start right off talking about, say, hardware and refresh rates. Instead, start by talking about how telecom costs will go down with MPLS, perhaps. Position IT as a benefit."

Does Modruson still rely on PowerPoint presentations to make his appeals for new projects? "Yes, but not as much," he said. One way to bolster executive briefings that involve slides is to have white papers available that explain arcane topics in ways nontechnical readers will understand, he said.