When Code Meets the Corner Office: Lessons in Communicating with Non-Tech Leaders
The moment you hear “Why can’t we just...?” from an executive, you’re no longer having a technical discussion. You’re in translation territory.
Years ago, I sat across from a CEO who asked why his team couldn’t just “switch it to cloud” by the end of the month. To him, it was a logistical change—like calling a moving truck.
To us, it was a system rewrite. Legacy dependencies, compliance constraints, unknowns stacked on unknowns.
What struck me wasn’t the gap in understanding. It was that we both thought we were being perfectly clear.
That conversation went sideways because I started from tech context. He started from business urgency. We were speaking two different languages, each assuming the other understood the dialect.
The Pattern
This isn’t a rare misfire. It’s the default condition in most organizations:
- Engineers think in systems, constraints, and edge cases.
- Business leaders think in cost, risk, timelines, and customer value.
And too often, neither side is trained to translate.
The result? Tension. Mistrust. Projects that get scoped poorly, or worse—projects that never needed to happen in the first place.
Practices for Translation
Here’s what I try to practice now when translating tech for business leaders:
Lead with consequences, not components.
“Here’s the risk to the timeline” works better than “the API isn’t stable.”Make space for why their question makes sense.
Even if it’s technically off, it’s usually grounded in something real.Use analogies sparingly—but intentionally.
“We’re swapping the engine mid-flight” is cliché, but effective if paired with specifics.Bridge to the business outcome.
Frame technical decisions around what they enable—or prevent—in terms the business is tracking.
Most importantly: don’t assume shared understanding just because someone nods. Clarify in both directions.
We love to talk about “alignment” in product meetings. But alignment isn’t a checkbox. It’s an ongoing act of translation—and humility.
As CTOs, architects, or consultants, our real power isn’t just in knowing how the system works. It’s in helping others see how it matters.
Let’s sit with that.
Want help turning technical complexity into business clarity? Let’s talk.
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