As we move boldly into the next decade, we see technology playing a growing role in everyday life. OK, so maybe that statement is a no-brainer, but it’s one that CIOs need to hear. As technology continues to move from the basement of business to the front line, the CIO is increasingly on the spot to demonstrate business ideas – not just technology-focused ideas that support business initiatives, but technology ideas that propel business initiatives. This presents a bit of a challenge for them. We tend to praise good CIOs with terms like “dependable,” “analytical,” and “exact.” In 2011 and beyond, CIOs need to add terms like “persuasive,” and “visionary” to their list of power terms. Let’s face it, when it comes to presenting ideas, many CIOs have the charisma of a math teacher. They need to start thinking like Mad Men.

This is not to say that they should start smoking, drinking and womanizing. But they can learn quite a bit from the colorful blokes on the TV show, who understand that it’s really “in the presentation.” 

As a group, CIOs tend to be a pretty rational lot. However, they need to recognize that, when it comes to selling their ideas, the visual and emotional connection may be more important than the cerebral one – often a big pill to swallow for a C-level set that relishes logic, order and perfection. However, the jump to “Chief Information Persuader” may not be as monumental a leap as you’d think for many. Here are a few ideas to get started:

Get visual. You may be thinking, “But my PowerPoint presentations are visual…” Are they? Do they employ images that tell the story of how your proposal will improve the lives of your customers, employees and shareholders? Or do they read like a math textbook? The only people who understand math textbooks are mathematicians – the rest of us might as well be reading Latin. Likewise, don’t think that charts, graphs and stats will sell your ideas. Rather, use imagery that communicates the essence of your idea, or what it will mean in real terms to the people you serve.

Talk in layman’s terms. If the least technically challenged person in your audience doesn’t understand what you’re talking about, you’ve failed already. Take a lesson from the math teacher. Math is easy for them, so they tend to overestimate their audience’s capacity for understanding it, which is of course why the vast majority of their students have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about. Mad Men, on the other hand, understand that in order to make the emotional connection that sells the idea, you’ve got to speak in universal terms. 
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Channel the Inner IT Child. The emotional component, after all, is already there. Who is more passionate about technology than someone who has dedicated their life to it? More than likely, you’ve trained yourself to look at solutions dispassionately, like a scientist. While this may be vital to your work, “dispassion” can’t even sell fudge sickles in the Sahara. Think back to when you were a kid and got excited about technology to the point that you wanted to make it your life’s work…and deliver that to your audience.

In the coming agile era of enterprise IT, CIOs will spend less time on maintenance, and more time thinking about how technology propels business and offers a golden opportunity to guide company direction…if they can sell their ideas. This doesn’t mean that they need to, or even should, sacrifice one iota of objectivity or analytical prowess. It does mean, however, that they need to take a few pointers from those who masterfully sell their ideas. And remember, these folks aren’t called “Rational Men” or “Men Who Appeal to Our Higher Intellect.” They’re called “Mad Men” for a reason.

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Article first published on Examiner.com.