Business Tech Leadership

Leadership development for technology leaders

Respected for your technical leadership, but not yet heard on enterprise decisions?

It's rarely your technical expertise. It's how you connect and influence decisions. That's something you can learn.

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Built on the work of Joe Topinka, three-time CIO of the Year

A small leadership team meets in a glass-walled room while a colleague walks past in the hallway

Why good ideas get stuck

You're right. The business just doesn't hear it that way.

What you say

“This system is past its life. We need to replace it before it fails.”

What they hear

“Another big expense. It can wait.”

So it waits. Then it breaks, and suddenly it's everyone's top priority.

That isn't a technical gap. It's a way of talking about it, and it can be learned. We teach you to put it in the terms the business decides on: what it costs, what it risks, and what it's worth.

A technology leader presents to executives who are looking down at their phones and papers

Who you'd learn from

We've sat in those seats and in those rooms.

Joe Topinka

Joe Topinka

The work behind the program

3xCIO of the Year
25+years as a CIO
2xauthor, a third book coming

Joe has been a CIO for more than 25 years, at Bank of New York, Red Wing Shoes and Snap One, and was named CIO of the Year three times. He is a two-time author with a third book coming, and this program is built on his work. His books:

Graham Hardy

Graham Hardy

Your guide

30M+devices on software he built
$320Mannual product revenue
$1.4Bacquisition he led engineering through

Graham spent his career building technology products, most recently as VP of Engineering at Snap One and Resideo. He built the software behind OvrC, now running on more than 30 million devices, and led engineering through a $1.4 billion acquisition. He guides you through the program.

An experienced leader and a younger colleague talking over coffee

Joe's story

Right about the product. Wrong about the people.

Early in my career I pushed back on a big promise our sales team had made. I thought I was standing for the truth. I left that company frustrated and unheard.

It took a year away to see it. I'd focused on the product and neglected the people. When I went back, I made relationships the priority.

Same company. Same role. Completely different outcome.

Joe Topinka

The program

We teach this through a coaching program

Business Tech Leadership is a coaching program for technology leaders. You learn to put your work in the terms the business decides on, with real assessments, personal time with Joe and a group of peers working on the same thing. It runs in four parts.

1See where you standA self-assessment and StrengthsFinder across eight leadership qualities. Add your boss's view, and the gap becomes your plan.
2Build the plan with JoeOne personal session to go through your results and choose where to focus first.
3Work it with peersSix modules at your pace and a live cohort call every two weeks with your peers.
4Add one-on-one coachingOptional. Work with Joe on your own stalled decision, or on a big moment ahead like a board presentation or a top-job search.

The course

Six things you walk away able to do

The course at the heart of the program is six modules, taken at your own pace.

  • 01
    See how the business sees youEight leadership qualities, rated by the people who work with you.
  • 02
    Build your technology identityFive building blocks that turn experience into a clear position, not talking points.
  • 03
    Sharpen your executive presenceFour components, developed separately, so you know where the real gap is.
  • 04
    Pressure-test your thinkingSix pressure scenarios and five conversation exercises.
  • 05
    Lead the conversationBe seen as a business leader, not only a technology operator.
  • 06
    See What You’re Ready ForPut it all to work in the moments that decide your next role, in your current company or a new one.

Why it matters now

A group of colleagues working through a problem together around a long table

AI now produces analysis, drafts, and recommendations faster than any team I ever led, which puts the leader’s judgment under a brighter light.

Joe Topinka

Three ways to take it

Every option includes the full Complete Program

The Complete Program

Choose this if you want the tools, the assessments and a peer group.

One 1:1 with Joe on your results, biweekly cohort calls, six months of access.

Plus coaching

Choose this if you have a situation to work, like a stalled project.

Six 1:1 sessions with Joe, one every two weeks, and an Enneagram read.

Plus executive coaching

Choose this if a big moment is coming: a board presentation, succession or a top-job search.

Twelve weekly 1:1 sessions with Joe, and an Enneagram read.

Two colleagues reviewing a folder together in a bright office hallway

Who it's for

Built for technology leaders

A good fit

Technology leaders: directors, VPs, CTOs and CIOs, including those stepping into their first CIO or CTO seat.

Probably not yet

Individual contributors and first-time managers.

Not sure where you stand?

Take the free five-minute score. Then bring what it shows to a 30-minute influence review with us. You'll leave with a clearer way to put one stalled decision to the business, and a straight answer on whether the program fits. The first cohort starts January 11.

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