What they are interested in is how and when an IT project will affect their businesses. Educating management doesn't mean embarrassing them. University of Nebraska's Weir tries to speak with university management people individually rather than as a group. Toyota's Cooper agrees. That calls for quick action.
Reassurances are important, too.
Weir discovered that the rumor wasn't true, but knew that wouldn't be enough to allay the officials' suspicions. That left the software implementation project in jeopardy. I got the president and CFO of the software vendor on the phone and told them they had to convince my management that the rumor wasn't true, even if they had to share their company financials. Still, as boards understand IT's inherent value, they see the expenses of projects far outside their control. This means that there may always be questions or doubts about what the IT department is doing.