There are restaurant CIOs and CTOs who move through the technology landscape like cosmic wanderers, visionaries, architects of the future, modern-day Prometheans wielding the sacred fire of cloud computing and AI. And then there are those who are, well, just sort of there, nodding sagely at vendor presentations while quietly wondering if they left the oven on at home.
The difference? Superpowers. Specifically, three of them (but, yes, there are more). These aren’t the powers of flight, invisibility, or the ability to find a functional HDMI cable when you need one, but rather, the kind that separates the great from the merely employed. After returning from a recent restaurant industry technology conference, it became clear that these three abilities help define the best CIOs and CTOs in the game.
In the chaotic run-up to the conference, a time when we’re reaching out to leaders to ensure our time on the floor is as productive as possible, I couldn’t shake a particular observation: The CIOs and CTOs who truly thrive aren’t just technologically savvy. They also speak the language of business fluently, without needing a translation app or a whiteboard full of buzzwords.
This, it turns out, is the ultimate advantage. A kind of meta-superpower. The three that follow? They don’t replace it, they amplify it, giving it structure, focus, and, crucially, the ability to actually drive results rather than just sounding impressive in board meetings.
Superpower #1: The Pursuit of Their Partners’ "Why?"
Most technology executives can ask "what" questions. What does your software do? Does it integrate with our POS? What do we do if this goes down during a Friday night dinner service? But the great ones, the true superheroes, ask "why?" And they do so with the tenacity of a terrier that has just discovered a hole in the fence.
Why is this vendor really in business? Why do they prioritize some features over others? Why do they claim to have an "AI-driven" solution when, on closer inspection, it's mostly a traditional platform with a weak ChatGPT plugin?
By asking "why," the best CIOs and CTOs expose the motivations of their vendors and partners. A company focused on growth at all costs or its future exit strategy may not always have the long-term interests of its customers at heart. And a company that doesn’t have the interests of its customers at heart, especially in the restaurant space, is roughly as useful as a toaster that only works on alternate Tuesdays.
Superpower #2: The Ability to Lead Change Without Being Burned at the Stake
Technology, by itself, is a bit like a recipe book. You can own the finest cookbook in the world, written by a Michelin-starred chef, but if no one in your organization is willing to actually cook, you’re just left with an expensive pile of paper and an unsettling sense of existential despair.
The best CIOs and CTOs understand that rolling out new technology is not about selecting the right tools alone, it’s about leading change. They must navigate an environment where employees sometimes have the eerie ability to resist change at a molecular level. "Why do we need a new system? The old one worked fine!" they’ll cry, ignoring the fact that the old system requires daily human sacrifices to keep running.
Leading change means understanding human behavior, championing a vision, and ensuring that an organization doesn’t just buy technology, but actually implements it, adopts it, overcomes the inevitable obstacles, and integrates it into its very DNA. Because at the end of the day, even the most cutting-edge software is worthless if it is only used by Steve in accounting, and even Steve isn’t entirely sure how it works.
Superpower #3: Seeing the Ripple Effect of Vendor Choices (or, "You Might Be Accidentally Running a Startup Incubator")
The best CIOs and CTOs possess an uncanny ability to see into the future. Not through the usual methods, like tarot cards or reading the tea leaves in the bottom of their conference coffee cup, but by understanding that every tech decision has second-order consequences.
Choosing a vendor isn’t just about what they can do for you today, it’s about what happens to them after you sign on the dotted line.
For example: If you choose a small, scrappy vendor, your business might be their lifeline. This means you’re not just a customer, you’re a core piece of their survival strategy. If they scale successfully, fantastic! You’ve got a deep partnership with a company that values you, and may be willing to prioritize your needs on their roadmap for some time. If they fail? Well, let’s hope you enjoy last-minute vendor migrations.
On the other hand, choosing an enormous, established vendor might seem safe, until you realize that their idea of "customer support" involves submitting a ticket into a black hole and hoping it emerges in another dimension, answered by an AI bot with the emotional depth of a blender.
The best CIOs and CTOs know that technology decisions don’t just impact their own company, they impact the vendors themselves, their roadmaps, their longevity, and ultimately, the stability of the technology ecosystem that your business depends on.
Conclusion: How Not to Be Average
The difference between the best CIOs/CTOs and the merely competent ones isn’t a matter of intelligence, technical skill, or how many industry keynotes they’ve sat through without falling asleep. It’s these three superpowers:
- They question the vendor’s motivations like a detective in a noir film, ensuring alignment before it's too late.
- They lead change like a revolution rather than assuming adoption will just magically happen.
- They see the bigger picture, understanding that their tech decisions ripple out in ways most people never consider.
If you’re a tech leader, and you don’t have these superpowers, don’t worry, you’re not doomed to a life of mediocrity. You can develop them. But it starts by recognizing that technology leadership isn’t about buying tools. It’s about understanding the forces at play, making deliberate choices, and ensuring that your company’s future is shaped by strategy rather than chance.
And if all else fails, just remember: never trust a vendor who promises that integration is "quick and seamless."
-Chad Horn