John Doherty is CIO at Columbia Forest Products, but he started in marketing. That accidental path gave him something most IT leaders don't have - he speaks business first, technology second.

The problem he keeps running into isn't technical. It's structural. IT gets called in after the business has already decided what they need. Someone shows up and says "we need SAP" and by then it's too late. The solution's chosen. IT's job is to execute, not influence.

We get into his mill ambassador program (people looked at him like he had three heads), why steering committees come before PMO, and the "yes, but" approach that turns IT from blockers into problem solvers. Plus his prediction on what part of IT will be fully automated in 18 months.

John's final message hits different: "Don't be a tech nerd. Find how to be a business person. Meet your peers where they're at. Speak their language, and you're going to break the stereotype that we're just a bunch of techies."