Tech Isn't Expensive - Misalignment Is

The cost of technology isn't the problem. The cost of building the wrong thing is. Here's how to fix it.

The boardroom complaint:

"Engineering is taking too long and costing too much."

The engineering response:

"Leadership doesn't know what they want."

The real problem:

Misalignment.

When business goals and technology roadmaps aren't connected, you get:

• Features nobody uses

• Rewrites every 18 months

• Frustrated teams on both sides

• Budgets that balloon with no ROI to show for it

How to fix it:

1. Start with outcomes, not features

What does success look like in business terms? Revenue? Cost savings? Speed? Define it clearly *before* you write a single line of code.

2. Make trade-offs explicit

Fast, cheap, good - pick two. Every project has constraints. Leadership needs to understand them. Engineering needs to communicate them.

3. Build feedback loops

Ship small, measure impact, iterate. If you're waiting six months to see if something works, you've already lost.

4. Invest in alignment, not just execution

Regular syncs between leadership and engineering aren't overhead - they're the foundation. Misalignment is the most expensive thing you can build.

**The takeaway:** Technology is cheap. Misalignment is what costs you millions. Align ambition with architecture, and you'll stop wasting money on the wrong things.