What Every CEO Should Know About Their Tech Stack 🧱
#TechInsight #TechTuesday
TL;DR: Non-technical leaders sometimes assume tech is “someone else’s lane.” But knowing your tech stack—even at a high level—is mission-critical. Why? Because it touches your people, your processes, your profits… and your risks. This post is a quick-start guide to help non-tech founders and business owners assess and steward their digital infrastructure wisely.
“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds.”
— Proverbs 27:23 (NIV)
In Solomon’s day, flocks and herds were the assets that sustained a household or business. Today, your tech stack is part of your digital flock. From CRMs and payment systems to customer portals and backend automations, these are the tools that carry your mission forward. As a steward-leader, you don’t need to configure every setting—but you do need visibility, understanding, and wise oversight.
Why Non-Tech Leaders Have an Advantage
Here’s the irony: being non-technical can actually help you see more clearly.
Technical leaders sometimes fall into “shiny tech syndrome” or get lost in complex builds because they love the tech more than the customer. But non-technical leaders? You’re wired to think in terms of outcomes—and that’s exactly what healthy tech should support.
When you step into tech strategy with a clear sense of business goals, user experience, and long-term vision, you become the bridge between purpose and platform.
What’s Really in Your Tech Stack?
Your tech stack isn’t just about the software you use. It’s a mix of:
Platforms (e.g. website CMS, CRM, email marketing tool)
Infrastructure (e.g. hosting, databases, payment gateways)
Workflows (e.g. automations, internal tools, reporting dashboards)
People (e.g. who manages what, and how sustainable is it?)
Vendors (e.g. contracts, licenses, third-party dependencies)
Knowing these helps you:
Spot vulnerabilities (What if a vendor shuts down?)
Justify investments (What impact will this tool have?)
Make better hires (Does our tech stack limit who we can hire?)
Scale strategically (Will this system grow with us or bottleneck us?)
A Simple CEO Tech Oversight Checklist
Use this as a quarterly pulse check—even if you’re not “the tech person”:
✅ Do I know the 5–7 core tools/platforms that power our operations or customer experience?
✅ Do I understand why each one exists and what outcome it supports?
✅ Is there someone on our team or vendor list who truly owns each system?
✅ Have I reviewed major tech/vendor risks (e.g. renewals, data ownership, outages)?
✅ Could I explain—at a high level—how we acquire, serve, and retain a customer using our current systems?
✅ Am I confident that our tech aligns with where we’re going, not just where we’ve been?
Action Step
Choose one tool or system in your business this week. Ask these two questions:
What is this tool doing for our mission or margin?
If it broke tomorrow, what’s the cost—financially or operationally?
Then set up a 30-minute “tech stack overview” meeting with your team or tech lead. You don’t need all the answers—you just need to start asking better questions.
Tech strategy is not about doing it all yourself. It’s about stewarding the systems that serve your people and your purpose.