Understand thy customer! It’s not just a business rule, it’s a commandment. From the very first fruit stand to the most sophisticated tech company, the customer relationship has been, and always shall be, the single greatest success factor. Anyone who thinks otherwise is probably busy writing their own business obituary. Which brings us to an important point. What’s up with I.T.?

Since the term was first coined by Harold J. Leavitt and Thomas L. Whisler in Harvard Business Review in 1958, “I.T.” has connoted a department that exists within its own universe with its own laws of physics, with a mandate to apply the simulation of higher-order thinking through computer programs. This is OK in academia, but for the world of business it misses the “why” of it all—without the customer, there’s no company, no I.T. and no point to said “higher-order thinking.”

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