What:  CEOs do not have to know how to do what their data scientists are doing, but they absolutely need to understand what they are working on to make the best decisions possible.

Why it is important:  It is tempting to rely on a Digital Officer to take care of the issues and only tackle the business aspects with this person. However tech is now so central in the business and so crucial for strategic development that leaders need to understand the concepts and master terminologies if they want to be able to make the best investment decisions possible.

Leaders across the world are all aware that tech is a vital part of the business, but many of them wonder about what they really need to know about it, since there are usually dedicated people in the organizations taking care of this important topic.

According to the Harvard Business Review, coding, once a must-have for anyone interested in tech, is not a necessary skill today for leaders. This does not exempt them, however, to learn how to work with people who code, for instance via 30 minutes-long weekly meetings with technical specialists to understand what they are working on. It is all about bridging the business part of the organization with the tech part.

Long gone is the myth of billion-dollars businesses created in garages. Modern leaders who do not have a technical background (Stitch Fix or Air BnB founders, for instance) have instead learned how to collaborate with technology teams and make the right investments based on their understanding of the situation.

The Harvard Business Review advises to learn concepts rather than skills, and understand at minima the terminology.

Coding is not a necessary skill, but digital literacy is