Financial Decision Makers

Like any industry budgets and spending in the television broadcast, radio, cable, telecom, IPTV, Sports broadcast, systems integration, technology finance, and so on, are managed and controlled or heavily influenced by financial decision makers. These folks have the title of Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Finance, Controller, or Treasurer. The President, CEO, Chairman or director often makes the financial decision. Somes financial decision authority is delegated to a plant manager, general manager, operations manger, Chief Operations officer, CIO, or CTO. The point being that the broadcast and media technology decision process is often a two part decision process involving 1) what to buy or acquire?, and 2) how to pay for it?

It is critical for for anyone selling, presenting to or consulting to an individual charged with making an equipment or systems integration decision that he/she understand the decision dynamics within his respective clients organization. As much as an engineer may love a certain new broadcast technology or believe that it is the next critical unit to be installed......it may be a moot point until the financial decison maker is "on board" in terms of how to pay for the new widget or great technology.

Financial decision makers perceive the problem of technology acquisition from a different perspective than the engineering department or operations department. Often the financial decision maker engages a completely different set of rules and his/her motivations and inspirations may be completely counter to the expectations of his or her counterparts in the same organization.

For all of these reasons it is important that from the very earliest discussions that the financial decision maker be brought in to the discussion, made to feel a part of the information and presentation and that he or she be afforded the tact that comes with knowing the decison may ultimately be theirs.