Balancing Caution and Innovation

Explore the delicate balance between caution and innovation, where stability meets creativity. Join Timothy Chester as he navigates the risks and rewards of both approaches, sharing insights from his extensive experience in IT leadership.

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Chapter 1

The Essence of Caution and Innovation

Timothy Chester

Several years before the pandemic, I was in a regular meeting with University of Georgia President Jere Morehead when our vice president for government affairs relayed a conversation with a key supporter—an entrepreneur excited about Blockchain. It wasn’t a formal pitch, but it sparked a discussion: Should we explore Blockchain for transcripts? Could Bitcoin be a future payment method for tuition?

Timothy Chester

At the time, Blockchain was everywhere—on stage, in headlines, and in every vendor pitch—but based on past experience with hype cycle peaks, I expressed reservations. The tools were immature, the use cases speculative, and the chances of meaningful, near-term impact for our community felt low. Investing limited resources that early would likely yield little payoff and come at the expense of the strategic priorities we all agreed were urgent and important. We chose to hold off, and many years later, that decision has held up—Blockchain and crypto remain niche in higher education.

Timothy Chester

In today’s Dispatch, we explore how CIOs can navigate the tension between innovation and resilience—when it makes sense to consider investing in emerging technologies, and when a more prudent, cautious approach better serves strategic goals.