Not understanding digital itself isn't fatal. The real problem is that without understanding, executives lack imagination about what technology can and cannot solve. They either treat the digital team as a cure-all, or delegate all technical decisions to managers and lose their own strategic control. Rather than having executives learn to code, build basic conceptual understanding: what digital tools can do, roughly how much time and resources they need, and when to question 'does this make sense?' With this judgment, you can manage digital talent effectively and incorporate technology into competitive strategy, rather than just following industry trends.