Your Trusted Advisor
Getting reliable advice is critical to your role as a technology leader. You may be able to rely on dependable 2IC’s with strong domain knowledge. However even the best 2IC can suffer from group think, internal political issues, or simply lack the relevant experience in the area you need.
Similarly relying on a network of friends and ex-colleagues (that often work with commercial competitors) for advice and counsel on important decisions can place you in a compromising position.