Joe Morgan, VP and CTO at Standard Register

1

TVLand
A bobble-head doll of the late Don Adams sits in his office, a testament to his favorite TV show, "Get Smart." Morgan liked the show's political satire and advanced technology, including the shoe phone. "I remember my parents thinking that was insane," he says. And not just the shoe part. "Why would someone have an individual phone? Sure enough, we all have it now."

2

In Mourning
The Massachusetts native grieves the quick demise of the Boston Red Sox in this fall's baseball playoffs, a year after his dream came true with a world championship. "I was upset until the Yankees lost, and that balanced things out."

3

Burning Question
"I want to understand why so many senior executives made bad decisions around technology investments. They don't understand technology; they have blind faith at times. They know they need to move the ball forward, but aren't sure how to do it."

4

Risk-Taker
As an entrepreneur and intrapreneur, Morgan estimates he's batting .500, meaning half of the projects he conceived have failed. "I really value people willing to push the envelope. Technologists in general have a hard time with that, though, because they take a lot of pride in what they do," which can make them more risk-averse.

5

Influence
Morgan credits the late Mark Ungerer, who headed filmic materials provider FLEXcon Corp., for ingraining in him "the importance of customer and culture. ... He turned me from solely focused on operations to recognizing that the only reason that part of the business exists is to satisfy the customers."