I recently had a conversation with an association staffer who was asking for ideas on how she could increase staff adoption of a certain enterprise-wide technology. As she put it, "Only half the staff uses it. The rest seem to have no interest, no matter what I do."

In the course of the conversation she said "My CEO has also made it clear he has no interest in using this technology. He hates it."

My response: "Sorry, but you're doomed. If the CEO isn't interested and staff knows that, nothing you say or do will change their minds."

Because here's the thing: senior leadership, and especially the ED/CEO, set the tone and the culture of the organization. And if the CEO is saying "This project is not important to me," staff has now been given permission to also not care about that project.

So what are your options (if you're not in the #1 seat)? You can try to convince the CEO to change his or her mind. You can abandon the project. Or you can find a new job.