Think about the "go to guy" or gal in any critical situation that you might come across in the business world. Most likely that person will have a wide range of skills. And those skills will be a little dose of everything that one would need to be placed in a critical situation.

This person would have:

• Technical knowledge of the situation
  
• Technical knowledge of a large portion if not all of the environment
  
• A relationship with the customers involved
  
• An understanding of the business urgency of the issue
  
• The ability to talk to technical people as well as non-technical people especially high-level managers
  
• The ability to prioritize under pressure
  
• The ability to take leadership of a critical situation
  

This person is someone you can trust. Someone you can depend on. Someone who can take control of the situation. Not someone with nothing other than raw technical skills, but someone with what it takes to represent your organization at any critical moment.

This is Technical Prowess. And this is what you are going to have to have to move forward as an IT person in the business world today.