We hear, almost daily, the phrases "business value," "business drivers," "IT value," and many other such words applied to the "connecting business to IT" discussion. Unfortunately, these phrases are often used as if the world has reached consensus on what they mean, how they can be defined in a given company, and what a manager can do to understand them in his or her own context. We all know that this just isn't true; and in fact, the vagueness of the definition often clouds the discussion, rather than helping it along.