5. An MBA won't teach you everything you need to know to be an effective IT leader.
Sure, an MBA will teach you about strategy, operations, finance, marketing and sales. But it won't teach you the soft skills that are critical for effectively managing staff and influencing colleagues. Nor will the MBA teach you how to navigate corporate politics — another extremely practical and important competence for successful IT leaders.

6. To be an IT executive, you really need to know technology first and foremost.
All of this talk about the importance of the MBA degree for IT executives puts too much emphasis on business knowledge. The reality of what I have to do every day is this: I have to make a variety of different systems work and talk to each other. I have to enable to the business. I certainly have to be able to talk to the business, but if I don't understand how my systems work, there are going to be cost overruns and project failures. Two-thirds of all software projects fail because they're mismanaged by business people who don't emphasize what actually has to happen to make technology work. The fact that the technical skills associated with integrating IT systems is de-emphasized over having business skills, especially in large enterprises, is one of the leading causes of IT project failure. That's a big sticking point for me. It proves that business knowledge does not translate into IT knowledge. IT knowledge, on the other hand, is applicable to any business, regardless of industry. You have to understand IT to run IT.

SIDEBAR: Top CIOs Who Don't Have an MBA

Ralph Szygenda, group VP and CIO, GM (bachelor of science in computer science from the University of Missouri-Rolla; master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas; honorary doctorate in engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla). Read more about Szygenda's career here.

Randy Mott, CIO, HP (bachelor of science in math). Read more about Mott's career here.

Rollin Ford, CIO, Wal-Mart (bachelor's degree in business administration and systems analysis from Taylor University).

Gary Masada, CIO, Chevron (bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley and a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Washington).

Shaygan Kheradpir, CIO, Verizon (bachelor's, master's and PhD in electrical engineering from Cornell University). Hear a podcast with Kheradpir here.

Patricia Morrison, EVP and CIO, Motorola (bachelor of arts in math and statistics from Miami University; bachelor of science in secondary education). Read about Morrison's leadership style here.

John Hinshaw, VP and CIO, Boeing (bachelor's degree in computer information systems from James Madison University). Read more about Hinshaw's appointment here.

Nicholas Smither, VP and CIO, Ford Motor (bachelor's degree in engineering from Loughborough University with first class honours, and master's degree in advanced automotive engineering from Loughborough University in England).

Marv Adams, CIO, Citigroup (bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Michigan State; completed executive programs at Stanford and MIT). Read more about Adams' career here.

Doreen Wright, SVP and CIO, Campbell Soup (bachelor of arts degree from UPenn). Read more about Wright's career here.

Carl Wilson, EVP and CIO, Marriott International (bachelor's degree from Indiana University and an MEP from the University of Minnesota). Read more about Wilson's work at Marriott here.

Filippo Passerini, chief information and global services officer, P&G (doctorate in statistics and operating research from the University of Rome). Read more on Passerine here.