How to Stay Focused on the Business Results of IT

Humana CIO Bruce Goodman learned how to reap financial results from IT by understanding in detail the ways his company makes money

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Get Results, Help Your Career

I have no doubt that business competency and a focus on results is a boon to any IT executive's career. First, it makes a huge difference in how the CEO views you. If the CEO sees the IT head as a technologist who is not an active partner in trying to achieve business results, that CIO is probably not going to have a long-term future at that company. He'll get out of step with business goals and people will complain that they can't get what they need out of IT.

Second, a strong results focus positions you for further opportunities. In addition to my CIO role, I also run the entire service operation at Humana, a combined organization of about 10,000 people. The services group is responsible for controlling administrative costs and also, through operation of our call centres, has a big impact on customer retention.

I got this role because I made the case that if IT and service operations reported to the same person, we'd work better together to define priorities and deliver systems that drive results. In companies where IT and services are separate, IT is only responsible to deliver the project while the operations group is responsible for requirements and deriving the value. That can lead to finger pointing if the payoff doesn't go as expected.

One word of caution: It's possible that a CIO can become so business focused that he or she doesn't pay enough attention to executing reliable IT service. You have basic blocking and tackling responsibilities that you can't ignore. You can delegate that, but you still have to ask the right questions of those to whom you delegate and make them show you their metrics.

Looking back at my career, there are three things that I believe have been essential to my success: understanding business processes, knowing where the leverage points are to improve top- and bottom-line performance, and developing strategic partnerships with the business. By focusing on these areas, any CIO is positioned to fulfil a strategic role.

Bruce J. Goodman is senior vice president and chief service and information officer at Humana, and is a member of the CIO Executive Council. He has also been CEO of Prudential Service and CIO of MetLife.