Paul Moulton, Executive VP & CIO, Costco

I have written lately on the challenge IT leaders face bridging IT and business goals. Last week I attended an event that hosted a CIO panel including Paul Moulton, CIO of Costco. Mr. Moulton made a few great comments that reinforce the need for IT and business goal alignment.

Mr. Moulton stated that he preferred vendors that are not too technical and that he likes to see a PowerPoint presentation that uses business terms. If the presentation is in all technical terms Mr. Moulton immediately thinks the presenter is a gear head and wants to end the meeting quickly because “… he just makes me feel stupid.” The implication is that nothing is really translating to the business needs and the meeting is essentially a waste of time.

Mr. Moulton focuses on implementing technologies that are doable, sustainable and drive business cost efficiencies. Once the technology to be implemented is identified he asks two key questions:

1. Can we use what we have to accomplish the new technology plan?
2. Can we buy or do we need to build?

Mr. Moulton said they are looking at the cloud and what technology areas make sense to move that direction. He is in the wait and see mode primarily because of his belief in the basic principal that pioneers get a lot of arrows in their back. When anyone asks how to do something that he does not immediately know the answer his response is “Can’t the cloud do that?”

The Importance of Envisioning

Nortec uses Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) project management methodology. MSF has five phases – Envision, Plan, Build, Stabilize, and Deploy. Envisioning, the first phase, is very important and is where the technical professional bridges the gap between business goals and technology.

The technical professional needs to engage the business unit leaders that will be involved with the technical solution being created and understand their key performance indicators (KPIs). He then determines how the technical solution being created will impact the KPIs. Once the information is gathered the envisioning document can be created. This envisioning document should be reviewed with the business leaders to be certain that there is alignment around the technical solution to be created and that there is no miscommunications.

Engage the different business leaders, and understanding their goals to bridge the technology business gap.

7 Keys to Mitigate Risk in IT Projects:

1. Challenge assumptions
2. Manage dynamic changes
3. Maintain operational discipline
4. Take the right risks
5. Focus on long term
6. Maintain margins of safety
7. Anticipate failures

Dealing with Work Overload

IT professionals have skills that are in high demand and it is easy to become over committed. Managing time becomes extremely important and doing it professionally can be challenging. The IT professional typically is getting hundreds of emails a day and constant requests.

How can the IT professional possibly manage in today’s busy environment and not let things slip through? The key is managing priorities and pushing back in a professional manner when necessary. Take action as quickly as possible and avoid “I will deal with this later.” Make decisions on emails – delete, take action or schedule. Keep very few items in your in box. Plan your week and if too much work is scheduled than find work you can delegate or eliminate. Communicate the work that will be incomplete – “push back”. Be focused on the priority work and not just the most recent request or the work that is making the most noise.

Time management and communications are the keys to managing through when there is too much work to be done. There will always be more work that can be done than hours in the day. Prioritize, communicate and use time management to accomplish more than expected!

“The Next Leap in Productivity” by Adam Kolowa

I read “The Next Leap in Productivity” by Adam Kolowa and he makes a strong case for getting the CEO and other senior management involved with the information technology strategy. “Who is driving the IT Strategy?”

Implementing information technology provides cost reduction through process automation and this is the primary role. The secondary role is to drive strategic competitive advantages through “speed, agility, and consistency.”

“CEO’s and CFO’s are not expected to understand how IT works. But they are required to ask the write questions:

When approached with a new project the CEO should ask:
1. How much money will it save the company?
2. How much will it increase operational capacity?
3. When will it be done?

Of course the CIO can prepare the answers in a FAQ type format and here are some of the other important questions from the book I like:

1. What other processes can we auotomate?
2. Which legacy systems can we moth ball?
3. What are realistic expectations for IT?
4. How will IT performance effect other parts of business?
5. Is IT budgeting driven by business needs?
6. Does the company have an information strategy?
7. Does our IT infrastructure support our information strategy?