Stock buybacks put CIOs in the hot seat

1. Revenue: how the IT plan will lead to profitably selling more products and services.
2. Operating costs: how it will reduce the incremental cost of producing a product or service, along with the amortized fixed costs of running the business.
3. Risk management: identifying major risk areas with an aim of prevention (reducing the odds) or mitigation (reducing the damage).
4. Mission: how the plan will deliver the social value that is the business’s reason for being.

And no, accomplishing the mission isn’t some soft and squishy (or warm and fuzzy) outcome. As an example, figure General Motors’ true mission is to sell cars people want to buy. Or, one level of abstraction removed, to provide the most desirable ways for people to get from place to place.

A few years ago, when Digital was all the rage, revenue would have been a logical CIO target in most companies. Now, thanks to the spotlight UnitedHealth shined on it, most CIOs can and should make the case for risk.

Whatever the plan, the biggest risk is to ignore the investment potential of money that’s about to be spent on buybacks.