The Art of Partnership
Quotes from The Art of War, widely referred to as the oldest military treatise in the world, by Chinese general and military strategist Sun-Tzu (~400 B.C.), often serve as a strategy guide for business today, interpreting the enemy as the competition.
For example, If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
Now, by no means am I suggesting the CEO is the enemy. But what if we replace enemy with CEO and battle with challenge for a different perspective?
If you know the CEO and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred challenges. If you know yourself but not the CEO, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the CEO nor yourself, you will succumb in every challenge.
Quite insightfulcertainly integral to achieving that sought-after true partnership between business and IT.
So, with Sun-Tzu in mind, I figured it might be a good idea in these somewhat tentative economic times to check in with an insurance CEO to get an up-to-the-moment perspective on whats on his to-do list (for results of a CEO study on this subject, see Industry Intelligence, p. 5).
One CEO who stresses the importance of technology to the success of an insurance company is Greg Murphy, chairman, president, and CEO of Selective Insurance. Gregs thoughts include the following:
Growth is critical, but only if it is achieved with risk-appropriate pricing and with the proper underwriting controls in place. As for cost cutting, our industry has been slower than some others to develop strategies for improving productivity and profitability. So, one of the critical challenges ahead is to maintain strong underwriting and continue productivity improvements that will result in profitable growth.
Id have to say we look at the connec-tion between profitable growth and having skilled people at all levels of the organization in a more positive way. When you have the right people in your organization and they embrace the need for continuous improvement through education, you create the right environment for growth.
Technology continues to be a struggle in our industry, and successful companies can create a competitive advantage with technology. We manage our IT resources to ensure superior technologies are used to advance our strategic business goals.
So, the message to and challenge for insurance IT is clear. Now is the time to implement the tools to support the critical competencies of the industry and help drive growth while developing the skills necessary to achieve growth. Remember, true partners work toward a shared vision.
Sharon S. Schwartzman
Editor-in-Chief
P.S. For some straight (and witty) talk about news, trends, and strategies that drive insurance IT, check out Tech Tattler, p. 36, a new column by Ara Trembly, technology editor for National Underwriters weekly editions.
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