Cardenas: Technology should never be the goal. Results should be.
Cardenas: Technology should never be the goal. Results should be.
Publish Date: 2026-06-26 09:12:00
Source Domain: riograndeguardian.com
By Jorge Cardenas
Most technology projects don’t fail because of technology.
They fail because leaders never answer three simple questions:
Why are we doing this?
Who benefits?
How will we know if we succeeded?
Credit: City of Brownsville/Jorge Cardenas
Over the years, I’ve learned that technology is often the easiest part of a transformation effort.
The hard part is aligning people around a common outcome.
When we launched major initiatives in Brownsville, whether it was broadband expansion, AI capabilities, cybersecurity programs, or modernizing service delivery, the conversation was never about fiber, servers, or software.
The conversation was about outcomes.
Would residents receive better services?
Would businesses have better opportunities to grow?
Would employees have the tools they need to be successful?
Would we become a more resilient organization?
Technology was simply the vehicle that helped us get there.
Too many organizations start by talking about the solution before defining the problem.
The most successful leaders I’ve worked with do the opposite.
They focus relentlessly on the outcome and allow technology to become an enabler of that vision.
Technology should never be the goal.
Results should be.
What’s one technology initiative you’ve seen succeed because leadership stayed focused on the outcome instead of the tool?
Editor’s Note: The above commentary was provided by Jorge Cardenas, chief information officer for the City of Brownsville. The commentary first appeared on Cardenas’s social media pages.
