As a company that is focused on building for the future, the number one priority has to be transformation of outdated business and technology choices and processes that are holding the organization back. Every company that we have ever worked with hire good people and attempt to arm them with the best tools to make them successful. Yet companies still encounter failed project after failed project even though they are seemingly set up for success. Why is that the case and why is there such a disconnect between business and IT processes?
I believe there are many reasons why the disconnect happens. However, for the sake of this blog I will highlight a few reasons that stand out as most prevalent.
1. The Problem: We choose technology and then that very technology, that was meant to free us, begins to define us as a company. How many times have you heard the phrase, “We cannot do that because our technology won’t allow it?” Too often we are trapped in technology decisions that have boxed us in and created an environment where success is not possible. We then take the tact of adding on capabilities or solve the problem by bolting on solutions and find that we have only exaggerated the challenge of getting useful information to the end users. We then have silos of information and our good people spend the majority of their time gathering, correcting and manipulating data to get the right information.
The Solution: Never be afraid to take an earnest look at the technology that is driving your business. Be realistic in your assessment and if you feel you cannot be unbiased, you should bring in a third party to evaluate things from a different perspective. This gives a fresh eye toward the problem and the solution and allows you to not get into the trap of justifying the future based on what happened in the past.
2. The Problem: We design new technology or implementation of technology around existing antiquated business processes that have ceased to provide the same value as when they were instantiated in the organization. “This is the way we have always done it” should never be the justification for staying locked into processes that are no longer helpful to the company.
The Solution: Just as you need to take a realistic assessment of your technology, you should also do the same thing for your business and IT processes. In a recent assessment that we did for a major computer manufacturer, we found that their assessment bench marked the company against themselves. Magically, they got better every year in their own assessment. However, the market said something completely different. They dropped from the #2 position in the market to the #5 position. You should always benchmark against your peers, competitors and best practices for your industry. This allows a reasonable view of how you are doing as an organization. Change is hard but it is always necessary and much easier to swallow when you know the change is being made to improve or boost your competitive edge.
3. The Problem: We often choose to implement the latest and greatest technology without having a business problem clearly defined. One can easily forget the reason why technology exists is to solve pressing business needs or to bring new functionality that allow business to grow beyond where they are today. The ROI should be readily evident when choosing technology or a technology platform. As an example. there is a rush today for companies to implement a “big data” strategy. I always come back to the question, “why?” If you can’t answer that question then it doesn't matter what you do or how you do it.
The Solution: Start with a clearly defined business opportunity. This, of course, does not mean the business comes up with a use case and throws it over the wall to IT to build or buy a solution. There must be a partnership approach in order to be successful. We all know this is one of the hardest things to accomplish since business and IT speak different languages. This necessitates a “translation” and agreement on what will be provided. It’s easier said than done but the majority of the work must be done up front in the planning and that will help to deliver success.
Start every project or business opportunity with the “Why” question and it will help to eliminate confusion and frustration and ensure everyone is on board with the same vision. The great thing about vision is that it not only shows you what to do and how to do it, it also allows you to NOT do certain things that would complicate the opportunity. And let's not forget the goal...put the right information, in the right hands, at the right time, to help your people make the best decisions possible!
These are but a few reasons for the disconnect. I will share more comments in later blogs.
I believe there are many reasons why the disconnect happens. However, for the sake of this blog I will highlight a few reasons that stand out as most prevalent.
1. The Problem: We choose technology and then that very technology, that was meant to free us, begins to define us as a company. How many times have you heard the phrase, “We cannot do that because our technology won’t allow it?” Too often we are trapped in technology decisions that have boxed us in and created an environment where success is not possible. We then take the tact of adding on capabilities or solve the problem by bolting on solutions and find that we have only exaggerated the challenge of getting useful information to the end users. We then have silos of information and our good people spend the majority of their time gathering, correcting and manipulating data to get the right information.
The Solution: Never be afraid to take an earnest look at the technology that is driving your business. Be realistic in your assessment and if you feel you cannot be unbiased, you should bring in a third party to evaluate things from a different perspective. This gives a fresh eye toward the problem and the solution and allows you to not get into the trap of justifying the future based on what happened in the past.
2. The Problem: We design new technology or implementation of technology around existing antiquated business processes that have ceased to provide the same value as when they were instantiated in the organization. “This is the way we have always done it” should never be the justification for staying locked into processes that are no longer helpful to the company.
The Solution: Just as you need to take a realistic assessment of your technology, you should also do the same thing for your business and IT processes. In a recent assessment that we did for a major computer manufacturer, we found that their assessment bench marked the company against themselves. Magically, they got better every year in their own assessment. However, the market said something completely different. They dropped from the #2 position in the market to the #5 position. You should always benchmark against your peers, competitors and best practices for your industry. This allows a reasonable view of how you are doing as an organization. Change is hard but it is always necessary and much easier to swallow when you know the change is being made to improve or boost your competitive edge.
3. The Problem: We often choose to implement the latest and greatest technology without having a business problem clearly defined. One can easily forget the reason why technology exists is to solve pressing business needs or to bring new functionality that allow business to grow beyond where they are today. The ROI should be readily evident when choosing technology or a technology platform. As an example. there is a rush today for companies to implement a “big data” strategy. I always come back to the question, “why?” If you can’t answer that question then it doesn't matter what you do or how you do it.
The Solution: Start with a clearly defined business opportunity. This, of course, does not mean the business comes up with a use case and throws it over the wall to IT to build or buy a solution. There must be a partnership approach in order to be successful. We all know this is one of the hardest things to accomplish since business and IT speak different languages. This necessitates a “translation” and agreement on what will be provided. It’s easier said than done but the majority of the work must be done up front in the planning and that will help to deliver success.
Start every project or business opportunity with the “Why” question and it will help to eliminate confusion and frustration and ensure everyone is on board with the same vision. The great thing about vision is that it not only shows you what to do and how to do it, it also allows you to NOT do certain things that would complicate the opportunity. And let's not forget the goal...put the right information, in the right hands, at the right time, to help your people make the best decisions possible!
These are but a few reasons for the disconnect. I will share more comments in later blogs.