The Zen of Strategic Transformation: Do Focus on the Process
Given that there is no single magic bullet, the path to transformation is best navigated by focusing on the journey. This principle is well echoed in the caution by Governor Swan of the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: “Even a good decision if made for the wrong reasons can be a bad decision.” Toyota’s Andon […]
The Zen of Strategic Transformation: Find your Technique
“Find Your Technique” reminds us that transformation must be rooted in the enterprise’s product and market context and be right for the enterprise’s style and routines. This ethos is captured perfectly by Bruce Pandolfini’s advice in Searching for Bobby Fischer: “Don’t move until you see it,” For instance, rapid learning and adaptability are priorities during […]
Six Steps to becoming an Innovative, Thought Leader in IT Services
If you’re a mid-size IT services company, hearing customers say you don’t demonstrate innovation, and that you lack thought leadership, is likely a punch in the gut that regularly arrives with every business review or customer satisfaction feedback. Both innovation & thought leadership are key to move up the value chain, command premium pricing and […]
What’s your Transformation Disposition?
“To stand still, is to fall behind” is often attributed to Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens’ pseudonym). This is truer than ever for enterprises operating in a world that no longer follows predictable patterns. The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) describes the macro and competitive environment as rapidly changing, unpredictable, paradoxical, and tangled (RUPT). The […]
Do Startups need Strategy?
Peter Drucker famously said that the business enterprise has two – and only two – basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Many modern startup Guru’s paraphrase this to claim that startups have only two functions development (of code or product) and sales. There seems to be a particular angst against having a strategy […]
Transform or Perish
Changing customer expectations is one factor that has driven enterprises to transform or perish. Fast food chains have learned this difficult way. McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and Subway all had moments when their legacy menus could not keep up with changing appetites. Agile adaptation to customer requests is not a requirement limited to the fast-food industry; […]
The CIO(role) is Dead: Long Live the CIO
The successful Chief Information Officer (CIO) of today oversees the leverage of technology to enable new business models and not just manage tech intricacies. Emergence of Cloud, SaaS and Data led to digital transformation of businesses, putting the CIO in the driver’s seat for initiatives enabling asymmetric advantage. Research from a leading firm did point […]
