The best of strategies needs a rethink sometimes. Are you ready for business change?
You have a great strategy in place. Implementation is in full swing. And then comes the news. Business direction has changed. What do you do?
This might seem like an extreme situation but it happens more frequently than anyone acknowledges. Businesses are bought and sold. Key customers come and go. New customer segments emerge from nowhere. Competitors go under. New competitors emerge. New regulations come up. Old ones die out. Just about anything in your businesses ecosystem can change at a moment’s notice. That requires a change in business strategy which in turn means a fundamental re-look at IT Strategy.
Here is a simple plan to deal with this eventuality
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- Try not to get caught with your pants down: Do you have a robust process in place to check on the latest business intelligence? Technology direction?
- Acknowledge that change is needed: you might as well be at alcoholics anonymous. The first step to change is acknowledging it is needed. Sometimes, CIOs are reluctant to admit the need for change as if they personally caused the business issue that warrants it
- Build Flexibility Into Your Systems and Infrastructure: Enterprise Architecture Planning is a tool that can help build a flexible infrastructure. Everything that follows, including SOA, technology standards etc. further help make your systems and infrastructure flexible. A change in direction is easy.
- Before you jump, think: Speed is critical but often the enemy of long term effectiveness. Yes, things changed and you must act. However, is this just a blip or a fundamental shift? If you cannot answer this question, then you must do some more analysis. It will delay action but that might be in your long term interests.
- Rework the entire plan: It is not enough to quickly rework some things. You must think through all the ripples and waves these changes are going to make. Otherwise, you are putting band-aid on the wound that might require surgery.
We are all creatures of habit and change is not a welcome imperative. But those who are averse to change find notable mention in history books next to dinosaurs.
