IT Value Stack

Gaining a Seat at the Innovation Table

It was refreshing to read the Boston Consulting Group paper Gaining a Seat at the Innovation Table on the role IT has to play in business innovation.

The paper rightly highlights the role the business side has to play in this. The focus though is on what the IT function should be doing. I particularly like the nudge given to CIOs to get out there and support business process design.

Also the point that traditional IT leaders are unlikely to cut it on the innovation front is well made. I would like to see this elaborated on, as this for me is the critical issue in respect of the IT function delivering business value.

Avoid the IT alignment trap

Have a look at Avoid the IT alignment trap, an article by Bain employees Steve Berez, Vivek Gambhir and Amit Sinha.

My reaction: I agree that IT-business alignment is not the solution. I also agree that an IT department lacking in engineering and operational discipline will fail to meet the users' needs. But even IT departments that get their act together will still under perform if they focus on alignment. My interpretation of business-IT alignment is buyer-seller. A well aligned IT function does what it is told and does it well.

I believe we need to move beyond alignment to entwinement. In other words the IT function must influence business strategy as much as the users. This is a key way of moving IT as a subject for consideration under the title cost management to being a tool for innovation.

IT: Follow the Lead of Service Firms

In a recent series of blog posts popular author and speaker Tom Peters writes that companies should “PSF” themselves and be more service oriented. (PSF stands for Professional Service Firm.)

IT is, on a day-to-day basis, providing a service, and so must behave accordingly. The quality of that service will determine the users’ perception of the IT department, much in the same way as a restaurant’s service will determine the diner’s perception of the kitchen. A good kitchen fronted by surly waiters undermines the chef’s endeavors. Increasingly, the IT department is providing a service to both users and customers. A lack of service will impinge on client loyalty and thus revenues.

IT’s focus needs to be on the experience users have when they use the service.

For IT to be like a popular restaurant you will need your IT people to become more business-like. This goes beyond learning to be nice to users, and on to identifying who the best customers are and lavishing them with the limited love and attention available. This is also known as resource optimization.

(I discuss this more in the Service Stack chapter of The IT Value Stack.)