The Best Place to Start
Hank Barnes
Chief of Research-Tech Buying Behavior, Gartner - Exploring the Challenges and Opportunities Surrounding Tech Buying Decisions
Was chatting with a client last week. We get together regularly to discuss things and brainstorm. Much of the conversation centered around the competing pressures that IT leaders face (innovate, cut costs, transform, etc.) that can often leave them in a position where they are reluctant to do anything substantial (unless some external event triggers a quick response).
That led us to a discussion about how to fight that inertia and get things moving. I brought up my concern with the "Crawl, Walk, Run" model. Basically, I'm not sure if crawling does anyone any good. It is too small a change and too small an impact to matter. For may of the orgs described above, it can create a state of continuous crawling. Not good.
My client talked about another firm where they mantra is to start with the toughest project imaginable. Success there, means you can have success with anything. That might work for some, but it is probably too ambitious for most.
So, what's the right answer?
In my mind, the best place to start is with a project that delivers enough benefits and value to prove its worth to the organization. At the same time, it is important that the risks and challenges to success are well understood. And frankly, you want some risks and challenges.
Together, this builds the confidence muscle to build momentum to do more.
The exact start will vary. For (using our ETA methodology) Agile Leaders--the most confident risk-taking orgs in terms of technology, the starting point will have a pretty high reward attached to it. The risks might mostly be associated with the technology working as expected or promised.
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For Conflicted Laggards--the risk and change adverse group, the best place might be one that produces less ambitious gains, but demonstrates that change can be done successfully.
So where do you start? Pick your balance between risks and rewards that fits your org culture but also pushes things forward.
The articles in this newsletter do not follow Gartner's standard editorial review. All comments or opinions expressed here are mine and do not represent the views of Gartner, Inc. or its management.
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4 个月I agree with the approach of aligning project initiatives with both value and calculated risk for my customer with focus on their customer. Starting out with a comprehensive Business Assessment, onsite is preferred for Enterprise, to pinpoint high-priority use cases that provide the greatest customer impact with more focus on my customers customer is key. We look to understand the customers’ needs before providing much information than needed or demos. Once the BA is done and we have collaborated with our customer on the notes from the assessment then we work with our customer to prioritize the use cases that have the most impact the soonest but with the big picture in mind. Small wins are important. This does allow for a crawl, walk, run scenario and helps build momentum and trust within the customers organization.
Founder @ Inflexion-Point | Enabling B2B sales organisations to deliver consistently compelling customer outcomes
4 个月It strikes me that a few factors are at play here - the most promising projects tend to be: - Strategically relevant (they can be shown to support a key corporate priority or initiative) - Tactically urgent (they address an issue that will quickly get worse if not addressed) - Likely to deliver provably positive outcomes within in a relatively short timeframe - Supported by powerful champions both within IT and the affected operational functions - Consistent with the organisation's wider attitudes to risk and reward (but potentially stretching the envelope a little) Minor incremental improvements - as you point out - can result in an organisation never learning how to move with confidence at speed
Consultant and Personal Chief Inspiration Officer
4 个月I believe it is not a crawl, walk, or run. I agree perpetual crawl unless enticed. Walk doesn't seem to keep pace but can go the distance, run is for the elite who can both set the pace and go the distance (smaller pack). I kind of like the Sink, Swim, or Float. Swim or die and then Float to sustain and reflect, so that you can swim in sprints and find the islands of treasure. Problem is the wealthy ones behind the wheels in the speed boats not looking out for the people in the water.
Americas Consulting Lead @ DXC Technology | Consulting
4 个月"The exact start will vary." Precisely. Know yourself, your organization, and your business.
Managing Director OTCatalyst
4 个月I have been keenly following this valuable research. It would be interesting to know if any of the sales intelligence companies offering anything beyond buyer "intent" from their analysis? Is there a way to rate the innovation scale/project success rate of IT organizations so that sales teams focus on customers that have the required people and processes in place to make new projects successful?