Organizational Readiness: A Recipe for Success

Embracing Ambient Analytics requires a company to undergo a transformational change. [1] Yet at least 67 percent of technology projects - including cloud computing, big data, and social technology - are either scrapped or deliver far short of their expected Return on Investment (ROI). [2]

When you are ready to embrace the digital revolution, you will want to get the most out of your people, time, and monetary investments.

A Backward Approach 

One reason so many transformation projects fail is because they approach organizational readiness from the wrong direction. Looking at change through the lens of the people, process, and technology that are impacted, companies often approach transformation in this order:

1. Technology: An executive buys a software service or piece of technology, thinking that technology is the missing piece for the company to compete against its competitors.
2. Process: A well-meaning project manager creates a project plan that develops process flows showing how they will fit the technology into what the company does today and in the future.
3. People: An operational owner is tasked with supporting the technology and process, usually using his or her existing staff that already supports the business.

A Recipe For Success

Successful organizational readiness works in the reverse order of those that fail, with one important addition: Services. Services are the products and services you provide to internal and external customers that they are willing to pay for and that make their lives better.

1. Services: What goods will customers want to buy from you? What unique data and insights can your company provide that will enable you to compete - and surpass - your competitors?
2. People: What skills do your employees currently have? Are there any gaps in terms of data analytics that, with a little training, could differentiate your organization based on the industry-leading knowledge you already have in-house?
3. Process: When, where, and why do the services, products, and people come together? Based on the desired transformation, are there new ways to organize that will enable your people to take in even more data and identify even better business insights than can be achieved today?
4. Technology: What tools will you use to unleash the power of your organization to deliver your services?

Successful change is possible. You just need the right recipe.
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References
[1] Litvinov, Viktor, Ambient Consortium (2016) "Ambient Analytics Manifesto: A Call to Action"
[2] David, Javier E., CNBC (2015) "Why technology spending isn't all it's cracked up to be: Study"

Michelle Smeby specializes in helping corporations deliver transformational change. Her unique approach to organizational change engages employees with strong executive sponsorship to achieve a corporate change that truly lasts. She is a thought leader in Organizational Readiness, Business Transformation, Strategic Problem-Solving, and Business Process Development and Re-engineering.