Ron Thieme, Ph.D.
VP, Strategic Services
We've been there before. As executives, our eyes glaze over when the technologists in our organizations start talking about a new software system. The intricate explanations of arcane features, integration with other systems, project plans, and so on leave us wondering why a business executive should even be involved in such conversations. IT is a cost to be minimized, not a strategic capability, right?
But companies who derive real strategic value from IT know better. The role of the business executive is critical not only in selecting new technology, but deriving real benefit from that technology as it is put to use around the organization. The accompanying figure tells a story that any business executive could relate to.
Selecting new technology starts not with the technical bits, but with a firm understanding of the organization's strategy, goals, and organizational structure. These are how a firm engages the market, and are the tools by which the firm will ultimately succeed or fail. Any application of technology must directly support the firm's goals, and work within its organizational context.
The actual process of selecting and deploying new technology can be considered as happening in three steps: 1) IT Selection, 2) IT Adoption, and 3) IT Exploitation. (For further treatment of these steps, see "Mastering the Three Worlds of Information Technology" in the November 2006 issue of Harvard Business Review.) The executive has a key role to play in each of these steps, particularly in making sure that right organizational complements are being addressed:
- Business processes: Don't assume that new technology will support your business processes. Some technology applications enforce a particular process, but that may not be the one that is right for your company. Selecting new technology is the time to evaluate all of your processes and to redesign them if necessary. Executives need to drive this initiative.
- Individual skills: There are specific skills required to operate specific technology applications. But more importantly, there are business skills that people in various levels of the organization need to own and practice. Selecting and adopting new technology can be an important driver for brushing up on these general skills.
- Team skills: Inserting technology into an organization changes the organization. Production teams may find themselves empowered to do things they might not have been able to do before. Certainly, technology implementation teams (consisting of both business and technology professionals) need to perform at a high level to ensure that the technology is implemented efficiently.
- Decision rights: CIOs and business executives need to understand who is responsible for making decisions regarding technology. Adopting a new technology application often brings these issues to the forefront. Be proactive in understanding and assigning these decision rights so the organization gets technology that is useful to the business and maintainable by the IT group.
As you can see, business executives have a key role to play in the technology selection process. Organizations where that role is filled are finding IT to be a competitive advantage to be exploited, not a cost to be minimized!