Friday, March 1, 2019

Running IT as the “Center of Possibility”

Modern IT has many faces. The art of possible is phenomenal to rejuvenate IT. 

IT continues to grow in importance to organizations, both operationally and as a competitive advantage. To keep IT relevant, IT management shouldn't just practice some transactional activities or act as a controller only. It has to explore both the art and the science of digital management discipline, run IT organization as the “center of possibility,” to accelerate its performance and unlock business potential.






Making the “art of possible” strategy:“The art of possible” strategy is not based on the mirage but on a set of differentiated digital competencies because business breakthrough and digital transformations are not something every business can accomplish, you have to systematically develop and sharpen those abilities which cannot be built overnight, and keep tuning them into core competencies. IT strategy is an integral component of the business strategy which is set aggressive enough mid or long-term goals to inspire and motive. Rather than wait for the business to tell IT what they want, IT needs to proactively work with the business and partners on how great digital technologies and refined information can change the business, enable strategies, innovate products or services and speed up, to become the “center of possibility.” Companies are recognizing that IT is roughly coupled to the business strategy, and it is a very good sign about how the companies will deliver business value. The important IT management discipline is to be proactive on how they architect and implement changes, focus on constantly building collective and differentiated business competencies by which the problems can be solved creatively, and ensure IT is strategically positioned to be ahead of where the business is moving next.

The hidden gem of IT is in its intuition and artistic touch:
We all know IT is mainly an engineering discipline, but engineering is not only science but also the art because it involves personalized observation and judgment, design thinking, intuition, and creativity. The science of IT enables IT to take a logical path to implement ideas as well as to figure out solutions to most types of problems and to deliver reliable products or services for reaching the expectation of business customers. But it’s the creative side of IT achieves the “art of possible,” make it the business game changer. To put more precisely, IT needs to embed art into science to explore the “art of possible.” IT shouldn’t just take orders only or merely deliver what the business asked for. It’s about knowing the better way to do things, be able to provide the “best or most innovative solution” for the businesses’ requirement, offering value-added solutions. CIOs must realize that stifling the creative side of the IT will set back business, and IT organizations would continue to be perceived as a cost center. Running digital IT needs to work cross boxes instead within the box, and it involves new ways of bringing together ideas and resources to create something novel and achieve business objectives in any way possible. The artistic side of IT lifts up its maturity from functioning to firm to delight.


Running IT as a business and practicing intrapreneurship to achieve the art of possibility: Innovation happens at the intersection of people and technology. To break down the outdated mindset, methodologies, or practices, intrapreneurship is a crucial component in digital IT innovation playbook to become the “center of possibility.” Intrapreneurship is about discovering the new path for growth and balancing innovation with other organizational priorities, It becomes a distinct fixture for management in their efforts to create new revenue streams, explore emergent business opportunities, substantiate their competitive position, and drive business growth. It is about running IT as a business, with a healthy and shortened business cycle of planning, funding, designing, building, operating, securing, optimizing and maturing. Running an innovative business doesn’t mean everything goes rogue, practicing intrapreneurship means enterprise IT should go smarter and flexible, with the culture of risk awareness and tolerance, capture opportunities timely, roll things out and measure the business result accordingly. Innovation is the heart of improvement, the intrapreneurship activities can improve organizational growth and profitability, make IT the “center of possibility.” Depending on the company’s dynamic environment, their impact will increase over time.

Modern IT has many faces. The art of possible is phenomenal to rejuvenate IT. IT is a key component of holistic business mindset to reimagine “what is possible.” Companies that continue with the status quo will not win in this ever competitive digital business dynamic because the most powerful and differentiating tool in all of the today's businesses is information which is provided by IT systems. The art of possible is to deliver the value of information in helping businesses grow, delight customers and unleash the full digital potential of the business. Enterprise IT organizations are likely to be winners on the whole if IT starts to plan, drive, and accelerate the digital transformation. 

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