This week I interviewed Professor Preiss from Clark University in Boston about what he sees happening in American business as they enter the strategic planning season.
His observations were very interesting, and should provide some food for thought for all of us as well.
Professor Preiss has observed that businesses today are focussing their attention on understanding two things - and two things only.
(1) Where are we now, and
(2) Where do we want to get to.
I call this the Boy Scout Model - a boy scout in the bush will have his tools; a map and a compass. But to determine what path he needs to take to reach his destination those tools are useless unless he knows precisely where he is today.
And so it is with business. We need to understand where we are today before we can map out a path to our destination. In I.T. this means to build an inventory of our current I.T. assets, particularly our applications and how they support our business processes. Then we need to decide which of those business processes are going to be emphasised in order to move us in the direction of our goal.
Are your investments in I.T. - which have been made over years and years - supporting your current business model ? Are these investments appropriate as you move towards a new and uncertain future ? Will the drop in AUD value mean that all of your discretionary spending on I.T. has been swamped by increased maintenance charges ?
Tough questions ..... not trivial ..... but we can help you to focus on what's important.
Visit our website at http://www.100days.com.au to find out more.
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