Transformation is a four-letter word…Hard pt.2

Success Factor #1 – Overcoming Delay

As Leaders, our days are consumed by meetings, external activities, and addressing today’s “fire drill.” There always seems to be a more pressing need, but it is a trap that perpetuates a reactive company instead of a proactive one. Changing something that is even semi-functional is hard for reactive companies.

One very successful company I worked with had an internally developed GL system. It had been live for decades and worked just fine. Unfortunately, it was inflexible, the code was “spaghetti” from decades of use, and it required constant attention from IT programmers who were at retirement age. It became such a risk that the external auditors discussed it

with the BOD. Decisions around the identification and implementation of a new system became more of a “fire drill” than it should have been.

Recommendations:

1. Be proactive not reactive!

2. Perform three cascading assessments annually:

• Global business environment

• Long Term Business Forecast

• Gap assessment between Business capabilities and its needs

3. Develop a road-map for solutions that includes a timeline and owners.