Surfing and IT Innovation

Thanks to a colleague for pointing me to a remarkable post by John Hagel entitled Innovating on the Edge of Big Waves.   Hagel explores the evolution of ‘big wave’ surfing - both from a perspective of the technology innovations (e.g., fibreglass, foam core, changeable stabilizing fins) and techniques (e.g., tow-in surfing, insights borrowed from wind [...]

Are Your Vendor Partners Holding You Back?

 
I’ve been talking lately to CIO’s about Business-IT Maturity as part of the Reaching Level 3 multi-company research I am leading.  A recurring theme has come up enough times for me to believe it’s not an aberration. 
Several CIO’s have said to me something along the lines of, “We have several major business partners (providers of hardware, [...]

Elevating Business Demand Maturity - Victim or Leader?

 
I’ve touched on this theme in several posts, but I feel it’s time to call it out: don’t be a victim - be a leader!  I’m moved to get back into this because I continue to hear IT professionals bemoan the fact that “Our business partners just don’t want to use IT to innovate - [...]

Reflections on 2007 - En Route to 2017

It seems like a good time of the year to reflect on significant milestones or events that somehow mark 2007 on the journey to 2017 for IT organizations.  Ten years from now, when students of IT organizational evolution look back on 2007, what might the year be remembered for?  I’ll split this into a couple [...]

CIO vs. CTO - What’s The Difference?

One of the blogs I’ve been monitoring lately has the intriguing subtitle “Organizations Get the IT They Deserve” - a one-liner I’ve used from time to time (and something I truly believe!)  The latest post “Starting a High Tech Business: You Need a CTO” is, per its title, oriented towards high-tech start-ups.  However, it’s a good discussion of [...]

Idris Mootee on Creativity, Social Networking and Experience Design

A light post today, as I want to point to some excellent thinking on topics related to IT maturity and evolution.  Occasionally, I’ve referred to the connection between increasing business-IT maturity and Next Generation Enterprises (Enterprise 2.0).  A key characteristic of Next Generation Enterprises is their leveraging of Web 2.0 technologies, including Social Networking.
As I’ve [...]

IT’s Role In Leading the Way to Web 2.0?

My colleague Susan Scrupski (ITSinsider), who has taught me so much about the blogosphere and social media (and helped me see that I still have much to learn!)  just introduced me to a fascinating blog: innovation playgroundpublished by Idris Mootee.  All his posts are informative and some quite stimulating, raising important questions and sharing insights [...]

The IT Organization c2017 - Part 3

Continuing on this track, and again looking through the lens of the emerging Next Generation Enterprise (or Enterprise 2.0 if you prefer) one common theme that keeps surfacing is that of “on demand.”  This idea gets interpreted in many different ways, and even purloined as a marketing label, the notion of being able to access [...]

Reinventing the Purpose of IT

I met a couple of CIO’s last week that I believe really “get” the fundamental changes that are taking place around us.  One said, “Up till now, it’s all be preparation and rehearsal - the real work of IT is just beginning!  IT is now front and center in just about all aspects of the [...]

The End of IT Strategy

I closed the last post by postulating that by 2017, IT strategy as a distinct entity with its own strategic planning process will be history.  Let me expand on that thought.
In the early-90’s I had the privilege to be a partner in Ernst & Young’s Center for Business Innovation, in Boston, involved in many enlightening [...]