Perspectives & Strategy

As we emerge from these current economic troubles then corporate development budgets will get reinstated, yet one thing that the future does hold is conservative spending plans. Senior management has become acutely tuned into many former wasted expenditures that will not be allowed to recur.

Maximizing resources and aggressively planing for the future are likely to continue to be the expenditure themes for the coming months. Improvements to business effectiveness are more important than ever before, yet projects still need to be delivered. Today on-time and in-budget is increasingly important, yet it is still possible to deliver radical change to the business condition. Technology must not be seen as a “necessary evil” in the eyes of the business owner, it is a key enabler that adds value, yet the modern company does not have to invest in mega systems to get results.

With every project is important to identify a return on investment, and seeking some positive return during the first full year of operation is increasingly important. During the tough times it was necessary to stretch projects out, with a commitment to deliver fewer major projects. You business has to be ready for the economic upturn. Investment in marketing, communications and Social Media are a must have over the coming months, bust the spending must be cost effective. A clear picture of spending and expected benefits must be available to the executive team.

It is important to be making the right decisions at the right time, delaying growth can have negative consequences. Development projects, when correctly timed can have a dramatic effect on the growth we experience. Remember too many project fail because of our desire to fix the world in one massive step. Business is in a state of continuous improvement. If you could look at the oldest corporation in the world, it is unlikely to be run the same way today as it was when it first started. Business improvement will continue to be needed as long as we have business and where there is a culture of improvement there will be projects to facilitate change.

We should always remember that one of the keys to success is that projects are always limited by time and resources, it has always been true that more progress can be made through a series of small steps. As humans we frequently chase after the impossible. If we succeed then we are heroes but failure can carry with it dire consequences. Every business change project needs to be broken down into bite-sized pieces. This way we are better able to understand the scope and goals. It is important to look out for the signs of project failure, yet plan for success.  We should look to solve those problems that can be easily solved first. With each problem we need to:

■ Define it

■ Identify any barriers to success

■ Know how serious the problem is

■ Identify options that can assist us

■ Look at the outline costs involved

Fundamentally businesses should look to change its processes before it looks to change its systems. IT system processes are always more complex and more costly to fix than the associated business process. It is not about being opposed to a major systems change, but it is essential to go through the right level of thinking before making any decision to replace applications. The problem is largely one of strategic thinking. Strategic problem solving requires the definition of corporate goals and plans against which all projects are tied. Generally speaking these should be long term goals, yet we must always respond to changing priorities and be able to define new goals when necessary. Yet short term changes should not end up dictating long-term policy.

The business executive today needs to tread carefully over the next few months, yet at the same time plan for growth, then be prepared to aggressively execute against a growth plan at the right time.