From: dennis.gleeson@woodybbs.com (Dennis Gleeson) Date: Tue, 21 Feb 95 10:27:00 -0500 GROWING THE SMART ORGANIZATION (The following essay is from the book "Jumping The Curve: Innovation And Strategic Choice In An Age Of Transition," By Nicholas Imparato and Oren Harari). Chapter 7 -- Growing the Smart Organization When the organizing principle of building the organization around the software and building the software around the customer is in effect, an organization becomes as much a collection of thoughts and ideas as it is a collection of things. This shift suggests that information technology is not just another resource that has to be "managed." The idea that the information system is the management system is closer to the point because of its stress on the centrality of knowledge, particularly if applied in pursuit of both today's and tomorrow's customer. Implementing the organizing principle capsizes traditional ideas. Typically, the organization - with its attendant structures and systems - is considered a "given." Any software additions are integrated or superimposed into that existing infrastructure. Once everything is in place, the enterprise is presumably ready to attend to the customer. Granted, this is somewhat an unfair stereotype, since events in the world of management are never neatly sequential or black and white. Nevertheless, the description rings true when managerism, or classical management, drives the process. The idea of building the organization and the software around the customer transposes the standard order of events completely. The initial assumption is that the important action is "out there," and that the action revolves around the customer. Software - including information technology and supporting social systems - is used or developed to meet the demands of that activity. The software earns its value by enabling the organization to satisfy customer needs. The customer represents the beginning of the entire process, the foundation for everything that follows. Getting Smart Few organizations, if any, have managed to complete the transition described here and jump from mass to brain. But some, as we shall see, are heading in the right direction. There are techniques and approaches that can help leaders in the effort. The idea that a company builds itself around the software and that the software is built around the customer means that managers are committed to the aggressive use of information technology in four distinct but related initiatives: 1. Leverage knowledge across the organization. 2. Accelerate the development of collaborative work within the organization and between the organization and "outsiders." 3. Prioritize efforts that lead to mass customization, slenderized marketing, and individual customer sets. 4. Liberate people from the constraints of the paper-dependent environment. These initiatives are not exclusive; they are different attributes of the same strategy that facilitates the organization's ability to jump the curve. They have in common the intention to make the organization less "heavy" and, instead, to energize the organization around the processes that are driven by the customer environment rather than by custom and bureaucratic tradition. Each of the initiatives, outlined in Table 7.1, is supported with a set of action steps. The aim is to use - as thoroughly, frequently and quickly as possible- the intelligence and experience of everyone associated with the business, regardless of the roles they play: employee, manager, partner, vendor, or customer. Table 7.1 - BUILD THE ORGANIZATION AROUND THE SOFTWARE AND THE SOFTWARE AROUND THE CUSTOMER. Initiative 1: Leverage knowledge across the organization. * Begin with a statement of compelling need, for everyone. * Be ready to persuade. * Be clear on the criteria for success. * Be inclusive and open about inputs into the system. Initiative 2: Accelerate the development of collaborative work within the organization and between the organization and "outsiders." * Build in dialog and feedback from the beginning. * Prepare for success. * Start thinking of organizations and careers in terms of networks. Initiative 3: Prioritize efforts that lead to mass customization, slenderized marketing and individualized customer sets. * Know your customer, markets, and competition. * Integrate business and technology strategies. Initiative 4: Liberate people from the constraints of the paper- dependent environment. * Deliver on comfort while promoting experimentation. * Do it now. END OF ESSAY Copyright (C) 1994 by Jossey-Bass, Inc. This text may be reproduced in electronic form as long as it not altered and includes this notice. For JUMPING THE CURVE: INNOVATION AND STRATEGIC CHOICE IN AN AGE OF TRANSITION ordering information, please call 1-800-852-4890 Dept. 21 or send mail to: P.O. Box 726 Dept. 21 Windsor, CA 95492 $25.00 plus shipping and handling CONTENTS Forward - Tom Peters Part 1 - Straddling Two Worlds: The Familiar and the Unknown 1. We've Been Here Before: Historic Parallels to Our Tumultuous Age 2. Turning Point: The World Has Never Been So Awake 3. Rising to the Occasion: New Roles for New Times Part 2- Making The Leap: Strategic Choices for the Emerging Epoch 4. The Innovation Imperative 5. Practicing Creative Destruction 6. The Intelligence Imperative 7. Growing the Smart Organization 8. The Coherence Imperative 9. Linking Success to Values and Ideas 10. The Responsibility Imperative 11. Guaranteeing That the Customer is the Final Arbiter Epilogue: Choosing Our Destiny "Jumping the Curve: Innovation And Strategic Choice In An Age Of Transition" ISBN 1-55542-705-7 _Dennis_Gleeson_KINGS_PARK,_NY_RIME->5190_or_->YOURSOFTWARE_ _Internet:_Dennis.Gleeson@woodybbs.com_ --- * CMPQwk #1.42-18 * UNREGISTERED EVALUATION COPY