BALANCE BY DESIGN
The essence of designing a Technology Business is to find and preserve several balances in parallel: balance between the interests of stakeholders, between short and long term, centralized and decentralized, friendly and authoritative, purposeful and spontaneous. Besides the WHAT of technology trends, TechnoVision offers a view of HOW to shape these balances within the organization – by purposeful design. The principles within this container aim to provide control questions for executives, a bouquet of perspectives for architects, and a systematic checklist for anybody involved in a Technology Business portfolio, program, project, or initiative.
Presented on a single page, each principle is deliberately contrasted with an anti-principle: the opposite of the principle, a statement that may strike the reader as uncomfortably familiar. The context then positions the principle, before living the principle shows how we can apply it on a continuous basis, and finally the openings propose the potential first steps for any organization, like the opening moves of a chess game. We start with Technology∈∋Business (pronounced as “Every Business is a Technology Business”), which makes the case for not ‘just’ aligning business and technology, but fully unifying the two – achieving full transformational impact across the entire organization. We continue with Adapt First, as we still need ‘water-like’ capabilities to seamlessly adapt to whatever changing circumstances may occur inside and outside the organization. Hence, Adapt First is a mantra that cannot be chanted enough.
Being open to any expected or unexpected partnering opportunity out there is now the hallmark of a true Technology Business and being With Open Arms means transforming your platform into a true business magnet. With sustainability now featuring as one of the top of corporate priorities, Do Well, Do Good suggests boosting the organization’s societal purposes by saying “Yes” to technology that fosters sustainability, and “No” to what is energy-wasting or non-essential. As trust levels ebb, Technology Businesses must respond with a powerful Trust Thrust, which unifies business and technology strengths to carry the torch for trust, protect the corporate foundation and propel business growth.
To deal with the irresistible ascension of data-fueled Artificial Intelligence, IQ CQ EQ Up promotes a proper balance between relying on data and algorithms – increasingly for creative purposes – and the emotional curves of all involved. We’re only humans after all. Or are we? Our last design principle of No Hands On Deck tantalizes us with the prospect of a fully automated, hands-free business while suggesting a stepwise approach to getting there (if we ever do). Each of the seven principles is designed to provide guidance on its own. Embrace all seven as a set, make them your Technology Business seven-league boots!
Pierre Hessler Expert in Residence
