| | February 20179CIOReviewThe Keys to Executing a Business TransformationRemember that business transformation is an exercise in chaos. Get buy-in before you unleash it on those who will be impacted mostdata, productivity data, and historical data. Examine what IT delivered, and failed to deliver, in terms of custom technology. Check ROI. Get your people soaked in the data they'll need to make informed choices.Then, communicate. Be clear with everyone in your company--especially executives--about your plan and what you aim to achieve, and use these four strategies to stay engaged:1. Stay Close to the Information Trail. Make sure people are absorbing the reasoning behind the transformation you're seeking to drive. Understand what areas are not connected and attack those areas. Listen to the feedback. It will tell you if you're doing things well or not. The trail will also tell you about the 'unknown unknowns', the 'known unknowns', and the 'known knowns'. The more you understand about what's needed and what's missing, the more efficient your transformation process will be.2. Pay Attention in the Moment. Business transformations are rarely straight-line affairs, so don't treat them that way. Keep your eyes open and your ears perked. Look for signs that efforts are veering off course and move quickly to move things back on track. Your ability to execute over the long term depends on how well you course-correct.3. Work with Executive Stakeholders and Partners. Remember that business transformation is an exercise in chaos. Get buy-in before you unleash it on those who will be impacted most. Their support is crucial if you're to achieve top-down alignment. Without it, you can't be successful.4. Provide Absolute Transparency. Be prepared to sell your vision. Be honest and fully transparent. That way, your team will make the decision to transform--or not--in the full light of day, and in full view of the facts.These are the principles we practice at HPE. In fact, a few of us on the IT team recently met with our CEO, Meg Whitman, to review budget priorities. We told her what we knew, what we didn't, and we put forward a comprehensive budget for accomplishing our next stage of digital transformation. We put everything in the open and let her decide, because that's her job. Our job is to make sure she has what she needs to make the best available choice.The Time to Get Started Is NowEven if you aren't working through a business transformation now, chances are you will be. Dealogic tracked $5 trillion of global M&A activity in 2015, a new record. U.S.-based activity was down 18 percent through the first half of 2016, yet that was still enough to produce $642 billion in activity--including a $13.6 billion deal to combine the operations of Starwood and Marriott, two of the world's largest hospitality chains. You can bet the CIOs of both companies are busy deploying IT teams to ensure the transformation goes smoothly for everyone involved.At HPE, we've delivered significant value to customers, partners, and shareholders as a result of last fall's split. We're a brand new company with a refreshed set of strategies and team members who are excited about what we're doing. And because we've focused on executing the necessary digital transformation, IT is truly set up to empower our company. We can move as fast as we need to move, and pivot when necessary.Business transformation may not be an easy process, but as we've found at HPE, it can be defined, cultivated, and managed to produce the growth and profits every stakeholder longs for.
< Page 8 | Page 10 >