The importance of deciding the strategy before executing it

[jrineakter]

If your company is like most, you're in the process of transforming your operations. But you need to be aware of one of the most common pitfalls when implementing new technologies: executing the project before deciding what your change strategy should look like.

As Harvard Business Review puts it , "Most digital technologies offer potential for increased efficiency and customer intimacy. But if people lack the right mindset for change and current organizational practices are flawed, digital transformation will simply magnify those flaws."

Deciding on a concrete strategy before execution is especially important when working with solution providers and consultants. Here's what you can do.

Commitment to the discovery process
The discovery process is the time when your solution providers and any other technology partners fully assess your business. They will look at your current technologies, as well as your processes and internal talent.

It can be tempting to skip this process when working with external collaborators. It takes time, so it can feel like the process is being rushed when you could be making major changes.

But this discovery period is crucial oman telegram users mobile phone number list to the success of the entire project. You need to first understand what your strengths and weaknesses are before making any major changes to how your business operates. It is also an opportunity for your team members to provide input on what needs to be fixed and even what technologies could help.

Once the discovery period is over, you and your employees should have a pretty good idea of ​​where your business stands, what tools you need to adopt, and what processes you need to change. It may even be that some of the technologies are working well for you and you don’t need a complete restructuring.

This will help you better predict the scope of your project and factor it into your plans for the immediate future.

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Agree on the scope
With a complete assessment of your business, your implementation partners can now outline the scope of work they will be performing. This is not only an important step for your partners, but it is also an important way to ensure that your partners and solution providers are being fair and transparent.

Your partners will be able to provide you with clear documentation of what they intend to do, how long it will take, and how much it will cost. This will allow you to integrate implementation services into your schedule and budget more effectively, so that they do not interfere with your daily operations.

You may need this information if you have internal stakeholders who have not yet agreed to the project.

Develop the strategy
Once you’ve established the scope of your project, you can begin to outline your main strategy. This will detail each step of your implementation project and show how those changes will benefit your business.

Typically, the strategy will work directly on the areas that need to be fixed in your processes. By implementing new technologies, you can increase efficiency, improve your company’s profitability, or even make your employees’ lives easier. Even a simple user interface improvement can do wonders for their productivity.

Your strategy should also address the issue of change management. Your team members may need to learn new tools and technologies before they start generating value for your company.

You shouldn’t make technology decisions behind closed doors, either. According to Forbes , “It’s much better to be open and honest and include people in all parts of the technology adoption process. The outcome is often better and leads to technology adoption at a much faster pace.”

Once created, the strategy should include a series of checkpoints or milestones, as well as timelines for completing them. This will be your roadmap for implementation.