Holistic Business Architecture Approaches

With a staggering 70% of transformations ending in failure and global spending on these initiatives expected to surpass $3.4 trillion, it's clear that conventional approaches are falling short and a new radically different approach is needed. I firmly believe that the key to success lies in getting your organization into alignment.   In alignment, every element of your business should work cohesively to fulfill the organization's purpose.     There are two critical dimensions to alignment.  - Vertical alignment: harmonizing strategies, goals, knowledge, and activities from the C-suite down to individual contributors. This involves defining everyone's role precisely so it's clear how they contribute to the organization's purpose.  - Horizontal Alignment: emphasizing effective collaboration and coordination. Across various business and functional areas. This means breaking down silos and fostering synergies. So that units work effectively to achieve common goals and objectives.   To achieve alignment, and I mean in A. Real. Tangible. Way, a common languages needed.    This language creates a shared understanding across diverse perspectives. Enabling clear communication by removing ambiguity and confusion. It fosters collaboration in delivering on a complex transformational agenda.   For a common language to be effective. It must satisfy three criteria.  - It has to be should be business oriented, which is critical for driving change through the lens of how the organization creates and delivers value.  - It must facilitate cross-functional connectivity linking concepts from different teams through that common language to tear down organizational silos and promote stronger communication and collaboration.  - It must represent different levels of granularity being useful for both senior leadership and lower-level staff at the same time.   I've considered this question extensively. My conclusion is that the only candidate that satisfied these criteria is process.    This requires organizations to invest in building a process capability to create and maintain an inventory of all processes.  This new and holistic method is the antidote to transformation failures and is the key to your organization succeeding into the digital age! This approach will save time, money, and be significantly more effective in delivering on the business vision for the transformation.

Embracing Complexity in Data & Ai. Would you prefer a straightforward standard #data #solution or a #multifaceted one? The instinct is to choose simplicity and standardization. Yet, the realm of data and AI is inherently complex, and this complexity is growing. Complexity in the data ecosystem reflects the challenges data leaders face, requiring innovative approaches to ensure agility and effectiveness. - Complexity in data & Ai means that components like datasets, algorithms, and user interactions are not just interconnected but also rapidly evolving. - This interconnectedness implies that challenges in data are multifaceted, involving aspects like data quality, integration, privacy, and user experience. Data problems are not isolated; they are part of a complex network. Viewing them as such allows data leaders to adopt a holistic approach, considering how changes in one area can impact others. This perspective is essential for creating robust and resilient #DATA & Ai #PRODUCTS that deliver value in a complex environment. For instance, a challenge in data quality might not just be a technical issue but also a user engagement one, where the way users interact with data affects the data collected. Recognizing this interconnection can lead to more comprehensive solutions that address root causes rather than symptoms. I have an anectodical example of a Fortune 200 company struggling with business forecasting that illustrates this: what seemed like a model issue was, in reality, a complex challenge involving sales strategies, customer behavior, and supply chain dynamics. No single model could address this; a holistic, data-driven approach was necessary. The rise of AI and other technological shifts further complicate the landscape. While experts are valuable, the unpredictable nature of data and AI challenges requires a shift toward experimental and adaptive problem-solving. Solution? Bring PRODUCT MANAGEMENT to Data & Ai! In data & Ai product management, fostering a culture of experimentation is crucial. It's about encouraging questions, exploring new possibilities, and not being afraid to pivot based on new insights. Moreover, the focus shifts from traditional "intellectual" data property to user "interaction property". This requires a mindset shift from owning information to actively engaging with users, both internally and externally. Data leadership in this complex domain is about vision and adaptability. Join me in bringing product management to Data & Ai and celebrating data complexity, fostering a culture of curiosity, and prioritizing INTERACTION over ownership are the strategies that will define tomorrow's industry data leaders. https://lnkd.in/ecGKAyQx #dataproducts #dataproductinstitute

System thinking is the core of successful continuous discovery. Before the rise of design thinking, system thinking played a crucial role in shaping software projects. With the emergence of the internet, these systems naturally evolved into social systems. However, introducing design thinking shifted the focus toward empathy, emphasizing a more user-centric approach to product development. Yet, even before this shift, the essence of web experiences was already centered around people. While agile movements and design thinking made these concepts more accessible to a broader business audience, they might also have inadvertently distanced us from the fundamental nature of systems, which inherently revolve around interactions and solving problems. Maybe we just need to lean into the systems. Systems thinking is a holistic approach to problem-solving that emphasizes understanding the interconnectedness and patterns within complex systems. This method of thinking is particularly useful in addressing challenges with multiple stakeholders, competing incentives, or no clear solutions. Here are some aspects of systems thinking: → Patterns: Systems thinking helps us see how different system parts are connected. Understanding how a change in one area can affect others is essential. → Multiple perspectives: This approach involves listening to different people's views. This makes our understanding of a problem deeper and helps us look at the situation more thoroughly. → Expanding choices and seeing problems differently: Systems thinking lets us think of problems in new ways. This can show us more possible solutions. → Informed decision-making: By knowing how parts of a system are linked, we can make better choices, considering how these choices might affect the system. → Anticipating trade-offs and unintended consequences: It helps us think ahead about the possible effects of our choices, reducing the chances of unexpected problems. → Building support for solutions: Including many different viewpoints helps gain more support for the solutions we come up with. It ensures that these solutions take everyone into account. → Holistic solutions: The aim is to create solutions that meet the needs of everyone involved and consider the whole system. Sound familiar? It should. The concept of design thinking has its roots deeply embedded in systems thinking. Systems thinking can help your organization return to the basics of creating and doing customer discovery without all the empathy jargon. With Helio, you can connect with large groups of people who can quickly reveal if your ideas are working (or not). The benefit of this approach is that you don't have to overhaul your approach to building products – you can start by simply sharing your work with an audience! #productdesign #productdiscovery #uxresearch #marketresearch

Let's talk about the fascinating synergy between business strategy and technical implementation in the SaaS industry. Having navigated this dynamic landscape myself, I'm thrilled to share some insights from my journey. 🎯 In my experience at Ardas, I've witnessed the magic that unfolds when business vision aligns seamlessly with technical prowess. It's like orchestrating a symphony, where each note represents a strategic move, and the instruments are the technical elements that bring it to life. 🌐 Holistic Alignment: Today, SaaS isn't just about writing code; it's about creating solutions that resonate with customer needs. Your business strategy isn't a standalone document – it's the cornerstone of your software development. Whether it's optimizing user experience, enhancing scalability, or ensuring robust security, the technical implementation is the bridge that turns strategy into reality. 🚀 Innovation Accelerator: As the SaaS landscape evolves at warp speed, the intersection of business and tech becomes the playground of innovation. Imagine your business strategy as the fuel that ignites the technical engine, propelling you ahead of the competition. Embracing AI, machine learning, and IoT isn't just trendy – it's strategic! The right tech can supercharge your strategy, opening doors to new revenue streams and customer delight. 💬 Feedback Loop: Remember that communication isn't just for humans; it's for strategy and code too! Regular feedback loops between your business team and tech wizards foster a culture of collaboration. Listen to your devs, and they'll translate your strategy into tech marvels that users love. And when users are happy, your strategy flourishes. It's a beautiful loop of innovation and satisfaction. 🌟 Customer-Centric Approach: In today's SaaS galaxy, customers aren't just users – they're partners. Your business strategy should echo their needs, and your tech should deliver beyond expectations. Personalization, real-time insights, and frictionless experiences aren't just buzzwords – they're the cornerstone of customer retention and advocacy. And remember, in the fast-paced world of SaaS, collaboration between these two realms isn't just beneficial – it's essential! #SaaSInsights #TechInnovation #BusinessStrategy

I believe most innovation comes from synthesizing rigorous analysis and deep subject matter expertise into a holistic view that produces insight greater than the sum of its parts, a process I call “Dynamic Synthesis.” This may appear to be mysterious or magical, but it’s really a function of processing known information. Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize-winning behavioral economist describes the process of intuition and innovation in his book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow” as simply recognizing information based on recalling similar circumstances from one’s memory. Reading and studying can greatly enhance the reservoir of information. To wit, at Harvard Business School, my classmates and I studied nearly 2,000 cases of real business leaders wrestling with real problems of real businesses across numerous industries and business models, which is still of great benefit to me when collaborating with Founders we invest in at Eagle Venture Fund. And, of critical importance, is lived experience. The deeper and broader the experiences of a Founder (see this HBR analysis re experienced Founders https://shorturl.at/ciADH), the faster and easier the process is of boiling comprehensive analysis down to a clear view of the best potential solutions and pivoting if things don’t go as planned. I further define Dynamic Synthesis as four different types of integration: ·     Situational Synthesis - the fusion of the overall situation, from the industry context to the market demand to existing solutions to poorly-addressed problems, which makes deep knowledge of the industry critical. ·     Experiential Synthesis - the analysis through the filter of extensive experience across many roles from strategy to product development to sales to marketing to finance, etc., and understanding the relatedness of various functions. ·     Pattern Synthesis - the ability to recognize similar patterns given similar circumstances. For example, the technology industry pattern that the value of innovation flows from hardware to software, and eventually to services. In 1996 I acquired an antiquated mainframe-based service bureau with the insistence of an investor that wanted me to spin it into an Application Service Provider (now called SaaS). He recognized the pattern at a time when everyone else was installing client/server software in company data centers, that we should focus on hosting and streaming software instead because that would be the future. ·     Best Practices Synthesis - the application of best practices of proven strategies that have worked in other markets. In many cases, an entire industry has adopted an attitude of “we’ve always done it this way,” whereas outsiders can more easily spot the sacred cows and blind spots than industry incumbents. The output of Dynamic Synthesis, which can happen lightning fast in a moment of inspiration - say in the middle of a meeting - can be the kernel of a uniquely-better idea that is truly breakthrough.

You can lead innovation from wherever you are. But you need to know how to setup an innovation capability. This is the innovation model I coached that produced 957% return on the initial investment of $2.47M. I envisioned and coached the process, model, and approach for a global and scalable innovation capability from what I learned leading innovation at Microsoft. Part of what makes innovation so tough is the lack of shared mental models. Here are some of the key components of leading innovation: INNOVATION BOARD An Innovation Board is people working together to manage innovation as a capability. An internal Innovation Board can help you prioritize, get funding, channel resources, and escalate as necessary. It's also a way to integrate innovation back to the core. INNOVATION HUBs An Innovation Hub is a center of gravity for innovation efforts. I like the "Hub" model because it's the idea of Hubs and Spokes. You can have a Hub of Hubs, and it's a way to embed and spread innovation around the world. It's a federated model for innovation. INNOVATION PORTFOLIO Creating a shared view of your innovation projects helps leaders see the dashboard. It gets people thinking in "portfolios" vs. "one offs". An Innovation Portfolio gives you the balcony view to invest better. BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION This is where you create new value. I learned a lot as head coach for Microsoft Satya Nadella's innovation team, but one of the most important things is to focus on business model innovation. As Satya put it to me: "Bring me new business models!" Just this one shift in focus can completely transform the success of innovation efforts. CULTURE OF INNOVATION You can inspire innovation at multiple levels. Satya asked me to share with him directly stories of innovation and trends & insights. When you share stories of success, smart people want to play, too. And, they have a fear of missing out. Every leader wants growth.  And innovation is the lever. EMPOWERING EMPLOYEES Innovation happens at the edge. It's the intersection of customer pains, needs, and desired outcomes and your solution. Innovation takes empathy. Swarming on customer challenges is where breakthroughs happen. Everyone can innovate, but they need the mindsets, skill sets, and toolsets. DREAM BIG, START SMALL Too many people play small, out of fear and risk. But that sets the stage for failure. Small things don't accrue to any big things unless there's a guiding vision. The vision is the scaffolding for success. And the vision is what will inspire the team and get support. When you dream big, you figure out better solutions. And these constrain your strategies, and that's a good thing. The right answer is Dream Big, Start Small. This way you can work forwards and work backwards. Dream big, start small.

I enjoyed reading McKinsey’s latest insights on innovative business models in US healthcare. As the CEO of Chapters Health System, a health system dedicated to transforming care delivery, it’s fascinating to me how our industry continues to evolve. The article highlights the significant value created by two different business strategies: vertical integration and pure-play specialization. Instead of specializing, at Chapters, we’ve embraced a holistic approach, creating cross-pollination across a wide segment of the healthcare process. From our hospices to behavioral health services, our pharmacy company, our PACE centers and our CareNu subsidiary, we’re committed to delivering comprehensive, wraparound care to our patients. For organizations like ours, the McKinsey piece recommends a focus on provider engagement: “The success of vertically integrated models depends on ongoing engagement with members and patients to enable care outside clinical settings and to engender connections with the care team.” This is the backbone of our success at Chapters Health. We take a patient-first, comprehensive approach to healthcare delivery, coordinating care across different service lines. At the same time, many of our growth initiatives have been joint-ventures, fostering collaborative relationships that enable us to expand our capabilities while respecting the autonomy and expertise of our partners. By continuing to innovate and enhance our capabilities, we’re poised to create even greater value for the communities we serve going forward. #ChaptersHealthSystem #ValueBasedCare #HealthcareInnovation #VerticalIntegration

Hacking Together Your Tech Stack is A Necessary Art, But Don't Forget the Big Picture! 🔨 Sometimes, necessity drives us to 'hack' things together to solve immediate problems. Quick tech fixes are often about expediency. But sustainable success comes from evolving your tech stack strategically. Regularly assess and realign your technology with your business goals. It's easy to get lost in the weeds of tech fixes. But remember to schedule time to take a 30,000 foot view. Look for synergy, not just solutions. 🔄 Each piece of your tech stack should not only solve a problem but also align with your broader business objectives. Don't let your tech stack become a mere collection of tools. With a holistic strategy, turn it into a powerhouse that drives business growth and innovation 💡 At the end of the day, RevOps mastery lies in stepping back and ensuring that each piece contributes to an integrated whole. This approach transforms your tech stack from a survival kit into a strategic asset. #TechStackStrategy #HolisticApproach #BusinessGrowth #Innovation #IntegratedSolutions #RevOps #TechnologyManagement

Innovation in Real Estate Development: Lessons from Lotte, Korea 🇰🇷🏗️ Earlier this year, my team and I spent a week in South Korea. While there, we met with Lotte, a leading developer in Korea known for constructing the world's fifth-tallest skyscraper. But while Lotte World Tower is a magnificent accomplishment, our interest in meeting and learning from them as developers revolved more around their innovative and holistic approach to community development. Their projects blend massive libraries, interactive aquariums, and child-friendly playscapes within mixed-use communities. This model of interconnectedness—where retail, residential, office and industry coexist—offers a fresh perspective on building communities focused on creativity and capital. 🔹 Innovation at Scale: Lotte's ability to combine diverse elements into cohesive communities. 🔹 A New Blueprint: They're redefining what integrated development can look like. 🔹 Retail and Malls are not dead, they are antiquated and in need of a paradigm shift Inspired by Lotte, the question arises: How can we incorporate this level of innovation and interconnectedness into our projects? Can we redefine community development to be more inclusive and engaging? 🤔 As for my take, it’s a resounding yes to the fact that we can redefine community development to be more inclusive and engaging. In fact, this is the primary driver of our Project Lone Star initiative at Red Oak Development Group. I’ll share more about this initiative in the coming weeks, but if you’re interested in taking a sneak peek at how we plan to incorporate innovation and interconnectedness into our projects, we break it all down here: https://lnkd.in/g7BRrTKP #InnovationInDevelopment #CommunityBuilding #RealEstateDevelopment #MixedUse #CRE

Let's talk about a new master's program that integrates new product development, service design, and ecommerce design. This is unlike any other. Holistic Approach: It provides a comprehensive understanding of the entire business cycle, from ideation to consumer interaction. By covering product development, service design, and ecommerce, students gain a 360-degree view of business strategies. Market Relevance: Today's business landscape demands multidisciplinary skills. This program bridges the gap between physical product creation, service provision, and digital storefronts—aligning with the modern market's diverse needs. Customer-Centric Focus: By emphasizing creating goods that customers want to buy and enhancing service experiences, the program prioritizes customer needs and preferences. Understanding consumer behavior is crucial in developing successful products and services. Innovation and Creativity: It fosters an environment that encourages innovation in product design, service delivery, and website creation. This encourages students to think creatively and develop unique solutions to meet market demands. Interdisciplinary Skillset: Graduates gain a diverse skillset covering various aspects of business, including market research, design thinking, UX/UI design, project management, and marketing strategies. This versatility makes them highly valuable in various roles within organizations. Adaptability: In a rapidly evolving market, the ability to adapt is crucial. Students learn to adapt to changing consumer trends, technological advancements, and market shifts, ensuring they can navigate and thrive in dynamic business environments. Practical Application: Many programs integrate practical projects, case studies, and real-world simulations. This hands-on approach allows students to apply theoretical knowledge in practical scenarios, preparing them for challenges they may face in their careers. Collaborative Learning: The intersection of these fields encourages collaboration among students from diverse backgrounds, fostering an environment where different perspectives merge to create innovative solutions. Industry Relevance and Networking: Programs often include partnerships with industry players, providing students with opportunities for internships, networking, and exposure to real-world scenarios, which can facilitate job placements post-graduation. E-commerce Emphasis: With the growing significance of online commerce, a specialized focus on ecommerce design equips students with the skills necessary to create compelling, user-friendly online platforms—a vital aspect of modern business success. See the unique Master's of Science in Product Management: https://lnkd.in/gmkBpJrt Jana Stern, MBA Jasmine K. Allen Weiss Rui Pang #servicedesign #wix #wixwebsitedesign #productdesign #newservices #uxdesign #uxdesigner #customerexperience