While your IT strategy (or indeed any form of business strategy) should be taken seriously lest you doom yourself to failure, we understand the process of forming what is often a complex series of plans, failsafes and otherwise can be a daunting and stressful task. However there are ways to take control of the madness and channel it into something quite competent. Your IT strategy should be like a shopping list; a linear selection of tasks and products that can (mostly) be tackled in non-linear fashion, though we recommend sticking to a strict order to avoid any unnecessary confusion.
What can be done to take control?
Businesses should be aware of the term “emergent strategy.” This is the exercise of finding unexpected outcomes within your existing strategy, and adapting it as necessary. Essentially making it up as you go. Successful implementation of emergent strategy requires quick wits and a trustworthy, well trained team. For example, having active social media profiles to promote your services, or investing in cloud storage are both good, modern forms of emergent strategy.
However, it’s important not to go overboard with the notion. Emergent strategy rewards quick thinkers, but there’s such a thing as thinking too quickly. Strategies should not be implemented just for the sake of it. What works for one business may not be so fruitful for you.
What happens if you let chaos reign?
All things in moderation, as they say. While a little bit of chaos can be a welcome change of pace (as evidenced by emergent strategy) some control is absolutely required to tame a successful IT strategy. Here’s what a strategy with no order can lead to:
- Plummeting staff morale
- Wasted investments
- A lack of trust from your business partners
- An disorganised workload
- All round poor performance from your staff
- Poor customer service that can lead to damning word of mouth.
One of the most important parts of your IT strategy should be in realising the balance between emergent and intended strategies. If you have a solid plan in place from the start and you’ve done your research, chances are you’re golden. However, ignoring the benefits of emergent strategy could cost you in the long run.
Unleashed can advise you on the use of emergent strategy. Not only that, we excel in helping to create intended and planned strategies through IT consultancy. If you’d like to learn more or simply want to chat about the work that we do, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
