Monthly Archives: January 2023

Change Leadership, Digital Transformation, Talent

Cook, Eat and Repeat

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This week’s inspiration is taken from Nigella Lawson’s BBC ‘cook, eat and repeat’ recipes, and having now survived the doldrums of the first month, attention is now truly focused on the opportunities ahead.

With the new year comes new resolutions, new budget and a sense of positive energy, digital tech firms are searching for better ways to inspire procurement professionals can leverage technology and avoid failure. One way to remove the fear is to ensure that someone else has tried it before, and discovered what works and what does not.

Unfortunately what makes sense and tastes terrific differs per individual. This distortion means that there is a reluctance to document the recipe. Why? Cook books have a range of recipes, not all may appeal, but they are here to help. Try one, if that does not succeed, try another, Once you have discovered a recipe that works, share the recipe with others. Success is repetitive.

Where to Start

Where do you find that elusive cook book? Find an experienced cook who has developed their own independent cook book, or at least able to access a library; that is well-versed across range of recipes, and capable of assessing what is likely to be attuned to the organization’s taste. Find and establish the recipe that works – it needs a mix and balance to perfect the outcome.

In simple terms, technology implementations follow the same ‘cook, eat and repeat‘ philosophy. Importantly……

Follow the instructions

  1. Use the prescribed ingredients (apple pie without the apple is not apple pie)
  2. Utilize the best ingredients you can afford (leadership, talent, team)
  3. Understand the cooking time (if someone wants a well-done steak but cooks it for 30 seconds, it will not be well-done)
  4. Assess success by arranging tasting sessions (“feedback is the breakfast for champions”)
  5. Sell the fact that you have found a tasty recipe. Others will be keen to have a try!

You might find this cooking analogy too simplistic, however given the successful introduction and adoption of digital technology remains a major challenge, what will you do to explain the process?

Ready, Steady, Cook! The best time to find your success recipe is to start now. Contact Us.

Digital Transformation, Project Management

Digital [Invention] Drivers

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‘Necessity is the mother of invention’. Practicality is a driver of necessity. The earliest concept of the modern day monetary system, metal coins, can be traced back to 600 BC, the Lydian Empire. Coins reigned supreme until the 11th century when the Song dynasty invented paper money ….. paper revolutionized the way that people could carry around their wealth without weighing them down! Ease and convenience are powerful USP’s (unique selling points).

Digitization, 1 and 0’s, paperless money is now starting to dominate our daily lives. The proportion of cashless transactions increases every year with over 70% of Asian and European payment transactions now going paperless. Whilst there may be cultural acceptance differences across the countries, the ease and convenience of ‘tapping’ your card or phone is now a digital cultural norm.

Foundational to the digitization enablement is the change in underlying process and platforms needed to support each ‘revolution‘ step. This is complex and often requires a mindset change. Under the digital transformation ‘call to action’, we refer to this as ‘digitalization’, or the ‘digitalization journey’. Digitalization involves the adaption and re-engineering of processes to balance user outcome benefits with business policies and procedures to ensure secure, consistent and robust controls. User adoption is improved by making the process easy and convenient.

What is the next tech wave?

The news is awash with the recent Microsoft investment in ChatGPT. Personally I believe we are still in that hype phase; and have yet to fully realize the benefit potential of using a ‘super charged’ chatbot to make the process easier and more convenient for the user. I articulate the challenges of AI in my last article, “The Age of AI: What’s Procurement’s fate?“.

As we close out 2022 and fast-forward 2023, my ongoing outlook is that we remain constrained by the complexity of the process being addressed and whether the user themselves are able to accept a new operational/ cultural narrative. The art of ‘digitalization’ remains, as ever, critical to success.

Confused by the digital tech talk. Share you perspective.

Digital Transformation, Project Management

New Year Resolution

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This is the Chinese year of the rabbit. There are number of business technology trends being predicted to help kick off 2023. Thank you to those that are sharing – there are so many exciting potentials for these solutions to add value, however I am reminded of the race between the rabbit and tortoise.

This cautionary tale reminds us that ‘slow and steady’ wins the race. There is a temptation for organizations to prioritize time, solution deployment, ahead of all other factors. The pressure to deliver ‘something ‘, ‘anything’ to meet management expectations is not only counter productive; it can result in teams burning energy needlessly. The drop out with team members chasing dead ends, loses momentum and motivation, and results in team churn and failed deliverables. This is equivalent to the rabbit tiring and needing to take a nap!

Steadiness and consistency will let you win like the tortoise did.

What’s your new year resolution?