How do you avoid risks when implementing your IT strategy?

Before implementing an IT strategy, it's vital to assess the current state of your IT landscape. This involves identifying gaps in infrastructure, process inefficiencies, and compatibility issues between systems. It also means scrutinizing data management, security, and compliance to reduce risks. Furthermore, evaluating performance metrics, resource allocation, and user needs is crucial. Additionally, it's essential to explore technological opportunities, assess the skills of your IT team, and consider environmental sustainability. By addressing these gaps and seizing opportunities, your IT strategy can be aligned with your business goals and prepared for future challenges.

I find that by using a Digital Maturity Assessment (DMA) framework to establish the digital maturity level of the organization I am working for; my team is positioned to develop a robust and detailed transformation plan that identifies the activities to address the “Gaps” based on the DMA assessment. It provides a structured and comprehensive evaluation of the organisation's digital capabilities and helps identify areas that require improvement.

Sorry.... wrong! Nobody in IT should be working on IT strategy without *FIRST* receiving and assessing the company strategy. What does the CEO want to accomplish in the next 3-5-7-10 years? The Board? The CFO? The CMO? The Chief Sales Officer? Which markets? What are the revenue and margin targets? What demographics? Until all these, and about 100 other business questions are asked and answered by the company senior staff - the IT staff would be wasting valuable resources. The #1 objective of IT is to bring value, and to enhance that value, of the business. The graveyard of business is littered with the bones of companies that executed technical plans by technical staffs - and yet the businesses still failed.

One of the essential traits of valuable PMs is the ability to determine causal (not "casual")😉 relationships. Many people can define risks, but not all can define the triggers for the risks, much less the triggers for the triggers. This is similar to the 5-why exercises in process improvement workshops. I don't believe you can avoid risks, but you can certainly plan for them by understanding triggers and implications.

Over three decades in IT strategy and governance, I've found that the most common oversights arise from an inadequate grasp of the present IT milieu. When assessing the current state, it's not just about identifying gaps but understanding the intricacies of legacy systems, the nuances of team dynamics, and the subtleties in workflows. These foundational insights shape strategic direction and prevent pitfalls. As Sun Tzu articulated, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles."

Again, sorry - but SMART goals, KPI's, and metrics (as well as the dashboard) should be driven by the senior execs on the business side. Certainly IT goals and metrics are important - however, too many IT people are measuring, tracking, and reporting out data points that don't align with the business, bring no value, or otherwise are meaningless to the top floor executives. Let the business define their strategic goals and KPI's - then IT should literally sit down with the business execs to figure out how to develop the KPI's and specific metrics that make sense and map into a meaningful scorecard!

Defining the desired outcomes is a crucial step in IT strategy definition. As IT leaders, we need to pick the right drivers around business values and customer focus. Once this direction is defined, SMART goals and KPIs are then tools to allow the IT department to ensure strategy execution.

Defining clear and precise desired outcomes in an IT strategy is crucial as it aligns technology initiatives with broader business objectives. Setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) ensures that progress can be quantified, enhancing accountability and transparency. By making these outcomes achievable, relevant, and time-bound, organizations maintain a realistic path to success, preventing wasted resources and fostering alignment with the strategic vision. Communicating these outcomes to stakeholders cultivates a shared understanding, motivates the team,and boosts collaboration, as employees see the connection between their efforts and the organization's success.

Crafting the right desired outcomes is a delicate balance between ambition and realism. The SMART criteria ensure goals are grounded, but don't let them stifle innovation or long-term vision. More than setting metrics, it's about fostering a culture where these metrics resonate with every team member's daily tasks. Remember, in the words of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "A goal without a plan is just a wish."

A strategy is a plan and must be developed internally - generally, the CEO and in the case of technology this would be the CIO. Consultants can be used for benchmarking or advice but I believe the strategy must be driven internally - no one understands your company, the issues being faced, and your market or competitors better than yourself.

Frameworks are much like maps; no one map is universally apt. While ITIL, COBIT, and TOGAF are commendable, one must adapt and sometimes hybridize them to cater to unique organizational peculiarities. The essence is not to adopt a framework but to adapt it, ensuring it aligns with the core values and objectives of the organization. As the saying goes, "Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own."

Resource management and risk mitigation aren't mere administrative tasks—they're strategic imperatives. In the realm of IT, risks are ever-evolving, and a static approach can spell disaster. Beyond budgets and timelines, consider intangibles like morale, brand reputation, and intellectual capital. It's akin to playing chess; one must think several moves ahead, anticipating challenges and marshaling resources optimally.

Start by breaking it into manageable phases and test regularly. This way, you can monitor progress, validate assumptions, and involve end-users and stakeholders for feedback. Align with business goals and strategy for better results.

To ensure a successful IT strategy execution, it's essential to establish clear, measurable objectives aligned with business goals and conduct a comprehensive risk assessment to identify potential pitfalls. Engaging key stakeholders, implementing the strategy in phased stages, and prioritizing cybersecurity are critical steps. Address user resistance through effective change management, choose technology vendors carefully, and maintain vigilant budget management. Regular monitoring and evaluation, along with adaptability to changing business needs and emerging technologies, are also key factors in mitigating risks and achieving a successful IT strategy implementation.

Strategy is dynamic, not a one-off document. The digital landscape, with its rapid technological innovations and changing consumer behaviors, demands constant vigilance and flexibility in strategy. Regular reviews ensure you're not just on track but ready to pivot when required. It's the embodiment of Darwin’s observation: "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change."

In the ever-evolving IT landscape, fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptability is key to effective risk management. Providing resources for ongoing professional development helps employees stay abreast of new technologies and trends. Meanwhile, promoting adaptability ensures our strategies remain flexible and responsive to changes. Cultivating this culture equips us to better navigate risks and succeed in IT strategy implementation.

The question of how to avoid risk is a double edged sword. In some ways you need to embrace the fact their are risks, but acknowledge the risks and find mitigation strategies to ensure you can work around them. Any worthwhile strategy will have risks, but including any IT Strategy within an organisation wide Risk Management Framework (RMF) will ensure it has relevant visibility within the organisation. Always remember though that an IT Strategy also needs to highlight the risks of doing nothing which in many cases can be the compelling event that gets an IT Strategy to be executed.

Beyond the articulated steps, the essence of a successful IT strategy lies in the symbiotic relationship between IT and business, transcending silos. It's about fostering a culture where IT isn't seen as a mere enabler but as a co-driver in business evolution. From my journey, it's evident that the most impactful strategies often arise from serendipitous intersections of diverse ideas. Always remain open to cross-disciplinary insights.