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05.04.10 What Processes CTOs Could Learn From Start Ups  By
Mike Kavis
I have spent well over 20 years in corporate IT environments, most of it working for IT shops in the 100-300 person range. In every company that I worked for, IT was seen as a bottleneck and IT struggled to satisfy the needs of the business. In many companies, this is the standard. The reasons for these struggles can be boiled down into the following categories: 1) Process - Too much, too little, or the wrong process for the organization 2) Architecture - No focus on EA ("Wild West"), vendor driven, or Ivory Tower Syndrome 3) Culture - Silos, change resistant, IT thought as a cost center, wrong or unmotivated people 4) Priorities - No portfolio type thinking, decisions made at the wrong level, lack of accountability/justification In the last 18 months, I have worked in a startup with a team of 10+ employees advisors, partners, and consultants. Many of the above issues are not a problem in our environment for the following reasons: 1) Process - Teams are small, easy to communicate, everybody depends on everyone else 2) Architecture - We see architecture as both a necessity and a competitive advantage 3) Culture - Survival depends on alignment, agility, and change 4) Priorities - Every penny spent better contribute in some way towards a penny earned Established organizations can usually survive and sometimes thrive even despite their deficiencies in IT because their core business is bringing in sufficient revenue. For startups, I have seen some great business models fail because of the company's inability to execute. Startups, especially those in early stages, rarely succeed if they are inefficient. So how can larger, established companies create that entrepreneurial environment that brings the same motivation, accountability, and alignment that comes naturally in startups? What does success look like? Often, companies like to create a profile of their most successful employees so they can use this profile as a hiring tool for identifying talent that matches the best people in the company. I recommend that any company who recognizes that it needs to make changes to improve delivery and business/IT alignment create a profile for what a successful startup looks like. Notice I did not say what a successful well established company looks like. The reason is simple. Startups typically deliver frequently, with little capital, with just enough features, and with more modern solutions. Isn't that what established companies really want at the end of the day? So why do startups tend to move faster and innovate more? 1) Smaller teams 2) Better communication/alignment 3) Smaller budgets = less features and shorter deadlines Continue reading this article. About the Author: Mike Kavis is a veteran Chief Architect with over 23 years of IT experience including distributed computing, SOA, BPM, data warehouse, business intelligence, and enterprise architecture. Read Mike's blog at Enterprise Initiatives. |
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