Back To Basics
This article addresses some of the crucial building blocks that
account for a successful migration to or integration of E-Business
into any organization. My underlying assumption is that corporate survival in
this era is directly correlated to building strategic core competencies.
What role does the Internet play in your corporate business processes?
This is one question that is often overlooked if at all addressed.
Let's take a typical "mum and pop" business. So you have heard about
the Internet revolution and all the untold rewards it holds for business
in the 21st century. So all of your "competition" is actively engaged
in e-commerce a.k.a. they have web sites. Does this leave you panicked
and out of steam? Do you go out and hire a web development company such
as Telania, Inc. to build you a nice "Flash" web site? Do you quickly
cast years of basic business tenets and join the foray? Well I did..!
Of course we had to buck-up and address some underlying processes about
how business is done effectively: profitability if you have the time.
What is the Internet? The Internet is a system of interconnected computers
which are able to at the very least, display web pages and at the most,
elaborate provide functionality based on various platforms or technologies.
The Internet as a new business ideology, though others might argue it is
nothing new, serves to revolutionarize certain business processes making
them more efficient and it is hoped providing a better ROI (return on investment).
Now, how you effectively integrate the obvious benefits of this new
technology as with any new or better infrastructure is the billion-dollar
question or process. Believe me; if I had the solution to this question I
will not be writing this article for free publication. The likes of
Accenture have built multi-million dollar companies on this premise.
Of course I will attempt to share with you what my experiences and
investigations have uncovered.
For any organization to fully benefit from integrating the Internet into
its business processes there needs to be fundamental changes in how
"business is done." No, I am not talking about re-inventing the "web."
Decision-making channels, organization charts, information infrastructure
and organizational culture have to change. And notice I said have to change.
Trust me when I say your competition has just as much access to the Internet
and to advances in technologies as you do. Therefore, if you want to
procrastinate over strategic and time-critical decisions as you might have
done in the past, you can forget about expanding and growing your business.
Business is being done in what we call e-speed. This, my friend is
"quantum" speed so to speak. Yes I know what you are going to say "..we
have done business this way for the past 20 something odd years and we
have survived all this while." Or "how about caution and reliability?"
I am in full agreement with you. Only problem is the Internet has opened
doors for your competition to price test, do email marketing, apply database
marketing to their promotional efforts. Many businesses have search facilities
to enable customers find what they seek in, get this "a fraction" of the time
they used to. Now tell me about doing business the old fashioned way. Oh if
your thought NAFTA was bad, think about over three billion web sites (some of
which maybe your competition) offering products to customers all over the
globe for less than cheap..free.
Now that I have had your attention, let's talk about how you can beat the
competition. Ah hah! Well sorry there is no quick fix for this one. It's a
slow and sometimes painful transition. But it has to be done.
Start with the internal processes. How tech. savvy are your employees? How about
your business managers? Are they ready to embark on bold new ventures and embrace
new technologies? Oh if your thought I had forgotten about you (CEO) think again.
Do you encourage experimentation and self-starters? Is your organization actively
engaging and challenging its employees to seek out newer and more efficient
processes and systems? Do you even have a budget for continuous education or
employee job enrichment programs? I mean active programs: seminars, conferences
etc? And please for Pete's sake give them an avenue to contribute what they have
learnt...after all its to your benefit.
So, please take care of your staff and communicate your vision (Internet as well
as traditional) throughout your company any chance you get. Let them learn it off
by heart. You might run into more difficulty to change the culture in your
organization. Some individuals are too steeped in the old ways. Coax them or
dump them! Sorry, but its war out there. Better have your units at 100% readiness.
After introducing your organizational cultural revolution, you will probably get
all sorts of suggestions for new products or "more efficient" methods of handling
customers. It's ok! Just make sure you wade through the garbage before you get
too deep into the "irrational exuberance." This stage will continue for a while
but don't panic. It's a sign of a living breathing organization.
Next, you need to collate and realign your corporate structure leveraging the
varied and divergent skills and talents in your organization. Employees thrive
on challenges and innovation. In fact there is a new management thinking that
stresses the organic organization. Emphasizing innovation and
creativity is what produces the titans in industry. Let the mavericks have
their way every once in a while. Allow experimentation and risk taking.
The next installment if this series will address the methods and innovative
thinking that every CEO or business manager needs to propel their organization
into the ranks of the titans.
I am the Drummer.
Donatus Weobong