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There are three key areas CIOs should cover within their conversations with Executive & Boards and across the business; The FUNDAMENTALS their team is delivering to enable the business to operate What they are contributing to SIMPLIFYING the business The areas they are INNOVATING. Start the conversation with start with the above structure, tailor the content to the area of interest for the person, offer an insight into how the business runs (processes are always good) and then introduce the role of the technology. So if you want to talk about the emerging and exciting capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI), consider the specific opportunities within your organisation; Improving FUNDAMENTAL IT capabilities to reduce the probability of service degradation and possibly deliver a cost reduction How a prospect is converted to a customer (through AI anticipating what the next best interaction to move towards a sale is), and How else AI is being explored by the organisation to enable future business models. Start with an overview and then offer the details when invited.

I delivered a keynote at Adapt's CFO Edge event this week. This is the third event I have participated with Adapt, the second for the year, and the other was one of their first many years ago. Some key takeaways from the event; Digital stretches beyond the technology team, and everyone is still learning how digital will play out Anxiety with the thought of embarking on a large scale transformation, organisations want alternative approaches Practical application of emerging technology, selecting and implementing what is useful People, successful digital endeavours will be achieved through blended teams of people across their organisations and partners. Adapt run great events, with CXO attendees, and the agenda is structured to allow for quality interactions between industry peers in break out sessions and breaks. I am looking forward to participating in their upcoming 2020 events. Big thanks to everyone at Adapt with a special mention for Jim Berry and Matt Boon. #cfoedge #adapt #author #digital #speaker #bigthanks #practical

Today I had the privilege to MC, keynote and chair a lunch for DXN as they opened their new Sydney data centre and shared their story of how they DESGN | BUILD | OPERATE data centres on the edge. The photo is of the Honourable Paul Fletcher Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, Matthew Madden CEO of DXN and me. Imagine a shipping container, with a door into a data centre that is certified and patented. This is cutting edge technology for the edges of the world and DXN have clients in many parts of the world. It’s like Dr Who’s tardis being transformed into a fully functioning mobile data centre. These type of services are important for many enterprises as they strive to achieve their digital potential. Remote populations benefit with the ability to access information, interacting and transacting with it. With organisations being able to create scale across many locations. The combination of these technology innovations are the ingredients to a successful digital ecosystem. Consider some of DXN’s multiple ‘edge clients’ – Synergy Power and the demolition of the Kwinana power station with a multi faceted requirements to keep services running, the solution consisted of racks and UPS with battery back up. This was only possible through a range of DXNs unique patents! The design and manufacture of three 20ft modular data centres that were ISO certified for Resolute Mining for a site in Queensland and another abroad in Western Africa APEC summit in Papua New Guinea for summit delegates and media, 1000s of people experienced an uninterrupted and seamless technology experience The designing and construction of two modular sites in the Cook Island for Avaroa Cable Ltd, these sites connected Samoa, Niue, Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Tahiti and Bora. Some places many of us have not heard off now have services that many of us take for granted. It was fascinating and inspiring to learn about DXN, an innovative Australian company that looks to have a very exciting future.

Over the last four weeks, I have emerged from my self-imposed exile of book writing to engage with a range of clients. These engagements have been exciting and fruitful; however, they also make me wonder how the demands of digital will exacerbate current conditions in many organisations. These conversations are all very similar across a range of clients; At our executive all hands we were asked about what are we doing with digital? The response was we want to go paperless. A worthwhile activity, but it is not digital. Digital incorporates a market cycle, points of differentiation and technology facilitation of content, transactions and scale. Our vendors who should be partners are absent. Are we mismanaging them? How can we unlock value? Do we bring everything back, in house? A common frustration and often contributed to a lack of focus on the relationship. They are missing the appropriate executive sponsorship from the vendor and subsequent executive interactions between both organisations. Involvement of the right people and a different conversation is the beginning of realising the potential. Our business has a very clear strategy; there is an uncertainty of how the technology team is contributing to this; they have a backlog of demand that seems to be no longer relevant. We appear to be interacting and transacting for our traditional business, not our future business. There is a need to rise above the work, list the work and stop a lot of the work. At a minimum, a technology strategy is required; it would be beneficial to consider taking the time to develop a digital strategy. Then identify the initiatives to support both. The above points were inspired by real conversations; how am I helping these people? “Bridge-building” between the business and technology teams. Reviewing and refining strategy. “Mentoring” all executives on what is digital, why their Digital IQ needs to be higher than the Technical IQ. Digital is everyone’s business. “Energising” by coaching the technology team on how to communicate priorities and choices. People literally stand taller after having a lot of their work cancelled. The clarity of priorities and certainty of what will be delivered immediately improves business relationships, and everyone just feels better.

Over recent months I have been asked how did ‘the book happened’ and do I have any tips? Here is what I have learnt about writing a book, just before becoming a published author in mid-September. 1. Your family situation makes it easier if they are supportive of the activity; my wife Nicole continues to be exceptionally understanding and encouraging. My children are excited; my seven-year-old son has now started writing his book; it’s all about Minecraft! 2. It must be something you want to do; it will require 110% commitment. It has been a lifelong professional goal; there was no time-frame on it; instead, I had an intent to wait for the right time to present itself. 3. What are you passionate about, know something of and remain curious? When I was stuck on 20k words, this helped me crack on. 4. BTW ignore counting words. When I did, I wrote quantity rather than quality. You end up culling a lot what was written due to the self-imposed pressure of a word count. 5. Start or continue with regular activity; I walk at least 5 kms most mornings and regularly practise yoga. After these activities, the words flowed. When I missed these, the writing was sometimes clunky and awkward. 6. Start with small incremental dedicated steps, literally draft the outline of your book on a page. Start with a sentence, then some bullet points, then paragraphs. Dwell on this for a week or so and refine it. Do this for each chapter of your book. Spend time planning; it will help later. 7. What have you written in the past, a blog, white paper or assignment? Can this fit into your book? I am a regular blogger, and some past blogs helped with content. 8. Have space or spaces and a ritual. I have a dedicated desk at home, and I stream some of my favourite music programs from PBS Melbourne when I write there. There is a coffee shop where I also like to write, and I tend to listen to music there with some noise-cancelling headphones. When I became stuck, I moved between these spaces. 9. The words come when they come, sometimes at unusual times. There were several weekend evenings when I wrote late into the early hours of the morning. The more relaxed I was the better I wrote. 10. Find a book about writing a book. The Book Blueprint was something I read twice; I applied tips and structure from this. 11. Your team. I am self-publishing; my publisher and editor have been instrumental. The book would have remained unfinished without them. My editor has challenged and inspired better content. If you are open-minded, they become a coach. As a first-time author, it helped enormously, more than they both probably realise. 12. Don’t be overly self-conscious; it takes some courage to blog publicly (if it’s not great you can retract it) however a book is at another level. If you become concerned with what others think, you may not progress it. Ignore your doubts and just get on with it!

Over the last four weeks, I have emerged from my self-imposed exile of book writing to engage with a range of clients. These engagements have been exciting and fruitful; however, they also make me wonder how the demands of digital will exacerbate current conditions in many organisations. These conversations are all very similar across a range of clients; At our executive all hands we were asked about what are we doing with digital? The response was we want to go paperless. This is a good and worthwhile activity, but it's not digital. Digital incorporates a market cycle, points of differentiation and technology facilitation of content, transactions and scale. Our vendors who should be partners are absent. Are we mismanaging them? How can we unlock value? Do we bring everything back, in-house? This is a common frustration and often contributed to a lack of focus on the relationship. They are missing the appropriate executive sponsorship from the vendor and subsequent executive interactions between both organisations. Involvement of the right people and a different conversation is the beginning of realising the potential. Our business has an obvious strategy; there is an uncertainty of how the technology team is contributing to this; they have a backlog of demand that seems to be no longer relevant. We appear to be interacting and transacting for our traditional business, not our future business. There is a need to rise above the work, list the work and stop a lot of the work. Achieved firstly through the development of a technology strategy is a minimum; it would be beneficial to consider taking the time to develop a digital strategy. Then identify the initiatives to support these. The above points were inspired by real conversations. After launching CHANGE lead |Practical Digital® (now a registered trademark) in February I am now fully booked for September helping answer questions like the above. How? "Bridge-building" between the business and technology teams. Reviewing and refining strategy. "Mentoring" all executives on what is digital, why their Digital IQ needs to be greater than the Technical IQ. Digital is everyone's business. "Energising" by coaching the technology team on how to communicate priorities and choices. People literally stand taller after having a lot of their work cancelled. The clarity of priorities and certainty of what will be delivered immediately improves business relationships; everyone just feels better.

One of the roles I have played over the last four and half years is with Swinburne University. I am passionate about the university, it is located only several hundred metres from where my mum was born and went to primary school, my parents danced in the Hawthorn Hall opposite the university. When I was 25 they accepted me as an mature aged student and I completed my under and post graduate studies there, these contributed greatly to my career. As an active member of the alumni I have been very fortunate to attend a range of events and last week’s launch of the Australian Leadership Index (ALI) was one of many highlights. The ALI is the largest ever survey of leadership for the greater good. For the past year in every quarter the Swinburne team has surveyed a thousand people across Australia and the data is now available at the on the ALI portal . Anybody can interrogate the data that includes reports for the public, private, government and not for profit sectors. Data for industries and organisations will be made available in the future. The intention overtime is to establish the ALI as the referred independent source of information on Australian leadership. The ALI portal also includes some insightful articles and is exceptionally easy to navigate! The event included some excellent speakers. Professor Sen Sendjaya’s (pictured above) address shared the opportunity for leaders to consider and implement servant leadership practices. Servant leadership is not new, the first essay was in 1970 but remains very relevant for today. The priority of a servant leader is to serve rather than lead. This leader is somebody who workers and others can relate to because their needs and interests are being cared for. Professor Sendjaya explained the irony that we now trust strangers more than our leaders – anecdotally this manifests in our willingness to ride share in public cars driven by a stranger, staying in homes of strangers and allow strangers from all over the world to stay in our home. For more than a decade, Professor Sendjaya has empirically validated six dimensions of servant leadership which can be measured and developed in leaders. In a recent systematic review article, he and his colleagues highlight the increasing empirical evidences that servant leadership outperforms other leadership approaches in many key outcomes – employee satisfaction, commitment, intention to stay, and team performance. For example, in a two-nation study of 154 teams, it is found that servant leadership boosts employee creativity and team innovation through followers’ identification with leaders who exhibit servant leadership behaviours. Many consider the term ‘servant’ weak, archaic, or politically incorrect, squarely contradicting the dominant narratives and cultural nuances of our day. In his book, Professor Sendjaya argued that this perception stems from either ignorance or flawed association between servant leadership and 16th-century New World slavery. The truth is servant leadership does not operate out of weakness, inferiority, or a lack of self-respect. Only those with a secure sense of self, strength of character, and psychological maturity are willing and able to serve others through their leadership. #swinburne #leadership #servantleadership #event

The risk technology presents within organisations is considerable, and the consequences potentially catastrophic. The new ways people are now working within organisations also present risks, and a balance is required between new practices and the discipline of ensuring risks are managed accordingly. When implemented appropriately, methods like "Agile" can assist with the management of risks. There is and will continue to be a higher expectation and involvement of technology professionals understanding and applying mature Risk practices. How do you analyse Risk? Inherent Risk: how “likely” and “bad’ could this be? Residual Risk: what are you comfortable in tolerating? Accepting the risk needs to be within an organisation’s appetite for risk. How to strategically manage Risk? Controls are how you can minimise the likelihood and impact of the “bad” thing occurring. There are several types of controls: Preventative controls are best; however, they are not always available or possible Detective controls can help minimise the event by identifying and action the event early in its occurrence. Who can implement controls? Primary controls can be applied directly by the service provider (i.e. large technology vendor – this is ideal) or by the team managing the service (i.e. the application team) Leveraged controls are provided by another party (i.e. Security with an organisation) and assist the team that is delivering the service (i.e. the application team) Compensating controls are implemented by a team to manage a risk before a Primary or Leveraged control is available. The situation is not ideal; however, it is likely to assist in reducing Inherent Risk or possibly achieving a Residual Risk position. How to manage issues? Teams who analyse risks and implement controls will improve their awareness and practice of Risk. During the exercise, it is likely there will be an identification of “issues”. These are to encouraged! An issue is an event – a “bad” thing that has occurred. Teams should be encouraged to self-identify issues at all times Issues are to be documented with a forecasted closure date; if possible, expedite closure before the forecasted date Teams are to be measured on both the frequency and length of issue extension rates. An issue not closing on the forecasted date may indicate an area of under investment or poor vendor performance. How to encourage a risk culture beyond training, incentives and consequences Encourage everyday awareness at every gathering: introduce a risk moment at the beginning of team gatherings. For example, somebody can share a risk story or perspective; civil construction organisations do this with safety, increasing awareness and creating a safety mindset. Use "Agile" practices to assist Risk Management: Scrums and Visual Management Boards (VMBs) are a very effective way to create focus and demonstrate progress. Ensure the meetings are minuted. Place Risk VMBs on the wall in a working area, which are an everyday reminder for people. Encourage teams to create Risk one-pagers that describe the mindset and specific responsibilities for a area. Introduce Risk role model awards and ask people to identify and nominate a colleague. Promote Risk knowledge exchange by encouraging teams to visit another’s Scrum, VMB and Risk document portal. To those in technology functions: Risk management should be within everyone’s job and not an addition to their job. This reflection is intended to be a simple explanation about the practice of Risk with some practical suggestions to encourage a culture of Risk.

Significant learning for anyone transitioning into a leadership role is the dependency on 'others' for outcomes. Micromanagement is not sustainable, good people will leave, and you will become exhausted. Vendors are a vital contributor. One of my former employers was one of those external organisations. They have amazing people that exceptionally served their clients. I was fortunate to be included in many client interactions as my colleagues built out relationships and solutions. The approach was not a transaction. It was more like a dance, clumsy at first however almost always ending elegantly. The dance was a negotiation. As a technology leader, this is 'some of your role' for others that serve you its 'all their role'. As a technology leader, you need a structured approach and a sequence of steps; here's how. 1. Who are the key players from the vendor? What level of influence do they have within their organisation? How are the organisation and the individuals serving you performing for their performance year? How important is your business to them? If possible, at the initial meeting, get to know them as people beyond their role at the organisation. Take an active interest in them and be professionally personable, it might lat help. 2. After you know the key players, what are their motivations and goals from your emerging deal/ partnership? Beyond the dollar value, how important will your business be to their profile? Is there anything new/ innovative within the deal, how proven is this, could this be an area of mutual value? What has been automated, simplified or will be? What are the benefits for the vendor and your organisation? 3. The focus is not about winning; it is about growing the value of the deal and creating as much value as possible. This is value for both organisations, and this is not dollar value (neither size nor margin), it is what is in addition to this. Involve others in these conversations, apply lateral thinking. Often within technology deals, a partner is involved, ask what could be of value for them? 4. Take a break. Based on what you now know when would you not proceed? Document what you know, your baseline and be prepared to walk away if the deal is below the baseline. 5. What is the window to reach a possible agreement? The bigger the reasonable window, the better negotiation. If you want to pay ten and they require fifty, it's unlikely however forty to fifty is possible. What is your baseline and if this is unlikely to be met, it's now potentially best to walk away? At this stage consider; What is high value to the other parties but low value to me? Consider making concessions on these. Endeavour to grow the value for the technology provider and their partner. 6. How can value be grown further, explore this with all parties? 7. Reflect on the progress, is the deal good for all involved and avoid win-loss agreements as long-term value is eroded. Only proceed with a win-loss agreement if it is a one-time negotiation; this is the only time you should consider winning. Potentially check separately with the technology partner, sometimes partners come under pressure from technology providers, make sure there is value for them within the deal, and they can fulfil their commitments. 8. Finally, consider the number and timing of the concessions you could make. This is important as not everyone will be as mature in their approach; Three to five concessions are ideal. Don't lead with the best concession or your baseline, as people need to feel like they are going to win or have won. Sometimes they will need to report back that they have won! Put in padding to make sure you know where you could make concessions, however, be sensible and ridiculous. Technology providers and their partners are expecting some negotiation. On some occasion conversations or relationships becomes tense, consider taking the heat out of it by having a pleasant conversation (remember point 1, forth bullet point). In summary, as a first-time technology leader seek to build genuine long-term relationships to create value within your organisation and across those that serve yours.

Many years ago, when I was appointed to my first senior technology leadership role, I had three long conversations with people who were far more senior and experienced than myself. I did a lot of listening and asked the odd question; it was a little daunting. They acknowledged that I could manage the team; however, the role was more than this. There was an expectation that I could make a significant contribution to the broader business. After reflecting upon the conversations, there were three things that I concluded. The beauty of this organisation was the culture of empowerment, but this came with significant expectations. It was up to me to either make or lose it; the organisation was unbreakable; however, if I was not effective, there were many others lining up to take the opportunity. Here were my three areas of focus I concluded after those initial conversations, I asked those leaders after twelve months that I had been in the role, was this the right thing? They asked me if I thought it was? Well, probably, not actually yes! The reply was; ‘well if this is working for you, it’s working for us.’ Leading the team Connect the group and have them co-create how they would like to work with one another Establish a shared space and on the walls make visible what we were working on, make sure these things are measured Hire people smarter and different to you and encourage them to have a voice. Your role is to work with the business. Seek to create broader connections within the industry to anticipate what is next and avoid the temptation of working in the technology team Lead with values, with good values; you are not required to be present all the time. If a decision is required and the values are in place, the team generally makes the right one. Influencing the broader business Involving others in the emergence of the team, explaining what the team is and what it will be doing, set out the stall. For technology leaders; this is likely to include a strategic document for three years (1000 days) and a quarterly business plan, refreshed and reissued quarterly Prioritising the business, people and then technology. Technology should support a process or resolve a problem rather than be implemented because it was interesting. Acknowledge that industries, geographies and departments mature at different rates and align what is next for them, not what is best Get out into the business and build genuine relationships with those in the organisation. Seek to serve your colleagues but not be subservient and be prepared to challenge constructively. Sharing thinking Some teams serve multiple functions, connect one function with another and encourage idea-sharing. These are not your ideas; sometimes you may mature an idea so it can scale however it was far more effective to be a facilitator of an idea rather than owning it Sharing something weekly at the same time in the same way. At a previous organisation, I was responsible for measuring culture; I learnt something interesting about some of the well-regarded leaders. They communicated weekly in their words; their note included an industry perspective, something their team was working on and something small about themselves. When I started to do this, it helped me connect better with my team and then those across the organisation. When I met somebody that I didn’t know there was a level of familiarity Being available to listen, let me repeat listen. Many upon finding their voice want to shout professionally, be the most dominant voice in any room all the time. The gift of finding your voice is to allow others to share their voice, if you establish a platform, share the stage with others. Remember, this is about sharing thinking and not just your thoughts. Significant learning for anyone transitioning into a leadership role is the dependency on ‘others’ for outcomes. Micromanagement is not sustainable, good people will leave, and you will become exhausted. The ‘others’ are beyond your immediate leadership team; they are within the organisation and external to your organisation. Sometimes first-time leaders adopt a very combative approach with those external organisations that serve them, initially this may have some cost-benefit however overtime value is almost always diminished.

There is a tendency for organisations to determine and prioritise actions based on a bias of experience and input from trusted colleagues. Often senior colleagues have a subconscious bias to trusted colleagues, favouring those who validate their thinking. The emergence of digital will require different and new thinking within any industry; it presents both an opportunity and a risk for all organisations. Santiago Theory of Cognition helps create a higher consciousness of the system people participate in (not a technology system or process but the broader eco-system, when reading this think about the eco-system) consider; Cognition emerges as a consequence of interactions between the system in its environment. Cognitive systems can be technology or 'living' systems Technology does not rationalise reality; there is no bias The essence of Santiago's Theory is that human being's do not perceive their reality; we do perceive the world we see, and we see the world we know how to perceive. Our perception is our reflection of our history. We create reality; we bring forth a reality In a situation where there is conflict (conflict can be good), there are different systems with different realities. If somebody endeavours to explain a situation based on their reality, they may refer to this as what is 'really going on here'. The person explaining this is making a demand for obedience, i.e. "what I see is real and your delusional". If this is not understood, the state of the system is fragile for those involved. When a group of people can operate with humility and acknowledge that they don't see everything that is occurring, learning is enabled. Your reality is not my reality; my reality is not reality; it is a perception; let's learn together. If you apply Santiago's Theory to how people with organisations are contemplating digital, the consequences could be significant, if they are not a learning organisation. Consider recent MIT research of board members that saw digital disruption as one of their biggest threats, estimating that 32% of revenues will be threatened in the next five years. Interestingly, only 39% of board members reported specifically discussing digitisation of the enterprise business model. Further, often the Chief Information Officer (CIO) reports into an executive role rather than being a member of the executive team. Therefore, if a digital conversation occurs within an organisation at the board or executive level, these are often without a technology industry professional. The perception and the potential of the value of the CIO role holder within an organisation are very often influenced by their previous experience. Based on my experience there are three types of CIO. Technical; very comfortable and confident with their technical nous and sometimes can be found coding or provisioning infrastructure. Their background before the role has been within technical roles and limited business experiences. There is a belief that any technical scenario can present an opportunity to better a solution vendor is offering or if it's not available; let's build it ourselves! The risk for the person in the role is they work 'in' technology rather than 'on' the business Procurer; have arrangements in place or are making the arrangements for the delivery of services from a third party. This can present opportunities, such as automation of infrastructure to the cloud but also risks such as outsourcing of traditional services and projects to third parties. When establishing or being within an outsourcing relationship, there is a risk that the third party will be measured/ rewarded on the delivery of services rather than evolving the service. The implications for the broader business who are receiving the services is stagnation or expensive initiation via change requests to evolve the service. Degradation of technical currency is the outcome Business; considers the technology team an extension of the business rather than a service provider. The person understands clearly contributes to and co-creates parts of the broader business strategy. Links the possibilities of a well-performing information technology capability with emerging or established operational and customer technology. These technology leaders within any organisation operate and contribute to the system, and they need to understand their bias. Peter Senge who authored 'The Fifth Discipline' initially published in 1990, explores the learning organisation and systems thinking. Systems thinking links interdependence and interconnectedness, a good example to start thinking about is a family. A family is a system. Often a situation within a family is a symptom of a broader problem, a poorly behaving child is a symptom of a more widespread problem, potentially the child is seeking attention or replicating the behaviour of another family member? There are many points of interdependence and interconnectedness at many levels across society. These points of 'inter' is now global and commenced being global in the Industrial Age. The digital possibilities for an organisation integrate systems not just technology, digital is part of our societies evolution. Therefore, the CIO is only part of the system and should be a contributor to digital rather than owning digital. The management of digital is likely to be different from how a CIO will manage information technology due to the many 'inters'. Interconnectedness is how our actions affect others on the other side of the world. Senge's book includes a section on 'loops', reinforcing and double loops that are useful for systems thinking. A reinforcing loop is an action by one party, creating a responding action by another party, and then continues with actions by both. An example is the arms race between the USA and USSR, with both countries stockpiling weapons as a position of power. A reinforcing loop is a systems cycle that continues; the cycle could be good or bad A double loop is a loop that has action taken, creating an alternative loop. An example I have used within workshops was a community with a crime problem. Crime occurs within this community due to an illegal drug dependency. The police endeavour to address the drug problem by arresting known drug dealers, intervening in the reinforcing loop between crimes occurring and drugs being purchased. This seems like a sensible intervention, however due to the reduced number of drug dealers being reduced and drugs are now less readily available, the price of the drugs increases, increasing the volume of crime. Not all actions can be positive. Systems thinking and the learning organisation need to be understood by an organisation. Loops and actions need to be studied by organisations. The potential of digital can enhance or exacerbate a situation rapidly.

People, Process and Technology; a mantra of an earlier time in the technology industry. I have written much about the importance of people; I am a resolute believer that organisations have an idle capability within them as those in leadership positions ‘talk at people’ rather than ‘with people’. By talking at people, people will revert to somebody else’s expectations and their potential contribution is unrealised. Through ‘talking with’ people, a shared understanding is developed, and choices made. Those choices are highly likely to include some discretionary effort from people; choice is the most exceptional personal motivator. Sometimes it’s challenging to have people open-up about something. As a middle man with middle-aged men friends, there are some parallels to how men consider and approach counselling. Some men find it difficult to see a counsellor; however, working together in a men’s shed has proved a successful way for men’s social support and camaraderie. Men who are marginalised and isolated have benefited from this critical initiative, working ‘shoulder to shoulder’. Organisations can learn from this, and particularly technology teams were there are many talented potentially intellectually idle people. Many who work within the technology industry are introverts; often, their thoughts are not shared and left unsaid in environments that are “talking at”. Based on my personal experience over several decades at various organisations in different parts of the world, the thoughts from the introverted community are generally well developed, thought through before being shared. Talking with people about “Processes” is a way to create an environment of working shoulder to shoulder with everyone. It also invites everyone to participate. There is a methodology that can be utilised to engage these groups. Six Sigma has a structured approach to analysing and refining processes, known as DMAIC. Define What is the problem? What is the scope? What key metric is important? Who are the stakeholders? Measure What data is available? Is the data accurate? Analyse What are the root causes of the problem? Have the root causes been verified? Where should the effort be focussed? Improve What are the possible solutions? How can the solutions be piloted? What were the results of the pilot? How can variances be reduced? Control What is the preferred solution? What is the broader support for this solution? How can this solution be implemented? There was an extreme positioning during the 1990s and early 2000s from those within organisations that were certified/accredited in Six Sigma. These people, in some instances, became a group of fanatics with almost a religious zeal endeavouring to grow their congregation. In some organisations, their evangelism alienated broader populations and the good practices of rational process analysis subsided. Process; is the new black, why and how? Those organisations that have implemented Digital Business Models have outperformed their industries profitability by 25% (more here), achieved by; Getting closer to end customers Moving from supplier models to digital ecosystems. Consider applying DMAIC with the objective of “moving closer to end customers”; Moving closer to end customer is the scope of the problem (Define) What customer data is available across your industry or within your organisation? (Measure) What is distancing the relationship with the customer? (Analyse) What are the solutions that can be piloted and their results? (Measure) Further, there is another structured approach within Six Sigma that can help with moving from supplier models to digital ecosystems being “SIPOC”. Supplier; an organisation that provides an input to a process Input; what inputs are needed, what triggers an action Policies; what are the policies, rules or regulations in place Outputs; what do your customers need Customers; who are your customers? SIPOC can analyse existing Suppliers and isolate what is needed to move to an digital ecosystem through breaking out components. Several former colleagues preferred an alternative approach to SIPOC as it was not customer-centric, they believed that this evolved rather than revolutionised the ‘Processes’. They reversed SIPOC to COPIS (like others had) and began the analysis with the customer. COPIS eliminated waste, redefined thinking to the customer rather than the existing value chain and in some instances redefined supplier relationships or removed suppliers completely (this would enable a digital ecosystem). DMAIC and COPIS could contribute to an organisation implementing a Digital Business Model. There are broader benefits, at several organisations I have observed those who have said very little in many meetings, get out of their chair, correct and added valuable insights as people worked shoulder to shoulder using these models. A practical approach to “talking with” rather than at people while shifting people’s digital contribution.