In a world of rapid technological change and startups popping up claiming to have the next best tool that will revolutionize the way you do business, it’s sometimes hard to stay away from the light. I tend to think my age (31), diverse professional background, along with my passion for studying business, positions me with a fairly unique perspective when compared to my peers.
Business is not about chasing silver bullets; it’s about doing the correct high value activities as efficiently as possible.
- Find your high payoff (high value) activities
- Have a relentless focus on the efficient execution of those high payoff activities.
I’m sure some of you are thinking, great another millennial who thinks he knows everything and wants to tattoo his opinions on the world. My age labels me as a millennial but I would hope my colleagues, family, and friends would say my millennial tendencies stop there.
So why do so many companies and leaders shift their sails constantly based on whatever hot air the industry, a new leader, or a smooth talking salesperson blows at them?
Let’s look at a scenario that I believe represents my point well.
The below image shows org charts for two different IT departments. The first inclination is to think that “Company A” is much larger than “Company B”. Most people would consider, at first glance, that the CIO running “Company A” is a much bigger deal then “Company B”.
What if I said that “Company A” produces exactly the same revenue and manufactures exactly the same products as “Company B”.
The difference in IT staff size has little to do with performance or outcomes. A bloated IT department just like an unorganized and chaotic manufacturing facility, is not focused on efficiency. It’s distracted by innovation, burdened by personality issues, and lacks effective communication.
Let’s attach some numbers to the previous example. In the table below, I place hypothetical compensation numbers for each position’s salary level and multipled that by the head count for each company.
In this example Company B would have an additional $940,000 to invest back into the business for future growth. So with an additional $940,000 injected in high value activities these companies will not be the same size for very long.
The Company “A” mindset goes against everything I have been taught about business. It’s even more troubling when the same business uses “Labor as a % of sales” as a key metric for their operations department where folks are making $12/hr.
The difference between these two IT departments lies in their ability to focus on high payoff activities by leveraging an infrastructure solution that lives and breathes efficiency. IBM i is that operating system and the reason for its efficiency is summed up nicely in the below diagram.
The “i” in IBM i stands for integration which is the driving force behind its superior efficiency. IBM i comes integrated and optimized as a full stack solution for hosting your business critical applications. Our database, security, and storage management is all packed into the IBM i operating system. This is the reason IBM i can deliver security, reliability, scalability, and most importantly, efficiency to the datacenter.
So why does the corner office look at IBM i as a competitive advantage?
IBM i positions the business to focus time, money, and effort on the high payoff activities that will move the business, people, and culture towards sustainable growth.
We live in a world where people chase shiny objects and are easily drawn towards a quick fix, silver bullet, or an easy route to get a leg up on the competition. Don’t get me wrong, breakthroughs do happen every once in a while. In my opinion you will be much better off if you can…
- Find your high payoff (high value) activities.
- Have a relentless focus on the efficient execution of those high payoff activities.
Leave a Reply