173 Posts found for Source: Optimize Magazine

You need to address anxieties, accept anger, and demonstrate credibility in a very gut-level sense, to evoke faith in the vision.

Content: Quotation | Authors: Dan Cohen, John P. Kotter | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subjects: Change Management, Leadership, Vision

In the business world, the equivalent white lie to, “The check is in the mail,” is: “Our suppliers are our partners.” Both statements represent promises that should be kept, but aren’t. They represent good intentions, but lack reality.

Content: Quotation | Author: Jeffrey Wincel | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subject: Operations

Competition typically focuses on one of two dimensions—either functionality, as in speed, reliability, or power; or convenience, such as ease of use or customization. Whichever is more valuable to the customer is the basis of competition in a market at that time. Dominating a market is a function of delivering more of the kinds of performance that matter to customers than your competitors can. The … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Daniel Littmann, Michael E. Raynor | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subjects: Competition, Strategy

Today, the critical dimensions of IT performance aren’t driven by integration between functional departments and IT services, but instead by integration between the various components of the IT architecture and the supporting communications infrastructure.

Content: Quotation | Authors: Daniel Littmann, Michael E. Raynor | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subject: IT / Technology / E-Business

Open a new window! That’s just what the author orders as a way to address the most important issues you’ll face – those dealing with how customers interact with your business.

Content: Article | Author: Patricia Seybold | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subject: Customer Related

Innovation can be measured in many different ways, but the surest indicator of success is cash payback to your company’s bottomline. There are 4 “S factors” to getting the job done right: startup costs, speed to market, scale to volume, and support costs.

Content: Article | Author: James P. Andrew | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subject: Innovation

What’s the best way for IT and business to synchronize their strategies? The authors propose a business/IT governance framework encompassing five requirements: managing demand, supply, and the IT application portfolio; prioritizing IT investments; and setting IT architecture and security standards.

Content: Article | Authors: J. Shivshankar, M.S. Krishnan, N. Dayasindhu | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subject: IT / Technology / E-Business

This content is restricted to site members. Please log in or register

Managers don’t need pictures of hierarchy; they need visualizations of the wide-ranging connections that make up companies’ learning systems. Rather than charts showing who reports to whom, they need charts to show who knows what and whom, and who works most often with whom.

Content: Quotation | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

Streamlining processes frees up resources for competitive differentiation.

Content: Article | Author: Geoffrey A. Moore | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subject: Innovation

In his new book about ‘know-how,’ the author describes eight skills that separate great leaders from the crowd.

Content: Article | Author: Ram Charan | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subject: Leadership

Lessons learned from these execs will sharpen your decision-making skills.

Content: Article | Author: Michael Useem | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subjects: Leadership, Management

Let’s face it: The world is a hierarchical place. Some people have more power than others, and they don’t want their judgments questioned by lower-level individuals who happen to own a keyboard. Some people know more than others. Some people are better writers than others. Even when we allow people to freely express their online opinions, some opinions end up being more important than others. … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subjects: Organizational Behavior, Personality / Behavior

An enterprise value map can help decision-makers visualize which business processes are most critical to competitiveness and profitability, and where IT is most likely to create or destroy value. It can also improve communication between IT and business leaders by describing IT activities in terms that business people can readily understand.

Content: Article | Authors: J.D. Wichser, Steve Poniatowski | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subject: IT / Technology / E-Business

An umbrella term for an emerging core of technologies, trends, and principles, Web 2.0 is not only changing what’s on the Web, but also how it works. Many believe that CIOs who understand these new applications and technologies–and apply the benefits early on–stand to greatly improve internal business processes. Among the biggest advantages is better collaboration with customers, partners, and suppliers, as well as among … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Howard Greenstein | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subject: IT / Technology / E-Business

The scale and economic leverage of core IT assets demand that IT be managed as an asset-based business. Unfortunately, most companies treat IT-asset optimization as a project with a beginning and an end. Instead, they should provide resources and asset-management processes continuously.

Content: Article | Author: Bruce Rogow | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subject: IT / Technology / E-Business

This content is restricted to site members. Please log in or register

Over the past five years, companies invested a lot in IT just to stay in place. Although CRM, ERP, inventory control, and other applications generated huge efficiencies in core processes and practices, businesses are seeing diminishing financial returns from these improvements as competitors race to match incremental gains and customers reap most of the value in lower prices or improved service. As a result, strategic … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Chunka Mui | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Trends / Analysis

Traditionally, most companies allocate IT funds based on net present value (NPV) or ROI. The problem with this approach is it naturally favors projects that deliver productivity benefits, even when other projects with less tangible value may be more important to the overall business strategy. Projects with the highest NPV or ROI don’t necessarily create the most value. What really matters is whether an investment … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subjects: Finance, IT / Technology / E-Business

CIOs should ask themselves two questions: “How well can we convert business ideas into business processes?” and “How flexible are my systems to translate BP into IT?” Those who make this transition will be the facilitators of their companies’ success. If not, they will be the bottleneck. The choice is clear: CIOs must be the bridge in the logic chain between strategy and operational excellence. … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subject: IT / Technology / E-Business