Showing posts with label Leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leadership. Show all posts
5 Shifts AI Will Create in the Future of ERP
AI is about to fundamentally change what ERP means to the enterprise. For the past three decades, ERP systems have been the transaction backbone of organizations.
🔹 They standardized processes.
🔹 Improved operational visibility.
🔹 Enabled enterprises to scale globally.
But AI is about to reshape ERP in ways that are far more profound. Here are five shifts I see coming.
1️⃣ From Systems of Record to Systems of Intelligence
Traditional ERP platforms primarily record transactions and generate reports. AI-enabled ERP platforms will instead:
🔹 predict outcomes
🔹 recommend actions
🔹 automate business processes
📌 ERP will increasingly function as a decision intelligence engine for the enterprise.
2️⃣ From Process Automation to Autonomous Operations
Most ERP initiatives historically focused on workflow automation. AI will take this much further by enabling autonomous processes, such as:
🔹 automated financial reconciliation
🔹 predictive supply chain planning
🔹 AI-driven procurement optimization
🔹 intelligent workforce planning
📌 Enterprises will move toward self-optimizing operations.
3️⃣ From Reporting to Real-Time Decision Support
Executives have traditionally relied on ERP for historical reporting. AI will shift ERP toward real-time decision intelligence, enabling leaders to:
🔹 identify operational risks earlier
🔹 simulate multiple business scenarios
🔹 continuously optimize financial and operational performance
📌 ERP will increasingly help leaders anticipate what’s coming — not just report what happened.
4️⃣ From User Interfaces to Conversational ERP
Generative AI is transforming how people interact with enterprise systems. Instead of navigating complex dashboards, business users will increasingly interact with ERP through natural language conversations. For example:
🔹 “Explain the drivers of margin decline this quarter.”
🔹 “What actions should we take to reduce inventory carrying costs?”
📌 ERP will increasingly function as a business co-pilot.
5️⃣ From Technology Projects to Enterprise Transformation
Historically, ERP modernization has been viewed as a technology upgrade. The next generation of ERP transformation will be much broader. Organizations will need to rethink:
🔹 operating models
🔹 data governance
🔹 talent and skills
🔹 decision-making frameworks
📌 AI-enabled ERP will become the digital core of the intelligent enterprise.
➡️ The Bottom Line
ERP is entering its most transformative phase since the rise of cloud. Organizations that successfully combine cloud ERP modernization with AI-led innovation will unlock new levels of agility, efficiency, and insight.
ERP will no longer just run the business. It will help continuously optimize it.
Which of these shifts are you seeing emerge in your organization today❓
The New Normal, a Paradigm Shift
Lifestyle has taken a dramatic turn globally amid the novel coronavirus. We are witnessing massive losses of lives, a generation wipe-out in some countries, small and large business crumbling, stock market turmoil, furloughs, steep rise in unemployment, complete disruption of normal daily activities, a sense of insecurity and concerns about the future. It is heartbreaking looking at the COVID-19 trackers and news channels.
However, there are many positive outcomes that come to my mind. Nobody has the crystal ball to predict exactly what life will look like post COVID-19. We human beings are social creatures by nature and would love to be back with family, friends, and colleagues soon. This pandemic is reshaping an entire generation. My curious mind wonders…what does the “New Normal'' look like?
Work from home
Organizations are recognizing great benefits of leveraging the underutilized digital technologies they already own. In other cases, businesses who were contemplating adoption of digital technologies, have figured it to be a no-brainer. Many organizations can get work done with remote employees and in several cases the productivity has increased. Collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Slack, have now become the backbone of effective operations and means of doing business. There is no more time wasted for work commutes, cafeteria and hallway chats, expensive rental space, etc. With all the cost savings and increased productivity companies are going to rethink who really needs to be in the office space. Organizations are likely to embrace work from home culture a lot more.
Coexistence of humans and robots
Not all work can be done from home. Several factories and warehouses were forced to shut down to protect their employees, while those that are essential struggled to prevent outbreaks. Companies are exploring how robots can enable us to continue manufacturing while maintaining social distancing. Can automation help us better prepare for future pandemics and minimize economic crisis? I believe we are heading fast into a society where next generation robots boosted with rich AI will be working with humans side-by-side. This pandemic has become a catalyst for automation, robotics and AI initiatives.
Flexibility and employee satisfaction
Employees working remote can be anywhere and still get the job done. This gives them flexibility and extra hours if they need to work on stuff longer in the evenings or early morning to keep up with deadlines. Many meeting outcomes can be equally accomplished over the phone and video conferences. I foresee a significant reduction in business travel, saving dollars and giving work flexibility. Increased family time leads to happier employees, which is reflected in increased productivity.
Cleaner environment
Nationwide and regional lockdowns are helping dramatically drop the level of nitrogen dioxide pollution ever recorded in countries like Italy, China, and India. This trend should give us a reason to reflect on the impact human activity has on our lovely planet. Innovations like biofuel and efficient electric-powered aircraft might get accelerated. Do we really need all that travel and what type of vehicles should we use? People are likely to be cognizant about the personal carbon footprint they create.
Diversification and online commerce
Countries where tourism is the primary contributor to their GDP will have to accelerate creation of other industries less based on physical displacement. There is already a significant rise in welcoming and accepting online commerce by all generations. Businesses that were reluctant to do so have to rethink their approach as customers probably will be less inclined to visit or shop at crowded places. Similarly, businesses that were only focused on a physical location and in-person experience, must explore the innovative digital experience possibilities.
Healthcare reform
In addition to an economic crisis, COVID-19 has also created a healthcare crisis. Shortages in doctors, medical staff, testing facilities, hospital beds, force patients to leverage an out-of-network facility. This creates affordability questions in countries like the USA, related to surprise medical bills when patients must receive treatment from an out-of-network provider. There are still a huge number of Americans who have no insurance at all. Are we going to see a significant increase in the insurance premiums next year? Policy makers are likely to evaluate and implement new approaches to handle such public health emergency situations. Major healthcare systems have already begun to develop telemedicine services, I think we will see an accelerated implementation of such practices infused with innovative intelligent healthcare solutions.
Delivery takeout and drop off services
Restaurant business has taken a huge hit and people are figuring that they can still have restaurant food at home safely and it saves time. Many people would probably want to continue with that practice. Does this mean there would be fewer dine-in restaurants? Maybe it leads to having only high-end restaurants that create a unique dining experience. Other restaurants may adopt smaller less expensive spaces with focus on technology enabled delivery and pick-up services.
History has generally proven that after a crisis, there comes change, mostly for the better. I think it creates unique opportunities for people and organizations to rethink the possibilities of a safer and smarter future. It has also enabled people to be more family oriented, have a greater sense of gratitude and not take stuff for granted, have more empathy, think differently about healthcare and other front-line professionals that are risking their lives to support everyone else in such a crisis. Let us continue to stay strong, practice safe habits and be positive... a brilliant future is ahead of us.
However, there are many positive outcomes that come to my mind. Nobody has the crystal ball to predict exactly what life will look like post COVID-19. We human beings are social creatures by nature and would love to be back with family, friends, and colleagues soon. This pandemic is reshaping an entire generation. My curious mind wonders…what does the “New Normal'' look like?Work from home
Organizations are recognizing great benefits of leveraging the underutilized digital technologies they already own. In other cases, businesses who were contemplating adoption of digital technologies, have figured it to be a no-brainer. Many organizations can get work done with remote employees and in several cases the productivity has increased. Collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Slack, have now become the backbone of effective operations and means of doing business. There is no more time wasted for work commutes, cafeteria and hallway chats, expensive rental space, etc. With all the cost savings and increased productivity companies are going to rethink who really needs to be in the office space. Organizations are likely to embrace work from home culture a lot more.
Coexistence of humans and robots
Not all work can be done from home. Several factories and warehouses were forced to shut down to protect their employees, while those that are essential struggled to prevent outbreaks. Companies are exploring how robots can enable us to continue manufacturing while maintaining social distancing. Can automation help us better prepare for future pandemics and minimize economic crisis? I believe we are heading fast into a society where next generation robots boosted with rich AI will be working with humans side-by-side. This pandemic has become a catalyst for automation, robotics and AI initiatives.
Flexibility and employee satisfaction
Employees working remote can be anywhere and still get the job done. This gives them flexibility and extra hours if they need to work on stuff longer in the evenings or early morning to keep up with deadlines. Many meeting outcomes can be equally accomplished over the phone and video conferences. I foresee a significant reduction in business travel, saving dollars and giving work flexibility. Increased family time leads to happier employees, which is reflected in increased productivity.
Cleaner environment
Nationwide and regional lockdowns are helping dramatically drop the level of nitrogen dioxide pollution ever recorded in countries like Italy, China, and India. This trend should give us a reason to reflect on the impact human activity has on our lovely planet. Innovations like biofuel and efficient electric-powered aircraft might get accelerated. Do we really need all that travel and what type of vehicles should we use? People are likely to be cognizant about the personal carbon footprint they create.
Diversification and online commerce
Countries where tourism is the primary contributor to their GDP will have to accelerate creation of other industries less based on physical displacement. There is already a significant rise in welcoming and accepting online commerce by all generations. Businesses that were reluctant to do so have to rethink their approach as customers probably will be less inclined to visit or shop at crowded places. Similarly, businesses that were only focused on a physical location and in-person experience, must explore the innovative digital experience possibilities.
Healthcare reform
In addition to an economic crisis, COVID-19 has also created a healthcare crisis. Shortages in doctors, medical staff, testing facilities, hospital beds, force patients to leverage an out-of-network facility. This creates affordability questions in countries like the USA, related to surprise medical bills when patients must receive treatment from an out-of-network provider. There are still a huge number of Americans who have no insurance at all. Are we going to see a significant increase in the insurance premiums next year? Policy makers are likely to evaluate and implement new approaches to handle such public health emergency situations. Major healthcare systems have already begun to develop telemedicine services, I think we will see an accelerated implementation of such practices infused with innovative intelligent healthcare solutions.
Delivery takeout and drop off services
Restaurant business has taken a huge hit and people are figuring that they can still have restaurant food at home safely and it saves time. Many people would probably want to continue with that practice. Does this mean there would be fewer dine-in restaurants? Maybe it leads to having only high-end restaurants that create a unique dining experience. Other restaurants may adopt smaller less expensive spaces with focus on technology enabled delivery and pick-up services.
History has generally proven that after a crisis, there comes change, mostly for the better. I think it creates unique opportunities for people and organizations to rethink the possibilities of a safer and smarter future. It has also enabled people to be more family oriented, have a greater sense of gratitude and not take stuff for granted, have more empathy, think differently about healthcare and other front-line professionals that are risking their lives to support everyone else in such a crisis. Let us continue to stay strong, practice safe habits and be positive... a brilliant future is ahead of us.
Building Trust - Key to Successful Leadership
The most important factor in business or any relationship is TRUST. You can easily attain authority by virtue of a position. Although authority will make people do what you ask them to do, it won’t necessarily make them believe in it, only getting you so far.
To gain commitment from your team, you must first build trust. It is critical that people truly believe in the direction you are setting, and you attain their buy-in. When your team is committed, they are more likely to stay with you to push forward through challenges and put in their best efforts to get the job done. The key is that people recognize you have their best interests in mind. Their endeavors will be more worthy if they believe that your leadership will create a better future for them.
Through my journey in the corporate world, I have witnessed many distinct types of leaders, some that built trust and others damaging it. When people start doubting the motives of their leaders, collaboration starts falling apart and only leads to questioning credibility, reliability and ultimately causes a decline in all key business metrics.
Building trust is not a one-time activity. Instead, it is a series of small, consistent, and daily actions that fosters trust with others. Being authentic is of prime essence; true leaders do not pretend to be one in public and act differently in private. When you say and do things that you really believe, people will start trusting you. Authentic leaders can put the mission and goals of the organization ahead of their own self-interest. Being authentic is not easy… it requires consistency, focus, and determination.
To gain commitment from your team, you must first build trust. It is critical that people truly believe in the direction you are setting, and you attain their buy-in. When your team is committed, they are more likely to stay with you to push forward through challenges and put in their best efforts to get the job done. The key is that people recognize you have their best interests in mind. Their endeavors will be more worthy if they believe that your leadership will create a better future for them.
Building trust is not a one-time activity. Instead, it is a series of small, consistent, and daily actions that fosters trust with others. Being authentic is of prime essence; true leaders do not pretend to be one in public and act differently in private. When you say and do things that you really believe, people will start trusting you. Authentic leaders can put the mission and goals of the organization ahead of their own self-interest. Being authentic is not easy… it requires consistency, focus, and determination.
@ Oracle OpenWorld 2019
Oracle OpenWorld took place from September 16-19, 2019 at Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. There were over 50,000 attendees from 145 countries.
Fujitsu OCI Factory: Proven Process to move Apps Unlimited to OCI (Oracle Cloud Infrastructure)
How Fujitsu enables your cloud journey risk free.
Larry Ellison announced at the keynote about Oracle's recent partnership with Microsoft. This now enables global partners like Fujitsu to bring two best in class Cloud services together to provide better options for clients.
It was interesting to hear Larry talk about their initiative to add a number of autonomous services to its next generation cloud, as they progress towards their ultimate goal of delivering the world’s first completely autonomous cloud.
It was great to connect with many of our customers, colleagues and partners at the conference. I had the opportunity to present two sessions this year talking about:
Larry Ellison announced at the keynote about Oracle's recent partnership with Microsoft. This now enables global partners like Fujitsu to bring two best in class Cloud services together to provide better options for clients.
It was interesting to hear Larry talk about their initiative to add a number of autonomous services to its next generation cloud, as they progress towards their ultimate goal of delivering the world’s first completely autonomous cloud.
Partnering with Microsoft to grow your SAP on Azure business
Listen to experts talk on what it takes to deliver a strong value proposition for SAP on Azure to customers. Learn what works best and what to avoid. You will also hear me share how to successfully build a SAP on Azure practice and capabilities.
I thoroughly enjoyed being on the panel and presenting along with Microsoft (Don McCormick, Chris Dearing and Tanya Beutler), Infosys (Danette Seward).
Microsoft Inspire, Las Vegas, July 2019 - Session Catalog
I thoroughly enjoyed being on the panel and presenting along with Microsoft (Don McCormick, Chris Dearing and Tanya Beutler), Infosys (Danette Seward).
Microsoft Inspire, Las Vegas, July 2019 - Session Catalog
Nasdaq Spotlight - Anna Gonzalez in conversation with Bhusan Chand
Enjoyed my conversation with Anna Gonzales, Head of Social Media, Nasdaq at the Microsoft Ignite conference 2018, Orlando, FL.
We discussed about my views on the marketplace today, cloud journey and the digital future.
We discussed about my views on the marketplace today, cloud journey and the digital future.
The Connected World - IoT
As we link data from products, devices, or the environment, they will generate better information and data analysis that can significantly enhance decision making. When products are embedded with sensors, businesses can track their movements and monitor interactions with them. Business processes can be adjusted to take advantage of such behavioral data. Useful data from sensors installed to report on environmental conditions (such as ocean currents, weather or soil moisture) can give decision makers key alerts of real-time events. In health care, IoT offers possibilities for monitoring a patient’s behavior and symptoms in real time and at relatively affordable cost, allowing physicians to better diagnose disease and prescribe a personalized treatment that is most effective.
Today more objects are becoming embedded with sensors and gaining the ability to communicate. IoT is a key enabling technology for digital businesses. According to Gartner over 4 billion connected things are already in use early 2015 and the count is expected to rise to 25 billion by 2020.
Information collected, shared, analyzed and applied is at the core of IoT – creating a better and safer world, a better end-user experience, reducing costs and growing revenue, enabling smarter applications, and improving the overall value of technology. The possibilities with IoT are truly endless.
Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2015
I believe that there will be a major shift towards merging the real and virtual worlds. We will need to connect and integrate customers in unique and innovative ways. Obviously all of this has to happen in a very secure environment. Security will be an integral part of all solutions.
Gartner shared its strategic technology trends as those technologies that have the most potential to significantly impact individuals, businesses and IT organizations over the next few years. The Internet of Things (IoT), smart machines and computing everywhere are going to be the key components for 2015. It is also apparent in the enterprise that 3D printing is now going mainstream.
Organizations will continue their journey to the cloud/mobile enabled solutions and transform their business to become more flexible, agile, responsive and cost-competitive.
Gartner shared its strategic technology trends as those technologies that have the most potential to significantly impact individuals, businesses and IT organizations over the next few years. The Internet of Things (IoT), smart machines and computing everywhere are going to be the key components for 2015. It is also apparent in the enterprise that 3D printing is now going mainstream.
Organizations will continue their journey to the cloud/mobile enabled solutions and transform their business to become more flexible, agile, responsive and cost-competitive.
Innovate to Stay Relevant
Success and creativity goes hand in hand; creativity fosters innovation. To be successful in today’s competitive marketplace, organizations must embrace innovation and demonstrate creativity in their thoughts and action. Innovation is all about identifying new ways to add value to the business.
For leaders it is important to not just ask the obvious questions but look deeper and not be afraid to reconsider basic fundamentals about your business, products and services. When you view your business from new perspectives, you can harness ideas from some of the most unlikely sources. Brainstorm ideas, keep in mind that censoring ideas will be a barrier to creativity and sets up limitations that kills innovation and invention. Your objective is to create possibility thinking and not dullsville. Be inspiring and decide on no limit thinking when you are brainstorming alone or with others.
Connecting the dots is crucial by finding ways to bring together concepts, people, services and products. Many great innovations are "mash-ups" of existing ideas.
Finally giving form to your idea as quickly as possible and making a commitment for its realization is vital. Quickly create a prototype and initiate testing it right away. This is the only way to know if you've touched on something truly promising for your business.
For leaders it is important to not just ask the obvious questions but look deeper and not be afraid to reconsider basic fundamentals about your business, products and services. When you view your business from new perspectives, you can harness ideas from some of the most unlikely sources. Brainstorm ideas, keep in mind that censoring ideas will be a barrier to creativity and sets up limitations that kills innovation and invention. Your objective is to create possibility thinking and not dullsville. Be inspiring and decide on no limit thinking when you are brainstorming alone or with others.
Just giving great customer service does not mean caring for your customers. It is important to get to know your customers and their business as intimately as possible. It is imperative to immerse yourself in the lives of the people you are trying to serve. Focusing on the high-value tasks is of prime importance. You and your teams must know how to prioritize their time, maintain prioritization of activities and actions, and ruthlessly eliminate wasted work by not doing the things that does not matter.
Connecting the dots is crucial by finding ways to bring together concepts, people, services and products. Many great innovations are "mash-ups" of existing ideas.
Finally giving form to your idea as quickly as possible and making a commitment for its realization is vital. Quickly create a prototype and initiate testing it right away. This is the only way to know if you've touched on something truly promising for your business.
CIO’s Top Technology Priorities for 2013
Gartner conducted a global survey of more than 2,000 CIOs in 36 industries across 41 countries towards the end of 2012. The CIOs were requested to provide a list of top technology priorities for 2013.
The survey revealed that IT budgets have remained flat to negative since the dot-com bust of 2002. This study showed that for 2013, CIO IT budgets are projected to be slightly down, with a weighted global average decline of 0.5%. 67% of CIOs surveyed now have significant leadership responsibilities outside of IT that is very contrast to the surveys conducted in 2008, when about 50% of CIOs had no responsibilities outside of IT. Digital technologies clearly seem to dominate the CIO technology priorities for 2013. This includes mobile, analytics, Big Data, social media networking and cloud.
CIOs know that the future rests in not repeating the past but in extending IT by pursuing and reaping in a digital world. CIOs see these technologies as disrupting business fundamentally over the next 10 years. When asked which digital technologies would be most disruptive, 70% of CIOs cited mobile technologies, followed by big data/analytics at 55%, social media at 54% and public cloud at 51%. The disruptiveness of each of these technologies is material, but CIOs see their greatest disruptive power coming in combination, rather than in isolation.
Top 10 CIO Technology Priorities for 2013:
1. Analytics and BI
2. Mobile Technologies
3. Cloud computing (SaaS, IaaS, PaaS)
4. Collaboration technologies (workflow)
5. Legacy Modernization
6. IT Management
7. CRM
8. Virtualization
9. Security
10.ERP Applications
Source: Gartner Executive Programs Survey (Jan 2013)
CIOs know that the future rests in not repeating the past but in extending IT by pursuing and reaping in a digital world. CIOs see these technologies as disrupting business fundamentally over the next 10 years. When asked which digital technologies would be most disruptive, 70% of CIOs cited mobile technologies, followed by big data/analytics at 55%, social media at 54% and public cloud at 51%. The disruptiveness of each of these technologies is material, but CIOs see their greatest disruptive power coming in combination, rather than in isolation.
Top 10 CIO Technology Priorities for 2013:
1. Analytics and BI
2. Mobile Technologies
3. Cloud computing (SaaS, IaaS, PaaS)
4. Collaboration technologies (workflow)
5. Legacy Modernization
6. IT Management
7. CRM
8. Virtualization
9. Security
10.ERP Applications
Source: Gartner Executive Programs Survey (Jan 2013)
Leadership vs Management
There is a philosophical difference between leadership and management. Leadership is about influencing, guiding in a direction, action and view. Managing is to accomplish, to be in-charge of or to be responsible for. A good manager does things right whereas a leader does the right things. Doing the right things implies a goal, a direction, an objective, a vision, a dream.
Leadership and management are both important, but they seek to do different things. A leader is one who influences the behavior and work of others in group(s) towards attainment of specific goals in a given circumstance. While managers are expected to be the leaders of work groups so that the subordinates willingly carry directions and accept their supervision.
A person can become a leader by virtue of his personal qualities. The group or employees who the leader leads are his followers. As a leader one influences people to work willingly for the group objectives. People follow leaders voluntarily.
A person becomes a manager by virtue of his position. Manager has formal rights in an organization because of his position. The subordinates are the followers of managers. The manager has clear accountability for self and subordinates behavior and performance.
The manager administers while the leader innovates. The manager relies on control whereas the leader inspires trust. The manager has a short term view whereas the leader has a long term perspective. The manager imitates while the leader originate.
In summary leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group and leader is the spearhead for that new direction. Management controls or directs people in a group according to principles or values that have already been established. The goal of the manager is to execute the directions promoted by the leader. Management is only a role not a type of action. You can lead regardless of your position provided you promote new directions that are compelling to others.
Leadership and management are both important, but they seek to do different things. A leader is one who influences the behavior and work of others in group(s) towards attainment of specific goals in a given circumstance. While managers are expected to be the leaders of work groups so that the subordinates willingly carry directions and accept their supervision.
A person becomes a manager by virtue of his position. Manager has formal rights in an organization because of his position. The subordinates are the followers of managers. The manager has clear accountability for self and subordinates behavior and performance.
The manager administers while the leader innovates. The manager relies on control whereas the leader inspires trust. The manager has a short term view whereas the leader has a long term perspective. The manager imitates while the leader originate.
In summary leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group and leader is the spearhead for that new direction. Management controls or directs people in a group according to principles or values that have already been established. The goal of the manager is to execute the directions promoted by the leader. Management is only a role not a type of action. You can lead regardless of your position provided you promote new directions that are compelling to others.
Big Bang or Phased Implementation
One of the challenging decision for an ERP implementation is the implementation approach; should you take the big bang approach and get it done sooner, or should you slowly phase in the new processes and technology over a period of time. There are several schools of thought regarding application deployment. Some favor phased deployment, while other business/operations require a big-bang approach.
Phased Implementation: In this type of an implementation smaller group of users or specific sites/locations, selected processes/functionalities are deployed at a time. Minimal disruption to the production environment is a key consideration here. Any performance issues that occur can be quickly isolated and rectified without any large-scale disruption to the wider user population. This approach allows for a staggered training, so you potentially have fewer users impacted at a given time. However, this could potentially require keeping two separate systems running, hence more system support requirements including ongoing maintenance costs. This may also lead to the issue of data correlation, where there is a need to cross-reference data across two systems, and may add unnecessary complexity into the system.
Big-Bang Implementation: With this approach the application is deployed in a single go; all users concurrently cut over to the new system. This imposes potential large-scale disruption to production environment. Performance issues may result in large-scale disruptions to entire user population. This approach requires mass training to get all users trained around the same time. The good news is that there is only single system running at one time, so there is no need for additional system support unlike the phased approach, hence low maintenance costs compared to the phased approach. This also helps organization get to the end state sooner and enable faster realization of the ROI. Big-bang implementations must ensure comprehensive planning and coordination in the contingency/risk planning process.
Both approaches have their clear pros and cons. It is important to find a balance between both that works best for your organization. Implementation schedules need to be aggressive, but not to the extent that they cause you to overlook important details or make incomplete decisions and testing. Failed implementations can cause serious damage to your organization. You must spend a good amount of time to analyze the right approach that supports your business within acceptable risk tolerance limits.
Big-Bang Implementation: With this approach the application is deployed in a single go; all users concurrently cut over to the new system. This imposes potential large-scale disruption to production environment. Performance issues may result in large-scale disruptions to entire user population. This approach requires mass training to get all users trained around the same time. The good news is that there is only single system running at one time, so there is no need for additional system support unlike the phased approach, hence low maintenance costs compared to the phased approach. This also helps organization get to the end state sooner and enable faster realization of the ROI. Big-bang implementations must ensure comprehensive planning and coordination in the contingency/risk planning process.
Both approaches have their clear pros and cons. It is important to find a balance between both that works best for your organization. Implementation schedules need to be aggressive, but not to the extent that they cause you to overlook important details or make incomplete decisions and testing. Failed implementations can cause serious damage to your organization. You must spend a good amount of time to analyze the right approach that supports your business within acceptable risk tolerance limits.
The Definition of Leadership & Leadership Styles
I believe Leadership is the ability to lead and influence others in a positive way, motivate people, provide direction and being innovative. A leader is an individual who notably influences the thoughts and behavior of a considerable group of individuals. I think today’s leaders must understand that you have to give up control to get results; they should act more as coaches and not as the boss.
Now let us talk a little about the leadership styles. There are three key leadership styles:
1. Autocratic: This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their team or followers. An appropriate situation to use this style would be when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated.
Normally, I recommend using the authoritarian style on rare occasions only. If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your team or employees, then you should use the Participative style.
2. Participative: Leaders with this style generally involve one or more individuals before making a decision. The final decision making authority is still maintained by the leader. This style is generally respected by the group led by the leader. This type of leader believes in working together to solve a problem or situation. The leader acknowledges that he or she only has a portion of the information and the other individuals are knowledgeable on the remaining areas.
As a leader you are not expected to know everything however, you are expected to make the right decision under the circumstances. The key strength in this leadership style is that it enables superior team relationships and helps you make better decisions.
3. Delegative: In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still accountable for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. As a leader you cannot do everything. You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks.
Using this style does not mean that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you fully trust and have confidence in the people that work for you. Do not be afraid to use it, however, my only advice would be to use it wisely.
Now let us talk a little about the leadership styles. There are three key leadership styles:
- Autocratic
- Participative
- Delegative
1. Autocratic: This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their team or followers. An appropriate situation to use this style would be when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated.
Normally, I recommend using the authoritarian style on rare occasions only. If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your team or employees, then you should use the Participative style.
2. Participative: Leaders with this style generally involve one or more individuals before making a decision. The final decision making authority is still maintained by the leader. This style is generally respected by the group led by the leader. This type of leader believes in working together to solve a problem or situation. The leader acknowledges that he or she only has a portion of the information and the other individuals are knowledgeable on the remaining areas.
As a leader you are not expected to know everything however, you are expected to make the right decision under the circumstances. The key strength in this leadership style is that it enables superior team relationships and helps you make better decisions.
3. Delegative: In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still accountable for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. As a leader you cannot do everything. You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks.
Using this style does not mean that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you fully trust and have confidence in the people that work for you. Do not be afraid to use it, however, my only advice would be to use it wisely.
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