Wednesday, July 2, 2008
The Evolution of Business Intelligence Leadership - Part 3
This is part of a series on The Evolution of Business Intelligence Leadership (click here to read the entire series).
The previous articles in this series alluded to the enterprise strategy and structure required for successful implementation of business intelligence. Is there a tried-and-tested one-size-fits-all strategy which will work? Unfortunately, the answer is NO. However, there is strong linkage between successful business intelligence projects and execution excellence. Most companies which are "good" at execution have similar characteristics. Interestingly, there is a timely article published in the Harvard Business Review June 2008 issue entitled "The Secrets to Successful Strategy Execution." I would strongly urge you to read the article carefully if you are considering deploying a business intelligence initiative. The article talks about what matters most to strategy execution. Counter to conventional wisdom, restructuring or motivating incentives are not the most popular methods. Here's the list of building blocks with % respondents in parentheses:
- Information (54%)
- Decision Rights (50%)
- Motivators (26%)
- Structure (25%)
Remarkably, the top 8 of the top 10 traits of organizational effectiveness fall in the first two categories – Information and Decision Rights. Isn't that all about business intelligence? See list below:
Rank | Organization Trait | Building Block | Strength Index |
1 | Everyone has a good idea of the decisions and actions for which he or she is responsible. | Decision Rights | 81 |
2 | Important information about the competitive environment gets to headquarters quickly. | Information | 68 |
3 | Once made, decisions are rarely second-guessed. | Decision Rights | 58 |
4 | Information flows freely across organizational boundaries. | Information | 58 |
5 | Field and line employees usually have the information they need to understand the bottom-line impact of their day-to-day choices. | Information | 55 |
6 | Line managers have access to the merits they need to measure the key drivers of their business. | Information | 48 |
7 | Managers up the line get involved in operating decisions. | Decision Rights | 32 |
8 | Conflicting messages are rarely sent to the market. | Information | 32 |
9 | The individual performance-appraisal process differentiates among high, adequate, and low-performers. | Motivators | 32 |
10 | The ability to deliver on performance commitments strongly influences career advancement and compensation. | Motivators | 32 |
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