Consultants Saying Things

Explore the power of open source as we delve into its impact and discuss how to be part of the thriving community behind this digital revolution. Here are 7 important things to know about Open Source...

For this conversation we're joined by Doug Cone, an expert in open source development.

We cover questions such as:

• What, exactly, IS Open Source?
• What aspects entice modern-day companies to adopt it?
• What are the critical risks associated with it?
• How does a technology practitioner get involved?
• What does an executive need to know?

7 Takeaways:

1. Open source generally means the source code is openly available to inspect, modify, and distribute. It allows independence from reliance on a single company.
2. Open source vs proprietary software comes down to who identifies problems and codifies solutions - a community vs a private company.
3. Pace layered architecture refers to the observation that different application layers in an organization change at different paces. This impacts where open source does or doesn't make sense.
4. Security concerns with open source can be addressed through internal security standards and practices that would apply to any code, not just open source.
5. To prepare your career for open source, start small by participating in a community, like making documentation contributions. This builds familiarity.
6. Participating in the open source community provides opportunities to develop skills and collaborate. It expands options.
7.  Companies need an open source management strategy to consciously evaluate where open source fits in their application portfolio and culture.

Digital companies often partner with or acquire brick-and-mortar retailers, prompting discussions around analog vs. digital presence. Here are 9 things you need to know about blending digital and physical.

In this episode we cover questions such as:

• Why is this happening?
• Is this a blip or an actual trend?
• What should a purely digital company be learning from this?
• Does this portend a renaissance of traditional retail?
• What does a technology practitioner need to know to navigate this?

9 Takeaways:

1.  Some companies are partnering with legacy retail for brick-and-mortar presence
2. This demonstrates that even successful digital players need what physical retailers have
3. Examples of other digital companies opening physical locations (Apple, Warby Parker)
4. Motivation includes things such as channel or segment experiments, acquiring new capabilities, or entering new markets
5. There are challenges with partnering for physical presence vs building yourself
6. The importance of experience - letting customers see/touch products - can't be overstated
7. Advice for companies looking to go digital and for companies look to go analog includes partnerships, product focus, industry segmentation
8. There will be issues with adoption/behavior change even with good digital enterprises
9. This reinforces the idea that physical retail won't go away anytime soon

Digital transformation is the radical overhaul of business processes, strategies, and customer experiences through the integration of technologies. Here are 10 things you need to know.

In this episode we answer questions such as:

• What is Digital Transformation?
• What are the critical factors in a successful transformation?
• What should a practitioner be doing to ensure successful transformation?

10 Takeaways:

1. Digital transformation is a big, abstract concept that can mean different things to different people. It's important to define it and "dispel the consultant speak."
2. Pre-digital world, we interacted with companies in limited ways but didn't know any better. Now our expectations are shaped by digital-first companies like Google, Amazon, etc.
3. For large enterprises, their processes, technology, people, and culture were built for the pre-digital world. Transforming all those things together is truly digital transformation.
4. To the C-suite, digital transformation is about new digital business models to avoid disruption. To the CMO, it's about digital experience. To the COO, it's using technologies like AI for operations.
5. Consulting companies need to actually invest in capabilities and change behaviors, not just talk, to make digital transformation happen.
6. It's largely a cultural shift to using digital human-computer interaction to provide business value instead of just mechanical interactions.
7. Companies need to re-examine their business models, culture, leadership, etc. on an ongoing basis - digital is just the latest wave enabling transformation.
8. Practitioners should view digital transformation as a verb, not a noun - a means to an end of delivering business value. Become the change agent.
9. Identify what your company excels at and ask "what if we're wrong?" Look for blind spots and opportunities for disruption.
10. It requires becoming both a people person and technical expert. Orbit the organizational "hairball" to drive change.

People often misuse buzzwords like Design Thinking. It's about synthesis of ideas and a culture of change. Here are 8 things you need to know about Design Thinking.

In this video we answer questions such as:

• What is Design Thinking?
• Why Should a Company Care?
• How Does it Work?
• What Does it Get You?

8 Takeaways:

1. Design thinking is about synthesis - taking things that don't exist yet and putting them together to meet a need. It involves creative problem solving.
2. Design thinking focuses on understanding the emotional state and goals of the end user. It's about the "people side" more than the solution itself.
3. Many companies just pay lip service to design thinking. True adoption requires change in behaviors and culture across the whole organization.
4. Design thinking is better suited to smaller, nimble companies that can be flexible. Large, established companies struggle to transform their ossified cultures.
5. Consultants have tried to turn design thinking into a rigid process and science when it is more art. Not everyone has the mindset and skills to "think like a designer".
6. Design thinking could have helped identify problems and design solutions at companies like Kodak, but ingrained legacy cultures made actual change impossible.
7. Effective design thinking requires C-suite commitment, patience, and accepting failure. It can't just be used for one product but must transform the company.
8. Design thinking is not a silver bullet or panacea, but also not bullshit. It is a useful framework when implemented properly in the right culture.