APPROACH
How We Create a Custom IT Strategy
Every business is different. That’s why every IT strategy we design is unique. So even though we illustrate our strategic consulting process in a linear, step-by-step format, there is always overlapping. In other words, we don’t have to finish assessments before we move on to analyzing your processes. This flexibility allows our clients to get back on the right path quicker and implement their refined IT strategy sooner.
Assessment
During our assessment process, we’re defining exactly how aligned the company’s current IT strategy is with its business goals. We’ll use our own unique assessment tools to conduct interviews and collect data to understand the factors contributing to a company’s success. Those factors include, but are not limited to:
- Communication. How efficiently and effectively does information flow throughout the organization?
- Workload. How is the daily workload impacting the company’s ability to achieve its goals? Where are the “bottlenecks?”
- Efficiencies. Are financial and labor resources being utilized to minimize waste and improve output?
- Management. Are the company’s most valuable resources, its workers, given all the tools they need to do their best work? Are they given the appropriate amounts of training, recognition, feedback and incentive to give their best? What are the challenges for management?
- Processes. When we assess a company’s processes, we’re learning how their business operates on every level. We want to know the step-by-step procedures followed to produce and distribute the company’s product or service.
- Technologies. Are the right technologies in place and being utilized? Are current technologies negatively affecting the business? Do workers need more training to make better use of existing technologies?
Relationships
At J&M Strategic Consulting, we view relationships as the underlying currency in business. In fact, from a consulting perspective, business is relationships.
In our work, we often find that the IT department’s strategy is not aligned with the business’s strategy. GPS-wise, they’re on two different paths and it takes a third party to help fine-tune the relationships involved and bring them together so they’re on the same path.
Strategy
From all the assessments and information we gather, J&M Strategic Consulting will create a unique strategy that aligns with your business goals and encompasses:
- Improved flow of communications within the company
- Placing employees in optimum positions for their skills and strength
- Opportunities for extra training to improve efficiencies
- Updates to current and new technologies
- A plan for continuous improvement that keeps the business aligned with their goals
- A plan for implementing the new strategy
Implementation
Implementation is the process of installing the various elements of your new strategy. This is where all of the work involved in determining the right strategy pays off. It’s where the rubber hits the road.
J&M Strategic Consulting has planned and managed hundreds of implementations. We know the keys to successful implementations as well as the pitfalls to avoid. The implementation process can be stressful and there may be bumps in the road. But when your destination is clearly defined and everyone agrees on the right path to take, stresses are reduced and it’s easier to stay the course or recalculate the path as needed.
