Some thoughts on when it comes to reimagining an organisation for a platform world, there are a number of strategic imperatives which drive capturing more value for the customer and business than the sum of the parts.
There are 3 key steps, in my mind, that need to be on the path to the businesses #futureready, target operating model and customer experience, which are required to let an ecosystem and platform strategy thrive and change the habits of the whole organisation, to therefore align to the change in customer habits and expectations.
Credit: Francisco Gonzalez
These steps are (but are not limited to):
1/ Unbundling the organisational capabilities and reimagine the operating model of the organisation;
Multiple ‘cylinders of excellence’ (traditional silos and operational divisions/P&Ls) will not deliver a customer or employee experience which is data and customer-led, unbundling these capabilities and then loosely coupling these around the customer journey will align with the flywheel required to power an ecosystem/platform strategy
2/ Embed platform thinking literacy alongside a digital, data and customer-centric mindset;
A platform (digital) mindset is the key to unlocking the potential of your people and also understanding the value which is placed on an experience by customers or employees. Literacy in the ‘ways of working’ and automating processes that drive a cyclical business model, require lessons to be used to celebrate success and embrace failure.
3/ Let the organisation re-bundle around a new set of themes, and market signals through entrepreneurship, experimentation and continuous improvement;
Using customer and business outcomes to drive what matters (and therefore what is measured) within an organisation, allows the goals/priorities/epics which underpin the strategic vision to flow though the future-ready operating model now, to build for next and therefore set up adaptability and agility to deliver the future.
Continuous re-assessment and reimagination needs to be built into the technologies, processes and customer outcomes which then evolve based on signals from across the ecosystem that the business has created and grows through reinventing itself, over and over.
Shifting from a traditional ‘where to play’/‘how to play’ linear approach to business strategy is not simple or straightforward, yet the exponential benefits of a ‘cyclical’ platform/ecosystem strategy are well worth the journey, as this is where the future lies.
