https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/andyeunson/feed.xml Business Value Services at Microsoft Wed, 17 Apr 2019 03:38:30 GMT en-US hourly 1 https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/andyeunson/are-you-sure-that-your-killer-app-wont-kill-your-business-are-you-really-ready-for-the-digital-age Mon, 18 Apr 2016 18:50:54 GMT http://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/andyeunson/?p=36

customer obsession: creating experiences your customers will love and figuring out how to capture value at an affordable cost. Q: when was the last time you heard a customer rave about the value your products provide? Is that rare?

innovation: the ability to integrate ideas across industries is a good start but it goes beyond big ideas. It requires exploring the unknown, learning from failure but driving forward and delivering results despite set backs. Q: what percentage of last year's revenue came from products released in the past 2 years? Compare that to your competitors, are you ahead?

agility: the right people and process that embrace data driven experimentation and learning. No great idea will wait forever. You've got a limited window of opportunity, hack your way forward. Please note: Agility covers multiple aspects:

• agile execution: getting things done in an iterative and adaptive manner. Q: How often do initiatives succeed after significant setback? Is there a growth mindset that supports iterative experimentation and learning?
• agile decisions: making good decisions even with limited information. The quality of a decision isn't about the outcome but about the likelihood of a successful outcome given the information available at the time the decision was made. Learn from your decision making mistakes and improve. Q: what processes are in place to track and evaluate the decision making quality and improvement over time?

insight: data and information driven decision making supports good decision making. Machine learning and analytics can help. If you're unhappy with the results of your decision you might need better data in a more repeatable process and a better model for analysis.

leadership: the ability to craft a culture of learning and growth that supports both Innovation and Agility. The kind of leadership that is there answering questions, providing resources, dispensing insight and generally clearing blockers. Without leadership support its going to be hard to experiment, learn and respond quickly. Q: does leadership support a learning growth mindset? Does your corporate culture embrace and encourage smart risk taking?

There are a series of questions you can ask to assess how adept you are in each area and identify areas for improvement. I'll explore samples questions in coming posts.]]> https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/andyeunson/can-your-business-expose-its-products-and-services-to-be-found-and-requested-by-a-smart-agent Mon, 04 Apr 2016 20:43:21 GMT http://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/andyeunson/?p=22 Bot Framework for creating intelligent bots. It doesn’t take a leap of imagination to see a future where smart bots can help people do more with less effort and greater impact. It’s going to take some time and there will probably be some learning opportunities along the way… but we’ve started. People in masse are now thinking about “what would I want from a smart bot”. “Could it review my schedule and see that I have free time, know that I’m near my favorite burger joint and ask me if I want a burger?” Further, if I said yes, could it order the burger with all the trimmings just the way I like and a milk shake so that when I arrive it’s all waiting for me?” Here’s the real question: What is your business doing right now to ensure that its prepared to thrive in this future world of smart agents? Are you preparing to disrupt your future competition or get left behind? Here’s the crux of the challenge: Can your business expose its products and services to be found and requested by a smart agent? If not, you might want to start thinking about it. Technology is moving crazy fast and society is quick to follow. Even more, newer generations think and act on a different socio-economic framework. How are you going to learn, adapt and execute on the business opportunities as they appear? Could your business bring any new ideas to market quickly enough to make a difference? (question: how has it done so far in making fast changes?) Would it even be able to see new opportunities for customers it has never served (but might be best to serve in the future)? This new digital future is going to require new tools and new ways of working. Some of the key aspects are:

• Customer centricity – obsessing about the customer’s pains and needs are.
• Cross Industry Pollination – adapting ideas from other industries for your industry
• Agile – use an agile approach to hack your way forward. The waterfall ways of the past or 3 year initiatives to realize change won’t work anymore.
• People, Process & Tech – you’ll need to change how people work in the future, just adding tech won’t help you.

These are the types of topics typically found around Digital Business Transformation. How will your business need to transform in order to survive and thrive?]]>