Organizations come up with pithy slogans, tag lines and spend millions advertising and promoting them. Ostensibly, this builds the “brand”. Arguably, brand is one of the most powerful concepts not just creating but also sustaining shareholder value. So, all this energy and dollars are well justified.
However, are you taken at your word or do your deeds speak more convincingly? My own experience as a customer and consulting with companies is that self professed virtues are important but action driven images are critical.
The issue in your customers’ mind is: Can you back up your claims?
This is where IT comes in. Let me explain.
Brand is critical to shareholder value
Brand is the essence of an organization. It cannot be touched or felt and in more ways than one, it is a perception. It does not speak yet it is that one thing that tells more about an organization than all the reams of paper taken up by press releases, brochures, employee manuals etc.
Why do people buy iPods for twice or thrice the price of a comparable MP3 player? Why did people automatically associate “Xeroxing” with “photocopying”? Why do people watch Steven Spielberg movies even when they know nothing about them in advance? Why is Mike Tyson still a huge draw? Why is Toyota going to be the largest car company in the world in 2007?
Brand takes time to build; short time to destroy – sometimes an instance. How many of you are going to watch Michael Richards’ (Seinfeld’s Kramer) stand up comedy show? He blew away a lifetime of value in that one outburst.
o According to J.D. Power and Associates surveys, American car companies are competing head to head with Japanese companies in quality but is that the car buyer’s perception?
o Can an airline come out of a crash? What happened to Pan Am?
o Would you like to have a brokerage indicted for fraud manage your investments?
o Would you like to put your money in a bank whose statements are inaccurate? How many inaccurate statements before you change banks?
o Would you like to buy your insurance policy company known for waste and mismanagement?
o Would you buy the stock of a company involved in options scam?
How bad can it get? Remember Anderson? This Big 6 accounting firm was indicted for participating in fraud against shareholders. The issue never went to trial. No guilt was ever proven. They were out of business on that indictment.
Brand is a promise – an implied one at that – of value.
Crafting a Vision for IT (Monday, August 21, 2006) What is the purpose of a vision statement for IT? This article examines how a vision can accelerate the business value generated by an IT Organization.
IT Strategy: IT Cannot be a Profit Center (Friday, September 08, 2006) IT Strategy: Of late, there is a lot of emphasis on IT ROI. While this is commendable, extending this argument to convert the IT Organization into a profit center is taking it to another extreme. For example, are HR, finance, and marketing profit centers? Why not?
IT Value Mapping (Friday, September 08, 2006) Why do some IT organizations create unprecedented shareholder value, while others earn the contempt of their business leaders? It is no secret that aligning IT with business improves IT ROI, what is often in doubt is how to make it happen. Can you say with certainty that your IT is aligned with business? Can you prove it? If improving IT ROI is an imperative for you, read on. This paper will show you how to improve ROI by 10% or more…and
CIO or IT Product Manager? (Tuesday, October 10, 2006) Is it about time to change the CIO title? Is it about time the role got redefined?
Talk to Me: The Disconnect Between Business and IT (Monday, May 07, 2007) The disconnect between business and IT is often lamented. A lot is spoken and written about this chasm. Ostensibly, a lot is done to bridge it. Yet, most would agree the chasm still exists.
Why IT ROI doesn't matter? (Friday, November 03, 2006) Does IT ROI matter? Great many intelligent people are spending sleepless nights and countless dollars calculating IT ROI. The author argues that they are wasting their time and shareholder dollars!
Private is as private does! (Monday, November 06, 2006) A company’s privacy policy is a statement of the “value” it places in its customer relationships. Perhaps the first reflection of that is in the value it places on their “property” – in this case personal information. This simple thing can help build trust that is critical to any relationship.
Putting IT Strategy in Context (Wednesday, November 08, 2006) Often, the emphasis is on creating an IT Strategy. Before you do, understand the context of IT Strategy i.e. what is its role and scope.
7 Steps to Business and IT Alignment (Monday, November 20, 2006) No business will ever reach the goal of “business and IT alignment”. Should this discourage you from pursuing business and IT alignment? NO! It is a worthy goal to pursue. Indeed, it is a critical one to pursue. You might never reach alignment but you can take steps to get ever closer. This requires a process. Often, we ignore the fact that business and IT alignment is a process. This process does not have a starting point nor does it have an end. It is a series of “learn and do” cycles that incrementally get towards alignment. Let me explain.
7 Signs of Trouble in Paradise (Monday, February 26, 2007) Ever wonder what happens when business and IT are not aligned? Well, like most other things in life, there are symptoms of misalignment. Monitoring them and analyzing them can help you avert disaster.
Part IV: A Framework For IT Value (Monday, April 30, 2007) Last week, we discussed the cost dimension of IT Value. This week, we will discuss the time to market dimension.
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