7. Connecting the World of Tomorrow with the World of Today
In a rapidly changing world, organizations must balance innovation with continuity, operating with a future-oriented mindset without losing sight of the foundations built yesterday and today.
Many organizations struggle to strike a balance between enhancing agility on one hand and maintaining the continuity of services on the other. Simply put: how do you innovate enough to stay relevant for the world of tomorrow while ensuring the systems of yesterday and today continue to function? Using the dimensions of Strategy, Governance and organizational models, Leadership, and Decision-making, we provide a number of recommendations for structuring a successful organization. To understand the “why,” we first explore the experiences of a wide range of organizations and examine lessons learned from successful innovators, such as ING. In April 2024, the bank was named a leader in digital transformation for the second time.
From the World of Today to the World of Tomorrow
IT never stands still, and no organization can function effectively without it. IT permeates every aspect of an organization and is constantly subjected to new demands from markets, governments, customers, and technological advances. These demands bring a steady stream of new requirements, laws, regulations, and technologies that must be integrated.
Predicting the future is difficult. We live in a world that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. An agile organization must respond to these changes while maintaining the continuity and predictability of current services. For most organizations, standing still is not an option. Shops cannot temporarily close for renovations; think of services like benefits distribution, payments, medical care, or online shopping. The IT systems supporting these services must always work.
This poses a dilemma: how do you renovate the shop while keeping it open? Drawing on QA Consulting’s experience and lessons learned from digital-age leaders, several choices can be made to address this challenge.
Strategy
Most new strategies are conceived at the top (strategically), while the worlds of yesterday and today often operate at the bottom (operationally). As a result, strategies frequently fail to connect with operational layers and are too abstract for employees. In practice, when priorities must be set, the world of yesterday and today often dominates. This is not inherently wrong but highlights why strategies often take a long time to make a real impact.
A good strategy bridges the gap between strategic, tactical, and operational levels. It requires a strategic direction tailored to the current situation and challenges. Two elements are crucial: effective communication from leadership to employees and a listening ear for those who must implement the strategy and the obstacles they encounter.
Top-Down Strategies Backfire
Many organizations lack adequate feedback mechanisms from the operational level. This often doesn’t fit into hierarchical models where employees are expected to follow directives without question. Additionally, organizations often fail to translate strategy into actionable execution. Instead, they ask employees to explain how their work contributes to strategic goals.
A good strategy builds awareness and support for intended changes across all stakeholders. A common shortcoming is that strategies are rarely adjusted regularly. Many remain unchanged for years, even as the surrounding world evolves rapidly. Strategies often suffer from an inward focus, relying on periodic reviews by external consultants.
QA Consulting recognizes that effective strategies address all these aspects. This begins with reassessing strategies every three months and updating them annually.
Key Elements of a Strong Strategy
1. Market Analysis and Societal Trends
Identify and analyze current and future trends—economic, sociocultural, political—and adapt strategies accordingly. Modern strategies address issues like aging populations, knowledge retention, societal individualization, and the changing meaning of information (what is true?).
2. External Factors
Consider external changes such as geopolitical tensions, climate change, and (de)globalization, which will impact nearly all organizations in the coming years.
3. Customer and Citizen Focus
Gain a deep understanding of customer or citizen needs through research and feedback, ensuring services meet their expectations. Prioritize accessibility and personal contact for those unable to navigate modern systems effectively.
4. Digitalization and Technological Integration
Implement advanced technologies to optimize processes, improve customer interactions, and develop new digital products or services.
5. Balance
Too much innovation can overwhelm an organization’s capacity for absorption and implementation, while too little leaves it stagnant. Metrics like Gartner’s Run/Grow/Transform framework provide guidance, with an ideal budget ratio of 70%/23%/7% respectively.
Finally, attention to stakeholder management, risk management, innovation, and flexibility is critical. Strategy development is just the beginning. Strategic portfolio management, workforce planning, capacity planning, and monitoring are essential for translating strategy into organizational action.
Case: Defense – Sustainable Digital Transformation
The world is rapidly changing, and our security situation is deteriorating. The war in Ukraine has prompted a shift in priorities. For decades, defense focused on upholding international law and supporting domestic efforts. Today, the primary focus has returned to defending national territory. To achieve this, defense requires adaptability, speed, and combat strength. By 2035, the vision is to build a technologically advanced, information-driven force.
The question remains: how can defense achieve these ambitions? What IT investments, operational changes, and personnel adjustments are necessary?
QA Consulting developed strategic scenarios to align IT investments and operational goals with the Defense Vision 2035. These reports support a billion-euro increase in defense IT budgets.
Organizational Models
All successful agile organizations integrate IT and user expertise. Knowledge of digital processes must span strategy and execution. Rather than focusing on “business IT alignment,” organizations must embed IT within core processes. Successful organizations no longer separate users and IT; small teams integrate expertise from both.
Available Models:
1. Functional Model
Traditional, department-based organizations where IT aligns with specific functions.
2. Divisional Model:
Suitable for large companies with product/market-specific divisions and centralized shared IT services.
3. Process-Based Model
Focused on workflow optimization, integrating IT directly into processes.
4. Flat Structure
Agile and flexible, with few management layers, promoting open communication and faster decision-making.
5. Team/Matrix Models
Ideal for project-based or innovation-focused organizations, IT is often fragmented but specialized.
None of these models are universally perfect. QA Consulting analyses what is necessary and feasible based on strategic goals.
A New Kind of Leader
Many organizations are still led by executives of the old school, who often have little to no experience with digitalization beyond acting as sponsors of IT projects. In most competency profiles for senior executives, terms like IT or digitalization are rarely mentioned. Very few top executives have ever been a CIO or IT director, and in many cases, such a background is seen as a drawback rather than a benefit. This lack of experience often means that leaders need to be guided through the implications of digitalization and are ill-equipped to make informed decisions in this area.
The organization of the future requires a new type of leader—someone who is willing to challenge the status quo and step away from the hierarchical, 20th-century approach to leadership. Leaders must focus on connection and be open to gaining hands-on experience on the work floor.
Managers op de werkvloer
Ikea heeft wat dat betreft een interessant besturingsmodel, waarbij managers zelf elk kwartaal een aantal dagen op de werkvloer moeten werken om verbinding te houden met klanten en medewerkers. Daarom is het cruciaal voor hedendaagse leiders om een visie te ontwikkelen die zowel ambitieus als haalbaar is, en deze visie te vertalen naar heldere, operationele doelstellingen die breed gedragen worden binnen de organisatie. Deze leiders moeten ook flexibel en adaptief zijn, bereid om snel te reageren op veranderende marktomstandigheden en technologische ontwikkelingen. Dit vraagt om een leiderschapsstijl die niet enkel gebaseerd is op controle en beheersing, maar juist op het faciliteren van innovatie en het mogelijk maken van samenwerking over afdelingsgrenzen heen.
Daarnaast is transparante en effectieve communicatie een sleutelvaardigheid voor leiders in de moderne, digitale wereld. Het vermogen om complexe ideeën en strategieën op een begrijpelijke manier uit te leggen aan een breed scala van belanghebbenden, van IT-personeel tot niet-technische medewerkers, is essentieel. Leiders moeten ook in staat zijn om een cultuur van openheid en vertrouwen te cultiveren, waarin feedback en ideeën van alle niveaus welkom zijn en waar fouten worden gezien als leermogelijkheden.
Effectieve besluitvorming in dit kader betekent dat leiders bereid moeten zijn om datagedreven beslissingen te nemen, gebaseerd op real-time informatie en analytics. Dit vereist dat zij een grondig begrip hebben van de data en de technologische middelen die beschikbaar zijn om deze te analyseren en te interpreteren. Leiders moeten ook de vaardigheid bezitten om snel te kunnen schakelen tussen strategisch denken en operationele uitvoering, wat essentieel is in een snel veranderende omgeving.
Leiderschap van de toekomst: inspirerend en transformationeel
Het bedrijf van de toekomst onderscheidt zich door zijn vermogen om voortdurend aan te passen aan een snel veranderende wereld. Deze organisaties zijn niet alleen hyperverbonden met netwerken van technologische innovatie, zoals universiteiten en onderzoeksinstellingen, maar ze zijn ook diepgeworteld in een cultuur van continu verbeteren en leren. Ze volgen nieuwe ontwikkelingen op de voet en werken actief samen met startups, academische instellingen en wetenschappers om vooraan te staan bij technologische doorbraken en maatschappelijke veranderingen.
Deze bedrijven maken gebruik van geavanceerde data-analyse en slimme algoritmen om diepgaande inzichten te verkrijgen in markttrends, klantgedrag en operationele efficiëntie. Ze zijn uitgerust met flexibele personeelssystemen die het mogelijk maken snel te schalen en in te spelen op nieuwe kansen door snel nieuwe producten en diensten te ontwikkelen. Dit alles wordt ondersteund door een robuust technologisch platform dat zorgt voor een agile en responsieve organisatiestructuur.
Leiderschap binnen deze bedrijven is inspirerend en transformationeel. Leiders zijn niet alleen strategen en visionairs, maar ook facilitatoren die een omgeving creëren waarin medewerkers worden aangemoedigd om te innoveren en risico’s te nemen. Deze leiders zijn bereid om conventionele paden te verlaten en nieuwe, nog niet geteste methoden te omarmen om duurzame groei te stimuleren.