The Idea Is Just the Start: Gaining Executive Buy-In to Drive Enterprise Transformation

Have you ever wondered why your big idea never becomes a reality? Of course you have, and the truth is, there could be any number of reasons why: it’s too risky, or too expensive, or too disruptive to operations. The list could go on, and as technology experts, we hear these explanations (valid or not) all the time. But what if I told you another truth: “why hasn’t it become a reality?” isn’t one of the questions you should be asking yourself.What you should ask instead is:

“What are the steps I need to follow to make my idea – one that I am confident can transform our organization for the better – become a reality?”

Groundbreaking, transformational ideas that can move you to the head of the competitive pack require significant time, investment, and internal alignment to get off the ground (and getting the big idea moving is just the start of a modernization effort). To navigate this environment, having the right tools at your fingertips can help you maximize the impact of your big idea, demonstrate proof of concept, and secure executive buy-in – making the end goal more fruitful and the process more manageable along the way.

As you embark on a full-scale modernization, digital transformation, or application development initiative, which inherently involves risk and major investment, there are several factors to consider:

1. Articulating the future and its impact clearly and concisely
2. Aligning the business and technology teams around the opportunity
3. Ensuring that value is maximized and surprises are minimized along the way

In this article, we will explore these concepts in more detail so you can transform an idea into reality and be able to move forward efficiently, effectively, and – just as importantly – confidently.

Communication is Paramount

Here’s another truth (and one that you have probably already experienced): communicating the idea is more challenging than having the idea. Furthermore, it can be even more challenging to build consensus around the idea, and technology teams often underestimate the amount of time required to build that trust and alignment internally – a vital step in the process.

With that in mind, I have some great news: there is a valuable tool that can help you communicate and build alignment concurrently.

Here’s another way to think of communication and alignment: would a salesperson tell a family buying a new car that they need an SUV instead of a four-door sedan, without asking deeper questions about how each family member intends to use the vehicle, the family’s lifestyle, or the challenges or constraints they face? Of course not!

The same rationale applies to building internal consensus. Internal stakeholders likely know that problems and opportunities exist, but they also need to be strategically engaged in influencing the creation of a potential solution. They need to feel that their needs, desires, and concerns are addressed with the solution being presented to them. It’s vital to know how close a proposed solution is to the vision of the highest level of leadership in an organization. Simultaneously, it’s just as vital to obtain input, data, and feedback from the ground-level team members who will likely be the ones implementing and using the solution. It ultimately comes down to a relatively simple concept:

A digital transformation or modernization initiative is only as effective as the input that drove it. 

From Idea to Execution: The Service Blueprint

It is essential to incorporate the voices, visions, and value that key stakeholders bring to the proverbial table during the conception phase, but how? The answer is the Service Blueprint. The Service Blueprint is an often-overlooked tool that helps you refine and communicate your idea and align internal teams around the common goal, not only from the outset, but throughout the entire process.

The Service Blueprint is a guide that bridges the proposed solution to the end result, mapping the entire process along the way. On the technology side, legacy systems, compliance updates, process changes, and other factors typically complicate the current IT landscape, muddying the water and making it difficult to see how the process will pan out. Likewise, it can be difficult to see precisely how existing systems will integrate and evolve while having minimal impact on business operations. These are challenges also facing the business side of your organization, in addition to considerations around the customer and associate experience.

Leveraging the Service Blueprint enables you to bring all of these considerations, challenges, and teams together into one place, simplify complexities, and ensure the initiative remains laser-focused on impact. In this same vein, the Service Blueprint is not a ‘love it and leave it’ type of tool. It’s not created, agreed upon, and then shelved as a latent rulebook.

Part of the Service Blueprint’s value is that it is a living, breathing guide, one that keeps all teams in alignment during the entire implementation process.

From a conceptual perspective, think of the Service Blueprint as a mechanism to keep all teams playing from the same sheet of music. When you have two or more groups practicing a song independently, you are unable to tell when someone is ‘off,’ right? But when groups practice together, you can hear the dissonance, and you can make adjustments when and where they are needed in real-time. The Service Blueprint essentially keeps all musicians, or key stakeholders, in sync from start to finish.

Furthermore, the Service Blueprint is an effective tool to prevent project derailment, ensuring that business and technology teams remain engaged and aligned around the final goal. As with any implementation or overhaul, issues or complications will arise. But therein also lies the value and strength of the Service Blueprint: you have a roadmap rooted in alignment and expected business outcomes to always lean on. It helps key stakeholders stick to the process and work through the challenges, preventing the need to go backward in order to go forward.

Read more here about the Service Blueprint, how it works, and its key components.

Show – Don’t Just Tell – The Impact

While the Service Blueprint is a valuable tool to build alignment and demonstrate an idea’s impact, sometimes it’s not quite enough on its own to secure the level of executive buy-in necessary to move forward. Furthermore, having the time and resources to demonstrate the viability of an idea before full-scale implementation presents another layer of challenges. Alongside the Service Blueprint, there is an additional way to streamline this process and demonstrate proof-of-concept to obtain executive buy-in: prototyping.

As the adage goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, which also applies to technological transformation. When you’re playing the long game of creating greater overall value and efficiency for an organization, it’s vital to get the idea right from the very beginning. Prototyping provides the opportunity to test an idea, obtain feedback, and refine the solution – without requiring a major investment before full-scale implementation. It has the ability to demonstrate to colleagues, supervisors, and the C-Suite – virtually every stakeholder involved – the efficacy and viability of a solution and the investment it requires for implementation.

In fact, prototyping can be accomplished within a relatively short timeframe. A three- to six-week commitment on the front end can save weeks or months and ensure that when the solution is fully implemented, it achieves the intended goals. Prototyping can also expose previously unseen opportunities to make an idea even more impactful.

Using, experiencing, and testing a solution provides greater clarity of the road ahead and prevents valuable time and resources from being wasted.

Read more here about how UDig has used prototyping and AI to revolutionize a retailer’s customer and associate experiences.

Moving Forward Together

Transformational ideas require significant investments of time and resources, which is why they often don’t see the light of day. But when communication, stakeholder alignment, and concept validation are prioritized from the beginning, the value of the effort cannot be underestimated. By leveraging proven processes and tools, technology teams are better equipped to lead their organizations successfully through a digital transformation or modernization effort that creates a sustainable, scalable solution that meets the needs of everyone inside – and outside – the organization.

Ready to take the next step or to learn more? Let’s work together to drive greater value, efficiency, and impact for your organization.