“But what if…”
It’s one of the most common things you hear when you are trying to bring an innovation to the table. It could be as known a quantity as replacing an ERP system. The innovation could be unique, compelling and clearly alter the trajectory of the organization in so many ways. However, there are always going to be reasons not to do it.
I sat in on a panel at a conference last year and discussed how to get your organization to approve the projects that you as the CTO/Director of IT/IT Manager/Field Tech wanted. The ideas here always start with cost savings. To calculate the financial savings of a change you can just look at factors such as how much payroll will be saved or how much less does it cost to make widgets. And while it’s great to be efficient, you can only get so efficient. And saving people money doesn’t really get you the same level of recognition/pay/whatever motivates you as something far more earth shattering.
Innovation has always been a core part of technology. Perhaps you end up blowing up into a whole new field. Or maybe you just incrementally innovate the field you’re in. But innovation keeps us pushing the envelope forward. But as with all progress, it comes at a cost. When we’re looking at bringing a new innovation into any environment, we must weigh the cost of that innovation against the rewards to be gained. Apple is a great organization to look to for innovation. And the cost to their community continues to be minimal, because they break it to us in parts. As with a Facebook timeline, the constant change can be frustrating but when they’re incremental changes, they’re easier to accept.