After helping to lead transformations for over 20 years at a global asset manager, I
found my true passion is leading change. Examples of these engagements include a suc-
cessful migration off the mainframe, a cross-functional leadership team focused on the
customer experience, a large business unit technology divestiture and several technol-
ogy migrations.
Recently, I’d had the opportunity to lead the development and execution of a digital
transformation strategy that included migrating workloads to the cloud, implementing
the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), creating a DevOps initiative and expanding data
governance.
The first workload we moved to the cloud completed 15 times faster than it did on-prem-
ises. With more than 100 people trained in SAFe, the firm started speaking a new lan-
guage, with terms like scrums, ceremonies, burndowns, retrospectives, product owners
and value streams, and a new Agile culture started to emerge.
Now, as a Strategic Account Lead with Cloud Technology Partners, a Hewlett Packard
Enterprise company, I meet with many firms as they embark on developing their cloud
strategies. One of my key learnings thus far is the need to proactively engage stakehold-
ers across business units at a deeper level, in a collaborative fashion. When information
technology professionals say “agility,” “velocity,” “elasticity,” “customer-driven design,”
and “innovation,” we must confirm that they understand the benefits of what we refer to
as the innovation enablement value chain.
In this brief article, I outline the importance of enabling the innovation value chain, build-
ing consensus on its benefits with key stakeholders/change agents and gaining align-
ment on the roadmap to the future.
SUMMER 2019 | THE DOPPLER | 31