The holidays are in the rear-view mirror and seem like a distant memory already. With a full year in front of you and a long list of things you want to achieve, it’s important to thoughtfully plan how you’ll use the resources at your disposal. By approaching 2019 with a holistic view, you can make this year your most successful yet. Balancing your priorities early will help you avoid regret spend and manage the inevitable unknowns that come up.
Ask yourself
A new year is one of those rare occasions when time is on your side. Using a moment of that time to take stock and evaluate your ability to deliver will pay off big time down the road. Be sure you have the people, plan, processes, technology and budget you need before kicking things into high gear. Give yourself a second to identify what’s missing. Trust me, discovering early where your gaps are is half the battle.
Ask yourself these critical questions:
Do you have a clear view of your strategic goals for the year?
Do you know how those IT goals support your company’s business strategy?
Have they been clearly communicated to your team?
Does your team have a consolidated delivery roadmap? Does that roadmap translate your high-level goals into distinct, manageable projects with associated benefits?
Do you know which targets are realistic, and which are stretch goals?
And consider this often overlooked but essential question:
Is your planned IT spend for the upcoming year balanced?
Allocating your spend to support not only growth, but also innovation and maintenance projects will improve your overall chances of success and make it easier to adapt as needed during project execution.
Don’t forget
Your success this year depends on your ability to track and adjust for change. The clearer your baseline, the easier it will be to manage change and tackle any challenges that lie ahead.
In fact, effective change management is the foundation of this simple toolset for success:
Balanced, clear priorities that are tied to real objectives
Flexibility to respond to new opportunities
Transparency in planning and reporting
Dedicated time for maintenance
How cShell can help
If you have any concerns about your IT outlook for 2019, our team of highly experienced IT leaders can help. Whether your commitments outweigh your budget, you need to find a way to self-fund innovation, or you just want an objective, C-level perspective on all or part of your plan, our consultants can put their decades of experience to work solving your most pressing IT challenges.
Whether through hourly, on-demand consulting as you need it or longer-term engagements, we’re excited to help you do more this year.
Contact us today for a free consultation.