While our previous article tackled some of the reasons why every leader needs to start thinking of their company as a technology company. This article aims to look at the transition in terms of some of the tactical approaches a leader can use to transform your company into a tech company.
Now, this doesn’t mean that you need to refit your office with a halfpipe, sleep pods, and a refrigerator full of Snapple. Instead, the goal is to illustrate how you can borrow some of the tools and approaches that tech companies use to disrupt your slice of the market.
In the old days, a development team would get a pile of cash to go off for a year and build a complete tech solution from soup to nuts. While this model is still at play – think Windows 10 – the reality is that most tech companies are more iterative in their approach.
As such, most tech companies today start with an ‘idea’ of what their business model will look like. Remember, the ‘idea’ isn’t fixed, rather it is a bit of a moving target. One which will go through several ‘pivots’ as the hypothesis is either proven or disproven.
What comes out of this a culture which welcomes experimentation as long as it provides valuable insight into the minds of the customer. Even if the experimentation does not deliver a breakthrough in the short-term, harnessing the learnings can lead to a breakthrough down the road.
To make this work, then you need to know your customers. These are the people who will drive your business to the next level. By getting close to them you are not only finding a way to solve some challenge in their lives but you are also positioning your business to the point where your customers will become evangelists for your product or service.
While this might sound elusive, the reality is that every business can achieve this goal. It starts by engaging with your customers and then trusting them enough to become ambassadors of your brand. A case in point is a new barbershop which opened in my town. 12 months ago, I could walk in at any time and sit in the chair.
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