AIIM Open Forum

This was taken from the next to last slide (full presentation available here) from my keynote session at the IRMS Conference in Brighton, UK from 15-17 May, 2016. These things were also included in the ebook Digital Transformation in Action by John Mancini, that was put out in advance of the AIIM Conference in April 2016.

These are five things, in my view, that you need to do if you want to foster innovation, transformation, and disruption (the good kind) in your organization.

1. Focus on value, forget risk. - If your entire approach to managing information is based on minimizing risk (litigation, leaks, etc) you are never going to be able to focus on leveraging the VALUE of your information ASSETS. It's the value that's going to enable you to innovate and transform your business.
2. Start Something. Anything. - Sitting around navel gazing is going to result in you being crushed. Pick something small, easy, and safe, but with tangible benefits and get going.
3. Don't try to change the world. - Closely related to "Start something." Trying to change the entire organization is going to take time and resources, so don't try to do it all at once. Start with something that you know isn't working optimally and change that. Then move on to the next thing, and the next thing, and the next thing, ....
4. Blow stuff up, make people cry. - Change, disruption, transformation, and innovation require that things get messy and people get upset. Don't worry about it. Find the internal champions and sponsors that'll have your back. Maintaining the status quo hasn't worked up until now, what makes anyone think it's a reasonable path forward?
5. Get out of the way! - You want your people to innovate, transform, and disrupt, but you're still relying on out-moded and out-dated managerial structures. Stop. Create an atmosphere that encourages people to go out on a limb and try something new. Give them the freedom to try, but define some reasonable boundaries for them.