Far too often, when organizations begin the process of tech modernization, they fail to incorporate effective communication techniques into their strategy. Tech modernization isn’t just changing the language around setting strategies; it also requires changing the language around building alignment and buy-in toward transformation. I have seen cases where an organization’s tech staff used jargon and metrics that held little relevance for the broader business objectives, resulting in a lack of alignment with the overall business strategy. Consequently, this disconnect dampened enthusiasm for the organization’s modernization efforts, and securing funding for their strategy became challenging.
According to McKinsey’s latest global survey of tech and business leaders, the top performers in technology transformation were more likely to anchor their tech and digital strategies in their broader business strategies. Instead of discussing cost, speed, and tech “stuff,” an organization’s tech strategy needs to show how it impacts the product and business roadmap.
I have a simple guide for aligning tech strategy with the overall business plan that helps balance short-term and long-term thinking. These questions are strategic touchpoints around which we can bring everyone together:
- Where are you now?
- Where do you want to be?
- How are you going to get there?
Strategy is about driving alignment across these three dimensions—a culmination of the most important components of modernization and the patterns of the biggest problems. Incorporating strategy into the business and product roadmap goes beyond addressing individuals and transforming detractors into advocates; it also needs to involve the organization’s architecture and operating model. You can manage these aspects by choosing the right tools and technologies to build your architecture and closely involve teams to integrate that architecture with your products. However, the process starts with establishing a baseline.
Where Are You Now?
Regardless of where an organization sits on the maturity curve, the best way to measure progress is by establishing a baseline through clear and thorough documentation. Start by pinpointing the issues needing attention on your path to modernization, and then make a plan to document how you intend to tackle these challenges.
When documenting your tech systems, C4 modeling offers a simple way to understand complex systems at different layers. However, it’s less about which model you use and more about adopting a consistent approach that ensures everyone understands the system. This documentation will become your go-to reference point for the baseline, a source of truth that people will revisit regularly to track progress and make improvements.
Modernization is not linear and will vary based on your organization’s unique challenges and objectives. However, the catalyst for fixing any issue lies in the clear understanding of what has worked well in the past and what has not. Allow teams to present their “stars and bombs” to share their experiences with successful and unsuccessful strategies. If something isn’t working well, how do we start fixing it? Do we have the right tools and technologies to build the solution? Before creating a roadmap for the next three to five years, you must establish a baseline for identifying the organization’s most pressing problems.
Where Do You Want To Be?
The struggle I see most often in prioritizing tech problems occurs in functional organizations, where engineering is separate from product. As a result, the solutions that engineering cares about are often made secondary to what is important to the business.
However, there is significantly more alignment between tech strategy and business goals in product- and outcome-driven organizations. They still have tech-only initiatives, but they are intentionally made part of the overall strategy. This comes back to changing the language. Rather than seeing tech initiatives as stealing resources from the business, when strategy is communicated as one of “constant modernization,” all efforts are directed towards the overarching goal. Everything we do is for the business.
Prioritization needs a framework based on metrics and transparency, allowing the whole team to inspect, debate, and align around their goals. While this approach may cost more in the short term as businesses invest in certain tech, features, products, or people, it will also allow you to achieve your strategic goals faster and better over the longer term.
How Are You Going To Get There?
The biggest part of change management is helping people understand where we’re going and why. The clearer you can measure pain points, the easier you can solve them and show people how you will get there. A blameless culture is crucial because it allows us to be transparent about where we’re winning and self-critical about where we need to improve.
On the tech side, it is a little different. As companies transition to this new environment, skills, people, and technology change—you must invest in that shift. This means training or giving people runway to grow into building and supporting new capabilities.
Setting smaller goals and OKRs to measure incremental progress toward our BHAGs is also important. When larger goals are broken down into short-term objectives, it gives us time to let people know where we are learning and growing. Regularly celebrating these achievements boosts morale and reinforces alignment between the business’s product and tech sides.
Turning Detractors Into Advocates
Driving alignment has challenges, so resistance is almost always unavoidable. However, if you tackle dissent early and head-on while hearing people out, they can be brought on board. In another recent case, we met initial resistance from a group of people as we trained them on how to document their baseline. However, when we dedicated one-on-one time to show them how to be successful, the framework eventually made sense, and they were eager to become part of the change.
If even detractors can be turned into advocates, it is a sign that communication and strategy are working toward our shared goals. The key is ensuring these conversations help people understand where we are, where we are going, and how we are getting there.
We will get there so long as there is alignment, because this is how we build excitement towards modernization.