• How and how well are enterprise and IT objectives aligned with each other?
• How is the value delivered by IT being measured? Are the assumptions reasonable and are intangible benefits verified?
• What strategic initiatives has executive management taken to manage IT’s criticality relative to maintenance and growth of the enterprise, and are they appropriate?
• Is the enterprise clear on its position relative to technology: pioneer, early

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Author: Rick Sidorowicz
Source: Performance Improvement – A Classic Checklist
Subject: IT Questions

For every asset that supports business critical service, Visible Ops recommends the following questions be answered:

• What does it do?
• What is the hardware platform?
• What is the operating system platform?
• What applications are installed?
• Who is responsible for this asset’s uptime?
• What service(s) does it support?
• Who is authorized to make changes?
• What does this box do for the business?
• What will happen when this box stops working completely?
• What will happen

… [ Read more ]

Author: Tori Harris
Source: Starting a Visible Ops-Based Change Management Program
Subject: IT Questions

• Is IT a regular item on the board’s agenda and, if so, is it addressed in a structured manner?
• Does the board articulate and communicate the business objectives for IT alignment?
• Does the board review, and possibly approve, the IT strategy?
• Does the board have a clear view on the total IT investment portfolio from a risk and return perspective? Does the board receive regular progress

… [ Read more ]

Source: CEO’s Guide to IT Value and Risk
Subject: IT Questions

Companies operating in emerging countries need to answer some basic questions if they aim to consistently thrive, and not only survive, in this type of environment:

• How can we operate with a business plan founded on tools and assumptions designed for more stable environments?
• How can we make more structured decisions under high levels of environmental uncertainty?
• How can we anticipate the future in order to

… [ Read more ]

Authors: Bernardo S. Sichel, Karim Taga, Mark Dougan
Source: Contingent Capitalism: Planning and Decision Making in Emerging Markets
Subject: International / Global Questions

Here are some questions to begin with to help determine if and when your company will be ready to enter the global marketplace and what is needed to do so:

• Is the corporate leadership committed and involved in going global?
• Who should be involved in our global game plan and strategizing sessions? What are their specific roles and responsibilities?
• Have we done any market research to

… [ Read more ]

Author: Karin K. Schaff-Glazier
Source: Strategizing Your Next Move in the Global Game
Subject: International / Global Questions

Culture

Context 

• Is an exciting context created for employees?
• Are people made aware of the big picture?
• When selling new ideas internally, is “why” addressed before “what” and “how?”
• Is a powerful “burning platform” created to stimulate interest?
• Do people understand how their work fits in with the overall effort?
• Are personal passions aligned with organizational objectives?

Diversity

• Does the organization develop teams with diverse skills and analytical styles?
• Does the organization value

… [ Read more ]

Source: 24/7 Innovation Diagnostic
Subject: Innovation Questions

Welcome to the “good enough” economy, where the likelihood that a technological innovation will be taken up depends on how well it answers six critical questions.

1. How much better is this technology in terms of cost, functionality, “image” and other factors?*
2. How compatible is the innovation with existing skills, values and work practices?
3. How hard is your innovation to understand and use?
4. Can you easily and affordably try

… [ Read more ]

Author: Glover T. Ferguson
Source: Innovation and the Economics of Good Enough
Subject: Innovation Questions

• Does the technology offer significant new ways of doing business?
• Does the technology build on existing infrastructure to capture substantial new value?
• Does the technology create a new technology platform that enables future applications?
• Is the technology within reach for the company–stretching the organization’s capabilities but not forcing it outside of its envelope of possibility?
• Can the company develop and implement the technology alone, or will it

… [ Read more ]

Authors: Glover T. Ferguson, Stanton J. Taylor
Source: Innovation: Bold New World
Subject: Innovation Questions

One barometer for how innovative is your organization can be determined by answering the following questions with a yes or no.

1. Has one person been chartered with the overall responsibility to manage the corporate-wide innovation process?
2. Are there performance measures—both tangible and intangible—to assess the quality of your innovation practices?
3. Do your training/educational programs have provisions to incubate and spin-out new products and businesses?
4. Does your local, regional

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Author: Debra M. Amidon
Source: Gauging the Organization
Subject: Innovation Questions

Metrics can be designed to measure performance in each of the model’s four interdependent elements:

• Stakeholder Strategies. How well are we achieving the strategies designed to address the needs of each group of stakeholders? Are we doing the right things?
• Process. How good are our critical innovation processes? Are we doing things right?
• Resources. How appropriate are our internal resources and how effectively have we tapped

… [ Read more ]

Authors: Darren Smith, John Collins
Source: Innovation Metrics: A Framework to Accelerate Growth
Subject: Innovation Questions