Fostering Innovation

9Let's Innovate

To successfully innovate, organizations first need to achieve the bottom three steps of the Laudato Hierarchy of IT Needs: keep the lights on (KTLO), operate a lean and efficient IT Department, and create value for your business.

To foster innovation, you need stable and affordable systems, a process to prioritize projects, and a method to deliver those projects successfully. When IT is a well-oiled machine, it is ripe for innovation, and giant leaps forward will occur. Welcome to the top of the pyramid. As shown in Figure 9.1, it’s time to innovate!

Figure 9.1 Laudato Hierarchy of IT Needs

© 2017 Andrew Laudato All Rights Reserved Hierarchy of IT Needs

In 2010, we implemented point-of-sale email receipts at Pier 1 Imports. I was quite excited, and at dinner that night, I bragged about it to my teenage daughter. She looked at me and said, “You didn't already have that?” Clearly, she was not impressed. Omni-channel capabilities like buy online, pickup in store (BOPUS), curbside pickup, ship-from-store, and universal returns don't impress anyone these days. In healthcare, online records, electronic scheduling, and telemedicine are the new norm. Yesterday's innovations are today's expectations.

To invest in innovation successfully, you must be willing to develop an innovator’s mindset, dedicate resources, and embrace risk. Only then can you move on to generate ...