I believe going forward, the statement "Competition is fierce" will stay relevant forever across industries and markets that are in existence. With the use of technology at peak, businesses are empowered to innovate like never-before. For instance, one can safely assume that the biggest or most popular digital/social media product to win the world 5 years from today has not yet been conceptualized. Technology has definitely eased the whole product life-cycle by enabling a quicker turn-around for processes.
However, with the evolution of technology, teams are required to be perpetually cognizant of the trends and stay at the top of their game. Some of the challenges that the teams face in the new-age environment are: (i) Stay Agile and Responsive: Teams have to be structured and trained effectively, in order to respond to the dynamic changes that the digital-age of business undergo. There have been tragic deaths of mammoth companies (eg.: Kodak) because of their product management teams not turning agile. Teams need to be trained about the current state of industry trends and also if possible be able to envision long-term changes. This is key to ensure an effective product life-cycle by facilitating exchange of ideas between departments like product management, marketing, sales and customer service (re-invent forever). (ii) Being Entrepreneurial: This is the aspect of a team not being complacent and having 100% accountability towards achieving the company objectives (a dash of DIY culture can go the long way). Being entrepreneurial is not just about coming up with innovative products and ideas to serve the market but also to make sure that the new products/services are aligned with the strategic direction of the company. Teams need to be well-connected with each other and realize the common goal as the over-arching objective that they need to work towards. In most cases, teams working in silos will find it difficult to break out of the inertia that their departmental chores create. (iii) To ensure dynamic and effective teams and processes: Teams in the current environment are either grappling with over-whelming data or losing out because of the lack of it. It is indeed a challenge to build business processes that can help the functioning of the company by making inter-dependent tasks quicker and swift. For a technology outfit (including product, social media/digital, ad-agencies and YOU) a lot rides on the synergy that can be created across these rapid tasks and processes practiced in different teams. A lot in life is taken for granted, agree?
However, with the evolution of technology, teams are required to be perpetually cognizant of the trends and stay at the top of their game. Some of the challenges that the teams face in the new-age environment are: (i) Stay Agile and Responsive: Teams have to be structured and trained effectively, in order to respond to the dynamic changes that the digital-age of business undergo. There have been tragic deaths of mammoth companies (eg.: Kodak) because of their product management teams not turning agile. Teams need to be trained about the current state of industry trends and also if possible be able to envision long-term changes. This is key to ensure an effective product life-cycle by facilitating exchange of ideas between departments like product management, marketing, sales and customer service (re-invent forever). (ii) Being Entrepreneurial: This is the aspect of a team not being complacent and having 100% accountability towards achieving the company objectives (a dash of DIY culture can go the long way). Being entrepreneurial is not just about coming up with innovative products and ideas to serve the market but also to make sure that the new products/services are aligned with the strategic direction of the company. Teams need to be well-connected with each other and realize the common goal as the over-arching objective that they need to work towards. In most cases, teams working in silos will find it difficult to break out of the inertia that their departmental chores create. (iii) To ensure dynamic and effective teams and processes: Teams in the current environment are either grappling with over-whelming data or losing out because of the lack of it. It is indeed a challenge to build business processes that can help the functioning of the company by making inter-dependent tasks quicker and swift. For a technology outfit (including product, social media/digital, ad-agencies and YOU) a lot rides on the synergy that can be created across these rapid tasks and processes practiced in different teams. A lot in life is taken for granted, agree?
