Obstacles to Integration

Abstract

Executives have been bombarded by one digital initiative after another during the last decade—social media, mobile technology, and big data. In response to this rapid change, creating separate initiatives seems to make sense. It’s a logical reaction to hire and allow subject-matter experts to build the infrastructure, programs, and approaches that will work to address these new demands. This is, after all, how organizations have dealt with similar initiatives in the past. Six Sigma, Lean, Kaizen, Just-In-Time inventory, open sourcing, outsourcing, reverse innovation, and risk management all have been handled by creating new initiatives. Some added lasting value while others didn’t. But when these trends faded, companies went back to business as usual.