Seeking Innovative Business Models to Boost Our IT Company's Growth – Any Ideas?

Hello, I am currently heading the HR department of an IT company with 300 employees. I am looking for a transformative business model that will elevate our organization to new heights. I am seeking innovative and creative solutions that can genuinely add value to our business operations. Any suggestions or insights would be greatly appreciated.

Dear Pratik S,

It is good to note that you are heading the HR Department. You have approached this forum to transform your organization. Your post demonstrates your change orientation. However, the reply to your post is comprehensive, and it would require calling a spade a spade. The straightforwardness of my reply is not intended to dispirit or demotivate you.

Understanding Your Company's Classification

Your company has 300 employees on the roll. It means it is classified as a "small enterprise" under the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) category. Transforming it from a small enterprise to a medium enterprise is the job of the top leadership. It is not HR's job to do so. Neither is the HR department empowered to bring about transformation.

The Role of Business Strategy in Transformation

Businesses are transformed by devising a business strategy. To devise the strategy, the leadership needs to make a strategic plan. The following tools of strategy are used to prepare the strategic plan:

a) Michael Porter's Five Forces
b) SWOT Analysis
c) PESTLE Analysis
d) McKinsey's 7S
e) Porter's Generic Strategies

These tools reveal the risks with which the organization is living. While certain risks can be prevented, certain risks can only be mitigated. The organization has to live with other risks as neither can these be prevented nor eradicated. These can just be monitored.

Using these tools is not an easy task. A detailed questionnaire is used for every tool, and the strategic plan is prepared based on the replies to those questions. Of course, the activity cannot be done in-house and needs hiring the services of an external consultant.

The Importance of Organizational Culture

Having a strategy is not sufficient. The organization's culture also holds back growth. This demands transforming the organization's culture vis-a-vis executing the business strategy. To do this, the top leadership may conduct an organization-wide survey and identify the anomalies that exist in the organization. Eradicating those anomalies is not easy. It requires sustained efforts and is a time-consuming process.

Fostering a Culture of Performance

As written above, my reply could demotivate you as there is not much for you to do. So, what is the remedy? There is some remedy.

As an HR Head, you may prevail upon your MD to foster a culture of performance. Doing so would require measuring the costs and ratios associated with each department and assigning those to the respective HOD. The measurement of costs and ratios of every important business process will also show how efficient the organization is. This is the side benefit.

For further queries, feel free to approach me.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Wow! What a great response.

I recently proposed two plans to management: one focused on observing existing processes to identify errors, and the other involving strategic initiatives using predictive analytics. However, I received the following reply:

"We have a dedicated team to review our existing business and work on innovations, which keeps us aligned with our budgets and business strategies. Therefore, we are not seeking a review of our current business practices currently. Instead, we are looking for interesting and valuable business modules that you can introduce to us."

I am unsure what type of business module I should offer to management. Any suggestions?

Dear Pratik S,

You have clarified your requirements in your second post. I wish you had provided them in the first post itself. From your post, a question arises as to whether your management is confused between "Business Model" and "Business Module." I wish you had asked your management to provide an example of a company that launched a business module and transformed their company. Transformation depends on the introduction of a path-breaking product or service. The latest example is Openai.com. Their product "ChatGPT" was groundbreaking, and it took more than two years to come up with a competing product, even for a company like Google.

To settle my curiosity, I checked Gemini, ChatGPT, and Meta AI for "Business Module," and the following were their replies:

a) Gemini: Instead of the business module, it gave a reply on the business model. So, I am not copying their reply here.

b) ChatGPT: The software says, "a business module refers to a distinct, self-contained component of a business's operations or structure. This can include various functional areas such as marketing, finance, human resources, and production. Each module focuses on a specific set of activities or processes and is designed to be relatively independent, yet integrated with other modules to achieve overall business objectives."

The definition is too academic and has limited practical utility.

c) Meta AI: Their long reply is as below:

A business module is a self-contained component or unit of a larger business system or organization, which performs a specific business function or process. It is a discrete, modular element that can be easily integrated with other modules to form a complete business system.

A business module typically includes:

- Specific business processes and workflows
- Defined inputs and outputs
- Distinct roles and responsibilities
- Measurable goals and objectives
- May involve specific technology or systems

Examples of business modules include:
- Marketing module
- Sales module
- Customer service module
- Financial management module
- Supply chain management module

Using a modular approach, businesses can more easily modify, update, or replace individual modules without affecting the entire organization.

Conclusion: Meta AI's reply has practical utility. Based on their reply, you may recommend an "HR Module." As a part of it, I propose the following:

a) Revising the existing PMS: As stated in my previous reply, introduce the measurement of ratios and costs associated with the business. If implemented earnestly, then it will revolutionize the organization.

b) Conducting Employee Satisfaction Survey: Whatever transformation initiatives may be, these need to be executed through your people. Their support will depend on their perceptions towards the organization. If the perceptions are not appropriate, then the organization's transformation initiatives could fail miserably.

c) Conducting Organization's Cultural Survey: The introduction of innovative products or services depends on the company's culture. Does your company have a supportive culture? To know it, you may recommend conducting an organization's cultural survey. Changing the culture requires herculean efforts.

Of the three proposals, I expect your management to accept the first one. It requires great courage to implement the second and third recommendations; therefore, they could sideline it.

I hope I have clarified from my side. As writing lengthy replies is tedious, this is my last post on the thread. Further discussion can be done on the telephone.

The final comments for the other members: Many times, the company's management gets caught in the management jargon. It is a myth to believe that management models transform organizations. These myths arise from a partial understanding of the concepts of management science. Telling the HR Head to come up with the management module or model to transform the organization is unreasonable to the point that it invites derision. But then this is how the bosses work, and the managers have to fall in line!

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar