08.18.11
Innovation Triumphs
[Cartoon]
Apple has the respect of everyone as an innovative company. Steve Jobs is credited as the leader in the innovation at Apple. Without Jobs, there would never have been an Apple Inc. as we know it today.
So what about Jobs? Is he a college professor? Did he start Apple with a federal grant? No, Jobs is only a high school graduate and funding came from a local entrepreneur.
So what does Jobs have that sets him apart? He has a keen sense of what products people want. He is an inventor. He is not the type of inventor that discovers something new in the lab and dreams of ways the discovery can be applied. He sees an opportunity and finds the engineers that can fulfill his vision. He is all about “What” is needed and negotiates with others to determine “How” to get it.
Most of the successful companies have been started and led by those who have this type of vision. They not only have the vision, but they also have the ability to share and get others excited about the vision. For some, the vision may seem impossible. It may appear to be outside of the current level of understanding or require more time or money than is available. For others, they are challenged and come up with new approaches that further the level of understanding or find ways to operate within the time and money constraints.
The success shown by Apple and other innovative organizations is driven by both vision and an ability to perform. The best organizations have an Enterprise Architecture to help them understand their ability to perform. This architecture can become the base for identifying the areas that must change in order to reach the vision.
The Enterprise Architecture is not the vision nor is it the means of accomplishing the vision. It is the visualization of the “How” to accomplish the vision. Some Enterprise Architects may be inventors, but their primary purpose is to support those that are the inventors in the organization. The inventors should be given the ability to visualize and share with others how their inventions will move towards the corporate vision.
We must realize that there are many mechanisms to support the inventions of “How”. Enterprise Architecture is one of those important mechanisms. We must also realize that to uncover the “What” is to have visionaries like Steve Jobs.
The Enterprise Architects can see what is coming and are already preparing. They know that this will be their time. Corporations will be able to completely focus on their business, and automation will be viewed as an agile enabler. Automation will finally become the self-service contributor that the Corporate Office has always wanted it to be. –Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City
Closing the Business / IT gap.
