I recently had the chance
    to hike through the Mariposa Grove, home
    to over 500 giant sequoias in Yosemite
    National Park. There's just something about standing next to these
    giants that make you feel like you're simply a cog in the system we call the
    universe. Mother Nature is a savvy caretaker—a fact evidenced through human
    missteps in recreating natural processes, like fire, that are critical in revitalizing
    and renewing the earth. The devastating Yellowstone
    fires in 1988, a deadly combination of a dry climate, extremely flammable forest
    overgrowth and the Park's foray into "controlled burns," show the complexity
    of natural fire ecology.


    Throughout my hike, I could
    see the evidence of scarring on the trees by what park rangers term as prescribed burning. This process of setting
    strategic, low-level fires, a management tool to mimic the natural role of fire
    in forest ecology, has certainly had its challenges. Park officials have
    battled against public outcry protesting the purposeful burning of a natural
    preserve and potential for catastrophic damage. Though evidence suggests that
    fire plays a key role in the natural order, it seems a human condition to fight
    against the idea of destruction. We are fundamentally a species of builders,
    and so, destroying what we've built seems abhorrent to us. Yet, as the park
    ranger noted on my hike, "We should not try to save one tree at the cost of the
    entire forest."




    "This preoccupation with 'keeping the lights on' prevents them
    from reacting to new challenges and opportunities in an agile fashion."-Kristof Kloeckner




    It's
    not surprising that this reticence to cleanse overgrown areas extends into our
    business lives and the enterprise. With the consumerization of IT, organizations
    are pressed to keep pace with the latest technology demands. Even as
    enterprises buy new solutions, they don't clear out the old ones, creating a
    dense and overburdened environment. Today, the maintenance of these legacy
    systems and their outdated processes are hitting IT budgets where it hurts.
    According to IBM executive Kristof Kloeckner, 70% to 80% of an enterprise's IT resources are spent
    on maintaining existing systems. In fact, the DoD's Assistant Deputy Chief Management
    Officer estimates that only 25% of the
    seven billion dollar DoD IT budget
    is spent on building new systems. As Mr. Kloeckner
    has commented, "This preoccupation with "keeping the lights on" prevents them
    from reacting to new challenges and opportunities in an agile fashion."


    Just
    as with any type of ecosystem, the health and revitalization of your enterprise
    depends on clearing out the debris you have accumulated. The shrewd
    organization should evaluate all resources at hand regularly and focus on the investments
    that support core functions—a task that is surely daunting. On the other hand,
    organizations who do not consistently manage their resources and/or
    aggressively use slash-and-burn tactics with little thought to the impact on
    the business ecology could be courting disaster, creating conditions for a
    perfect storm like that of the 1988 Yellowstone fires. Remember, you should
    define what these technologies mean to you
    and how it will be integrated in
    your business objectives—not the other way around. I hope the strategies here
    in this issue and the sessions at the DOCUMENT Strategy Forum* in Greenwich
    offer the impetus to take control of your own revitalization in the
    enterprise.


    Until
    next time,


     


    ALLISON LLOYD is the editor of DOCUMENT, the dedicated document management portal for executives, directors and managers involved with the management, strategy, creation and delivery of communications in B2C environments. She leads the editorial direction for all DOCUMENT Media outlets, including its magazine, website, newsletter and event. Ms. Lloyd is a thought leader and expert in the transactional and customer communications industry.


    *Due to Hurricane Sandy, DOCUMENT Strategy Forum has been postponed. Check back for further updates.












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