Global Digital Consultancy Start-up Pt2 – Adjusted Governance is the Magic Bullet in Digital Business

I offer several strategic consultancy services one of them is Organizational Design this can involve launching a new service or creating new divisions or even whole Global companies.

Governance is a Business Enabler

Having written several enterprise governance documents using ISO/IEC 385000 as a template I am well aware that governance is one of those areas that is much misunderstood.

Well constructed and managed governance is open and obvious, it is designed to enable business and has an active and transparent policy creation and updating process. However, there is a huge amount of governance set up to chain the business to policies that are truly complex, meaningless in the current context and have become a power base in their own right.

Governance should be used as a route to evolve policies (that in  turn establish processes) that are market responsive in a framework that effectively manages risk and regulatory compliance.

Governance can build Design Thinking and Service Design directly into the core policies and processes of an organisation

Digital is a new type of Business not a Channel

The reason Governance is an important factor is that different behaviours in business require different Governance.

From Global Digital Consultancy Start-up Pt1 – Founding a New Consultancy is all about Market Differentiators it should be clear that a Digital Business, does something different from an Existing or Established Business.

Digital is established, interacts and delivers differently from other businesses, it creates conflict with the existing status quo

These stages and the processes they create in a start-up will create conflict or roadblocks to success with Venture Capitalists and existing internal Business structures, institutions and organisations unless there is Adjusted Governance and ultimately adjusted accountability, effectiveness measurement, recruitment policies, recruitment process, career paths etc.

Adjusted Governance is the magic bullet in setting up a Digital Business

Adjusted Governance enables Digital to work quickly and effectively within the more volatile framework of immediate and rapid response business strategy, investment rules and return on investment than those used in existing enterprises or global organisation structures.

I have yet to work on a Start-up that has got adjusted governance set up before it becomes a critical hinderance

I always ask if there is adjusted governance and without fail, I am told it is not required. This comes down to a basic misunderstand of the usage of the word Digital. Digital Consulting really means Agency Consulting with Scaled Delivery, it is not the Digital Market Channel that Commerce thinks it is at all.