BEWARE: The Digital Music Man is Coming to River City. First hide your money … then consider Six Things.

Remember The Music Man? It was a hit musical about Professor Harold Hill coming to River City to have some fun, stir up excitement, and start a community marching band. The townsfolk of River City only need to buy his 76 trombones and handsome band uniforms. Did anyone think it might be an impossible dream?

Even before Covid-19, a bevy of Digital Professor Harold Hills were popping up to hawk all sorts of digital shiny things to save your schools, town, business, hospital, nursing home, public safety, traffic, commute and municipal services. The Digital Music Hawkers come disguised as consultants, vendors, software experts, think tanks and professors.

Many of these digitally based things are worthy of consideration, especially to help with post Covid challenges. However, the Prometheus Endeavor* strongly believes that achieving the intended objectives or getting value is hard work. Almost all of these digital miracles require multiple sets of diverse people to engage and do things they have never done before to achieve success. By the way, did you start with clear, relevant objectives or the allure of the shiny, modern digital thingie?

Our many years of experience have seen that organizations doing new things, especially with Digital and Information Technologies, face a steep and perilous experiential learning curve. When engaging new technologies, success requires that all sorts of people do things they have not done before. The Prometheus Endeavor advises that you and your organization should identify, carefully consider and accommodate these six factors before and during your effort:

• Enabling Factor 1 – The Endeavor Itself: What exactly are you trying to accomplish? What are the objectives, the scope, and assumptions required to be successful? If you can’t describe these things to a reasonable degree, that should tell you something. Imagine leading a band without a score.
• Enabling Factor 2 – The Resources: What are the likely skills, talents, technologies and other resources required over the Endeavor’s life cycle? If these are not known, additional analysis is needed.Imagine leading, being part of or listening to a band where only some of the band members practice, come to rehearsals, or have working instruments.
• Enabling Factor 3 – The Management Processes and Governance: To what extent do you or your organization have what’s necessary to define, scope, deliver, install, test, train, support, update, maintain and integrate this Endeavor into existing, modified and yet to be defined operations? In addition, does the enterprise have the internal governance required to allocate resources, set priorities and make knowledgeable decisions? If that is not known, you should be seriously concerned. Imagine a band whose members play anything they want, any way they want and don’t follow the conductor.
• Enabling Factor 4 – The Stakeholders: Who needs to be involved, responsible, accountable, informed and supportive for the Endeavor to succeed? Do these individuals believe in the Endeavor? Do they have the skills required to lead, guide, direct, and support the effort? Do they have the necessary time? Imagine sponsors who have contributed and an audience that has paid, but each is expecting a different show.
• Enabling Factor 5 – Funding: Is the money available to pay for the Endeavor’s initial implementation as well as its on-going operation, enhancement, support and replacement or refurbishment? Will it become an unfunded liability or burden? Are the Endeavor’s benefits so compelling that the enterprise will redirect other funds to support the Endeavor? Imagine a community band budget that pays for the leader but does not cover the musicians or music hall.
• Enabling Factor 6 – Experiential Learning: Considering and successfully deploying new technologies at an entity level is not as simple as adding an app to a cellphone. Doing it right cannot be learned from just reading a book, attending a class or even reading this blog. Many of the Stakeholders need to play a constructive, active part to ensure a successful Endeavor.

To achieve intended benefits, much of what those involved with Endeavor leadership, selection, deployment, participation, engagement and adaptation must learn can only be learned by doing. Imagine being asked to be a band manager to form, organize and manage an orchestra without any previous experience.

Anyone thinking of buying into the Digital Music Man’s pitch, should carefully consider these six factors. They aren’t show-stoppers. But, if your organization and stakeholders are attempting an effort that your extended enterprise has not undertaken before, special scrutiny and forethought must be taken. True, you cannot be expected to be able to address all of these considerations in exacting detail or all at once. However, they must be put on the table, considered and addressed in a coherent, connected manner. All six of these factors must be kept in consistent and relevant balance throughout.

If not, you put yourself at risk of embarrassment when the press, public, stakeholders and shareholders ask why you are shoving the digital trombones, tubas and uniforms in a closet. Worse yet, if the effort goes sideways, any litigator will likely ask to what degree did you and your organization consider all the aspects of these six factors. “Not really” is not a good response.

*About The Prometheus Endeavor

Our mission is to apply our knowledge and management experience to further the IT and Digital Endeavors of society, its institutions, and businesses. The Prometheus Endeavor does not do consulting or represent vendors. For over 30 years, members have advised and managed some of the most successful deployments of IT.