Ok, so this isn't really about technology, but Malcolm Gladwell gave a talk at a TED conference in 2004 that talked about something that I think often perplexes IT leaders - understanding what your customer wants.
We know the basics. We know that our customer needs us to deliver ERP and financial systems. That we need to deliver and support an infrastructure to enable these, etc. But when we have reached a level of maturity and are looking to take that next big step forward - to move beyond the stale strategic planning process and really begin to bring new, innovative ideas to the table - we are often stumped at the starting gates with the simple question - what does my customer really need and want?
It's a question we need to be able to answer if we are to cross the divide and become true IT innovators. I know it's a stretch to make a connection between IT and spaghetti sauce (you'll see), but take a look and see if it doesn't stir up some ideas. If nothing else, it's very entertaining. Enjoy!
