Episode 56: ERP Organizational Change Strategy and Alignment

About this Episode

In this episode, we dive into how effective process, strategy, and alignment are critical influences towards effective ERP assimilation and value realization with Greg Taffet.

We do know that ERP organizational change can be challenging. Effective process, strategy, and alignment of a business within an ERP organizational change effort means addressing several factors which often include; utilizing proper methodologies and strategies for implementation, understanding success, being clear on the goals and objectives, understanding the potential challenges, and building a strategy to address those potential challenges proactively, stakeholder alignment, and stakeholder ownership. And of course,  the “glue” behind all of this is potentially organizational culture.

We explore these ideas further with Greg.

More about Greg

Previously, Greg Taffet joined U.S. Gas and Electric, Inc. (“USG&E”), a leading energy supplier, as Chief Information Officer in December of 2007 until it was acquired by Crius Energy in 2017  after shepherding the company through multiple years of double-digit growth.  Mr. Taffet oversaw the management and development of all business and information technology at USG&E. In addition to day-to-day management, Mr. Taffet was responsible for the technology transformation that matched the company’s growth as it has doubled in size each year for six years.

Prior to USG&E, Mr. Taffet was the Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for MxEnergy. He was in this role for nine years and was one of the founding employees of the organization. Mr. Taffet also has extensive manufacturing experience from working at the Bodine Corporation in various capacities including Manager of Systems and Integration. As a founder of Wellington Systems consulting firm, he gained significant experience in the financial, automotive, and banking industries. Mr. Taffet has over 30 years of technology, business, industry, and operational systems experience with an extensive background in mergers and acquisitions.

Greg Taffet was honored with the 2017 CIO of the year Apogee Award by South Florida Business and Wealth and was recently recognized by the South Florida Business journal as CIO of the Year finalist.  He received the 2012 Universal Access Award in the individual category from the South Florida Digital Alliance for his long list of accomplishments that have increased access to information and technology thereby positively impacting the lives of many in several communities.  He is a requested speaker on Technology and business.

Additionally, Greg has produced the CIO track at ITPalooza for 9 years.  It is the largest CIO-level invite-only event in South Florida.   Mr. Taffet holds a Bachelor’s degree from Franklin and Marshall College and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology. Mr. Taffet serves on the board of the South Florida Digital Alliance.

In his free time, Greg works on Coral reef restoration, coral reef surveys, and projects related to the blue economy and producing a positive environmental impact.

Connect with Greg

• Website https://taffet.org/
• Phone 203-536-0988
• email address Greg@taffet.org

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Episode Mentions 

Denison Model: Introduction to the Denison Model

Episode Highlights 

03:44 What advice would you share with our listens on selecting an implementation partner since they are all various methodologies and strategies for implementation?

05:32 Suppose you are leading a kickoff meeting for an organization that is just starting an ERP implementation. How would you define and describe for them “success” in terms of an ERP organizational change? That is, how does an organization know if they are truly bringing value to a business and meeting the objective?

07:44 How would you describe your general understanding of ERP implementation success rates in the field?

09:12 When you think about the procedures required for successful ERP implementation that ultimately create business advantage, what would you say they are? Can you take me through the steps? What are some general strategies that will enable a successful digital transformation?

13:25 How do you get Business owners to not only align but also take ownership of their digital transformation project?

18:12 You have an article titled “The 3-Step Checklist to ensure your business has the right foundations for success” (https://taffet.org/the-3-step-checklist-to-ensure-your-business-has-the-right-foundations-for-success/). Can you share with our listeners the 3-step checklist?

24:35 What can you share about optimizing goals and business objectives? How would an organization tactically go about this in the context of an ERP organizational change effort?

27:09 What would you say are some of the most common challenges organizations face as they attempted to implement ERP (in a way that maximizes Value Realization of the ERP)?

30:38 What role does organizational culture play in an ERP organization change effort?

32:14 Are projects successful because they address conflict upfront? or are they successful because there is very little conflict?

35:05 If you were going to give advice to an organization regarding successful ERP implementation as a tool for business continuous improvement and value realization, what would you say? How would you summarize this conversation?

More Related Episodes from TheERPocj & Blog Posts

Episode 52: ERP Organizational Change Success: Leadership and Management with guest Todd Dewett

Episode 47: Effective ERP Transformation with guest Ganapathy Iyer

Episode 46: ERP Organizational Change: Process, Practice, and Management with guest David Amborski

Episode 31: ERP: A Practitioner’s View with guest Bob Bucy

Episode 28: Optimized ERP with guest Greg Shumaker

Episode 20: Winning the ERP Game with guest David Stefanick

ERP Success Is a Democratic Process

Navigating ERP Stakeholder Political Dynamics: Key to Organizational Change Success