BBC 2017 Speaker Series – Consultant: Randy Radic, Senior Consultant at Online Business Systems

Regarding his presentation at Building Business Capability in Orlando, Nov. 6-10, 2017, we asked Randy Radic, Senior Consultant at Online Business Systems, a few questions about transforming the business. Check out this interview in relation to his BBC presentation entitled, Building Believable Business Cases.

Q: In what ways, do you help your client organizations handle business transformation?

A: Often, emerging technology requires my client organizations to confront challenges that they’ve never even had to think of before. As an information technology and business consultant, I help client organizations transform their businesses for the digital world by helping design and implement complex, secure information systems. The key strategy in helping client organizations is to keep them focused on business outcomes and not just technology solutions.

Q: Can you describe the challenges you face or have already overcome in establishing more robust business transformation capabilities for your clients?

A: People and process aspects of business transformation are typically more challenging than technology solutions. More specifically, Change Management needs change behaviours and be part of any business transformation undertaking. I strongly believe that this is one of the key ingredients required for any robust business transformation.

Q: What are your top suggestions for companies looking to become more agile?

A: To paraphrase a line from Agile Manifesto, companies should have more focus on continuous communication and understanding than on processes and tools.

Q: What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned in the past year?

A:  The importance of balancing client, employer and own needs.

Q: What do you see as the most important goal or trend for business analysts and other professionals to keep in mind?

A: IT professionals being imbedded in business operations to gain greater understanding and knowledge of business functions they support.

Q: What’s the latest method/process/tool you’ve implemented to help your client’s businesses operate more effectively? Have you seen any results yet?

A: Method of assessing risks of mission–critical business applications and translating those risks in terms of risks of potential: disruptions of flow products or service, disruption of flow of money and disruption of flow of information.

Q: If you could go back 5 years in time and give some professional insight or advice to yourself, what would it be?

A: Set aside certain amount of time and money each year for professional development.

Q: What’s one question you wished you were asked in this interview but were not? And how would you answer?

A: I wish you would have asked me: “Tell me about your company?  We are called Online Business System and we are IT and business consulting company. We have been in business 31 years and we have a team of over 300 professionals throughout North America. Online Business Systems has been on the “Best Workplaces in Canada” list for 11 consecutive years.

Q: Please tell us a take-away you provided during your talk at the Building Business Capability (BBC) conference this year?

A:  The importance of soft skills like collaboration and consensus building when developing business cases.

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Randy’s presentation, Building Believable Business Cases, at Building Business Capability was on Thursday, November 9, 2017.