High Technology Firm 2014: What's Inside?

What are the features that make high technology firms competitive and attractive to investors? 

This is not an idle question. Managing high technology firms is a huge challenge. Investing into them is even more challenging. Establishing productive relations between researchers, managers and investors is the major enigma of successful high technology business. 

That is caused by VUCA market-technology environment that makes sailing the high technology business waters really rough. Reminding those who dare the rhyme: "Three wise men of Gotham, They went to sea in a bowl. And if the bowl had been stronger, My song had been longer." This is sport like no other.

In order to perform better, business leaders of high technology firms have to be agile and lean, while practicing trend watching, value nurturing, total learning management, talents curation, technology planning, and engaging clients via iterative inbound marketing campaigns.  

Disrupt or Die!

Basically, as the business leader at the high-tech firm, you have to accept realities of doing business in the VUCA world. No other way. Get used to the environment where disruption is the normal way of doing business. Disrupt or they will disrupt you! You are in the business of disruption. Be proactive. Make your team proactive. Open up to constant change and innovation. Become VUCA oriented. Or, eventually, VUCA addicted.

Track the Trends!

You cannot predict the future. Instead, you have to track the scenarios of what might happen. “Forewarned is forearmed”. And you have to embed yourself into the future value chains. Think what will be the world in a year, in five or in twenty five years. What will shape it? Feel the pace of change. Choose the appropriate horizons according to the life-cycle of your project, technology, market or career. Identify the trends. Dream! Imagine! Expand your imagination! Remember, sometimes the only they buy is your imagination.

Be Agile!

Adopt the values of agility. Make your development processes agile. Split whatever you develop and deploy into small shippable deliverables. Put agile processes into the core. Bring agility into your balanced scorecard. Reinvent complimentary functions. Train your company to "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee!"

Think Lean!

Think big. Think future. Visualize your dream. Set priorities, and pin them into the lean canvas. That’s your strategic plan. Do not allow silos to intervene. Focus on implementation according to your priorities. As pit bull. Think lean, act agile!

Learn to Learn!

We live in the era of Total Learning Management now. Does it ring to you?

You are in the knowledge-intensive business, after all. Tracking the trends allows you to pick the most appealing opportunities. Make your talents ready to grasp them. Develop the appropriate capabilities! Ensure that your high-tech firm is intelligent and mature. 

Worship the creativity. Creative companies prosper as the result of advanced collaborative learning of talents. Remember, creativity equals imagination multiplied by improvisation. Learn by doing.

Plan the Technology!

Physical world is merciless to our dreams. Your vision is worth nothing unless you have the technology to implement it. 

And sometimes technology expands the boundaries of our imagination. Sometimes technology shows us the way. 

View technology as the asset. Picking technology in high-tech business is like picking the right horse to bet on. Hire the CTO who has the news right from the stable. Evaluate your portfolio of technologies according to your objectives. Enhance it!

Remember, what they disrupt are markets and technologies. Be smart in picking the technology.

Show’em the Money!

The only way to secure capital and financing for high-tech business is through reputation and trust. Establish investor relations. Show them your customer base. Show them the value you create. Let them check if you are exploring the promising trends. Explain your lean canvas and KPIs behind it. Demonstrate your unique team and cutting-the-edge technologies. Prove that you are learning organization. Show your processes. Help them to overcome the fear. Hedge the risks. Or you’ll get nothing.

Engage!

Create your sales funnel. Ensure the right assets for each layer. Run the agile marketing campaigns. Network with your technology cluster. Position your business wthin it. Engage your clients. Build online community. Nurture the leads. 


That’s all, folks!