Today more than ever, achieving sustainable growth and efficiency isn’t just about having great ideas or cutting-edge technology. It’s about how well all the moving parts of your organisation work together. This is where the concept of aligning the four pillars or table legs (people, process, technology, and data) becomes not just important, but a business imperative.
All too frequently we see organisations making significant technology investments but overlook i) the definition of their processes (i.e how they work), ii) ensuring their people are confident and competent using expensive organisational tools, and/or iii) clean and up-to-date data.
Think of your organisation as a kitchen table supported by four sturdy legs (people, process, technology and data). If you encounter problems with just one leg you’re on shaky ground, two or three and…well… as Larry says “Nobody likes a wobbly table”. All too often we come across organisations that have put up with years of inefficiency, slowly drifting further and further out of alignment until a decision to change technology or people is made in the hope of a better outcome without ever addressing the root cause – and so the cycle can continue.
Let’s break down why alignment is non-negotiable for modern organisations:
1. People: The Heartbeat of Your Business
No matter how advanced your systems are, it’s your people who drive innovation, execute strategies, and interact with customers.
- The Risk of Misalignment: If your people aren’t equipped with the right skills, understanding, or motivation for new processes or technologies, even the best tools will fail. Disengaged employees, lack of training, or resistance to change can cripple any initiative.
- The Power of Alignment: When people are trained, empowered, and understand their role within new processes and with new technologies, they become advocates for change and drive adoption. Their insights are crucial for refining processes and interpreting data.
2. Process: The Roadmap to Efficiency
Processes are the workflows and steps that dictate how work gets done. They define the “how” of your operations.
- The Risk of Misalignment: Outdated, inefficient, or poorly defined processes can create bottlenecks, frustrate employees, and lead to inconsistent results. If your technology or data strategies aren’t built around effective processes, you’ll simply automate chaos.
- The Power of Alignment: Well-defined, streamlined processes ensure consistency, reduce errors, and improve efficiency. They provide a clear framework for how technology should be used and how data should be collected and utilised, ensuring everyone is working towards the same goals.
3. Technology: The Enabler of Transformation
Technology refers to the tools, software, and infrastructure that facilitate your operations and strategic goals this could be anything from a stand alone spreadsheet to best in class enterprise software such as Salesforce.
- The Risk of Misalignment: Implementing new technology without considering your people’s ability to use it or how it integrates with existing processes is a recipe for an expensive disaster. Buying a fancy new CRM won’t help if your sales team isn’t trained or if your sales process isn’t adapted to leverage its features.
- The Power of Alignment: When technology is selected and implemented to support your people and optimise your processes, it becomes a powerful accelerator. It can automate tasks, provide real-time insights, improve communication, and scale your operations.
4. Data: The Fuel for Insight and Decision-Making
Data is the raw information generated by your people, processes, and technology. It’s the story of your business operations and customer interactions.
- The Risk of Misalignment: Collecting data without a clear purpose, consistent processes for capture, or the right technology to analyse it, renders it useless. “Dirty” data (inaccurate, incomplete, or inconsistent) leads to poor decisions and wasted effort. If your people don’t understand the value of data, its collection can suffer.
- The Power of Alignment: When data is systematically collected through well-designed processes, using appropriate technology, and interpreted by knowledgeable people, it transforms into actionable insights. This insight fuels better decision-making, identifies opportunities including AI strategies, mitigates risks, and drives continuous improvement across all areas.
Time to get your house in order
Imagine a scenario where:
- Your people are skilled and motivated to use organisational systems.
- Your processes ensure consistent data entry and clear reporting procedures.
- Your technology efficiently collects, stores, and presents accurate data.
- Your data provides crystal-clear insights into customer behaviour, allowing your people to refine their processes and leverage technology more effectively.
This creates a powerful, self-reinforcing loop of continuous improvement. When these four elements are out of sync, you will face inefficiencies, wasted resources, frustrated employees, and missed opportunities.
Conclusion: Invest in Alignment
Achieving true alignment between your people, process, technology, and data isn’t a one-time project; it’s an ongoing commitment. It requires thoughtful planning, clear communication, robust training, and a culture of continuous improvement. By intentionally focusing on how these four pillars (or table legs) interact and support each other, organisations can build a foundation for sustainable success, adapt to change more effectively, and ultimately, gain a significant competitive advantage.
Over the years we’ve helped organisations of all shapes and sizes gain mastery over their operating models using sophisticated tools and a tried and tested approach – get in touch to find out how.
