Complexity often hides in the details of execution. Strategies may be clear and products well-defined, yet results stall because processes and IT systems are bloated. Legacy workflows linger long after their purpose has expired. Systems multiply as organizations bolt on new tools rather than simplifying what already exists. Complexity becomes hard-coded into daily operations. The Organizational Focus framework tackles this directly through its Focused Process and Focused IT dimensions.
Leaders frequently underestimate the cost of poor processes and outdated systems. A single redundant approval step may delay decisions across thousands of transactions. An outdated IT system may require manual workarounds that consume hours daily. Fragmented applications often generate conflicting data that confuse decision-makers. Complexity in execution erodes speed, raises costs, and undermines strategy.
Some organizations recognize this risk and act. Ford’s turnaround in the late 2000s was not just about cutting brands or streamlining products. It was also about simplifying IT platforms and redesigning processes end to end. By consolidating systems, retiring legacy customizations, and aligning processes with strategy, Ford accelerated engineering cycles and improved supplier management. IT became an enabler, not a bottleneck.
The Organizational Focus framework defines six interconnected domains:
- Focused Strategy
- Focus on Customers
- Focused Products
- Focused Organization
- Focused Process
- Focused IT
Focused Process and Focused IT are often the least glamorous domains, yet they are decisive. Strategy and customer priorities mean little if execution systems are clogged. Simplifying these two dimensions turns complexity into speed and transforms IT from a source of cost into a driver of strategic impact.
Why this framework matters
Processes and IT are where strategy meets reality. Bloated workflows and outdated systems prevent even the best strategies from delivering results. The framework matters because it provides leaders with a structured way to simplify the “plumbing” of performance.
Focused processes reduce delays. By mapping flows end to end and removing redundant steps, organizations cut cycle times significantly. A sales process that once required ten handoffs can be redesigned to require three. Customer journeys that once involved repeated data entry can be simplified with prefilled information. The result is faster throughput and greater satisfaction.
Focused IT reduces fragmentation. Organizations that consolidate applications around redesigned processes cut cost and improve usability. Retiring legacy systems eliminates inefficiency. Standardizing data ensures leaders operate from a single version of the truth. Shifting from large rollouts to short, testable releases builds agility.
The framework matters because it prevents complexity from being embedded permanently. Many organizations redesign strategy but fail to address processes and IT. As a result, inefficiency is locked into place, and complexity creeps back. Addressing these domains ensures simplification is durable.
Deep dive into two elements
Focused Process
Processes connect strategy to daily work. When they are bloated, strategy fails. Focused Process requires mapping flows end to end, identifying redundant steps, and clarifying ownership. Processes should be redesigned to eliminate queues, cut wait times, and assign decision rights to single owners.
Average organizations redesign processes in siloes, optimizing for functional efficiency while leaving cross-functional flows broken. Focused organizations redesign holistically. They align processes with customer needs, product simplification, and strategic priorities. They measure what matters—cycle time, approvals per decision, wait times, and rework levels.
Focused Process also requires discipline. Leaders must set escalation rules, establish service-level targets, and monitor lead indicators. Simplification is not a one-off project. It is an ongoing management rhythm.
Focused IT
Information technology is either a bottleneck or an accelerator. Average organizations build IT systems to mirror outdated processes, adding layers of customization that embed inefficiency. Focused organizations treat IT as a simplification engine. They retire legacy systems, standardize workflows, and modularize solutions where flexibility is essential.
Focused IT requires shifting from monolithic rollouts to short, testable releases tied directly to business priorities. Enhancements must be targeted at strategic needs—priority customer interactions, core product lines, or critical organizational decisions. Generic upgrades waste resources and add complexity.
The impact is measurable. Simplified IT reduces costs, speeds execution, and creates agility. It also reinforces decisions in other domains, ensuring that strategy, products, and organization are supported by systems that enable rather than resist change.
Case study: Ford IT and process transformation
Ford’s turnaround illustrates the importance of execution simplification. In 2006, the organization was drowning in complexity—not only in brands and products but also in processes and systems. Multiple IT platforms created inefficiencies. Supplier management was fragmented. Engineering cycles were slowed by redundant approvals and outdated workflows.
Leaders attacked complexity directly. They consolidated IT platforms, retired legacy applications, and introduced a global product development system. Processes were redesigned to streamline supplier interactions and cut engineering cycle times. These moves complemented strategic and product simplification, creating a coherent system of focus.
The results were clear. Costs fell. Engineering speed improved. Products reached market faster. Ford moved from a multi-billion-dollar loss in 2007 to significant profitability by 2011. The lesson was unmistakable: simplifying IT and processes is not cosmetic—it is essential to performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do IT upgrades often fail to simplify?
Because organizations replicate old processes inside new systems. Without process redesign first, IT embeds complexity rather than eliminating it.
What metrics show progress in process simplification?
Cycle times, approvals per decision, share of wait time in workflows, and rework levels are leading indicators of simplification.
How can leaders measure IT simplification?
Metrics include number of applications per process, release cycle time, system utilization rates, and on-time delivery of enhancements.
Do processes and IT reinforce one another?
Yes. Simplified processes define what IT should support. Simplified IT ensures those processes run efficiently. Addressing one without the other leaves complexity unresolved.
Is simplification only about cost reduction?
No. It is about speed, responsiveness, and agility. Cost savings are an outcome, but the real value is in faster execution and greater adaptability.
Closing reflections
Processes and IT are rarely the most visible levers of strategy, but they are among the most decisive. Leaders often focus on vision, customers, and products while neglecting the systems and flows that bring those priorities to life. That neglect embeds inefficiency and slows progress.
Focused Process and Focused IT change that dynamic. They force leaders to ask hard questions. Why do workflows require so many steps? Why are legacy systems still in place? Why are resources spent on generic IT upgrades rather than strategic priorities? Each answer reveals opportunities for simplification.
The challenge is that simplification in these domains requires persistence. Redesigning processes and retiring systems often meet resistance. Employees are accustomed to existing workflows. IT departments resist letting go of systems. Yet leaders who push through discover compounding benefits. Simplified processes cut delays. Simplified IT enables faster change. Together, they transform execution.
The message is clear. Strategy sets ambition, but processes and IT determine speed. Leaders who simplify them free their organizations to execute with clarity and confidence. Those who ignore them build strategies that never reach the frontline.
Interested in learning more about the steps of the approach to Organizational Focus? You can download an editable PowerPoint presentation on Organizational Focus on the Flevy documents marketplace.
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