Improve the system, not (just) the outcome

For years I've pronounced the truth:

"Information is essential to drive business outcomes"

However, the statement is somewhat misleading, because it misses the critical reason our methodology of Value Chain analysis works:

"Information is essential to the systems that drive business outcomes"

Value Chain analysis is fundamentally about:

1. analysing business systems, and then ...
2. creating a measurable information strategy for improving them.

This is why we're focusing a lot on R&D at the moment. Regardless of the organisation or goals, R&D systems are relatively consistent and predictable. Some are complex, some are simple, but they all follow this basic progression:

Everyone wants to focus on how information contributes to the launch of a successful product – the groundbreaking new drug, the innovative use of prior knowledge, the single report that avoided a regulatory headache. These success stories are hard to identify, anecdotal in nature, and take a long time (as in, years) to track.

But what if you need measurable, repeatable results each quarter or by year-end?

Value Chain analysis gives you insight into the value of information across the whole of R&D – it's practical, tangible, and completely changes how stakeholders perceive information.

Let's look together at your systems and how you can have a measurable impact now with Value Chain analysis. Contact me at robin.neidorf@jinfo.com, or complete the enquiry form.

Robin Neidorf
Director of Research

Content licensing – we get it

It's an evergreen topic at conferences, and indeed at any time or place where information professionals congregate: Why is it so hard for us to influence and drive the organisation's information strategy?

In a world where information is gold, we shouldn't ever hear about information teams being outsourced or dismantled.

In Jinfo's Focus on Content Portfolio, those of us with expertise and interest in the details of content licensing find our peer group – the other people who "get it" and are taking a variety of approaches to articulating value. You can learn from them; I learn a lot from them.

From last month's Community session, "Teeing up value-based conversations for content licensing", here are a handful of the insights shared by participants:

[We are] creating communities of interest made up of the people who can best provide feedback and perform evaluations. Bringing the right people to the table and controlling the process – the right goals, with a facilitator, holding to timelines – can really help.

We have a very formal content advisory board with representatives from each of our businesses. In the first year of the board, our main project was simply to share a comprehensive list of what we license and who uses it. Now that they've had that background, we can talk more about how products are used and why. These discussions need to happen live, not via email, and the people involved must have budget authority.

We always have a documented list of what we expect from our vendors – objective things that can be measured. Making them aware of these standards gives us some control in negotiations.

We have only a few seats left in the upcoming Community session, "Investment philosophies for strategic portfolio management" – contact me at stephen.phillips@jinfo.com, and if you're a Jinfo client, I can try to get you in.

If you have questions or frustrations about licensing, value, or why you have to re-educate stakeholders every few years, your peer group is waiting to help. Contact me at any time to learn more.

Stephen Phillips
Senior Analyst

The view from 30,000 feet, with a foundation of feet on the ground

I've been with Jinfo for a while now, but I'm learning every day. I'm surprised at how quickly my view of the information services world has changed as a result.

It's enjoyable to be able to look at issues more strategically, from a 30,000-foot view, instead of always being pulled back to earth by practical realities.

Still, I can (and do) put myself in the clients' shoes. After all, over my 30 years of experience, I have lived the same challenges they have – managing capacity, communicating with stakeholders, keeping up with user needs, etc. It seems they're universal.

But that's also what demonstrates the benefit of Jinfo's Focus on Centre of Excellence. Our methodology:

• Draws on our research and learnings from clients – in your industry and in others – to give you perspective on your challenges
  
  
• Has successfully helped our clients make a significant positive change in how their service and expertise are perceived
  
  
• Provides a new perspective on the influence you have on how information works in your organisation.

You can tap into these benefits by starting on the activities outlined in the five steps in our Focus on Centre of Excellence. Or, you can accelerate your learning – and the realisation of your goals – through Consulting on Centre of Excellence.

Whether you're a current client interested in the Focus on Centre of Excellence or you just know you want to operate more strategically, I invite you to reach out to me to swap stories... and also get a peek at the view from 30,000 feet. Email me at susan.gleckner@jinfo.com, and we'll set a time to talk.

Susan Gleckner
Senior Analyst