The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

A top web shop boss yesterday warned that imposing new technology on top of old bureaucracy is like “oil and water; they don’t mix”.

Sebas Bastian, pictured, Island Luck’s chief executive, said he had repeatedly seen companies acquire the latest software “and still fail because they are not seeing the bigger picture” over the need to fully embrace technology while eliminating the bureaucracy that blunts its effectiveness.

Speaking at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) first Innovation Summit, held at the Baha Mar Convention centre, Mr Bastian described data - and knowing customer needs, and how long they spend at your store or website - as the “new oil” for most companies.

“We have to eliminate barriers,” he said. “When it comes to embracing technology we have to take care of a few certain things. Time and time again I have seen companies buy the latest software and still fail because they are not seeing the big picture... We have to embrace technology; we have to accept technology for where it is.”

Emphasising that this was serious business, he added: “You can’t take technology, slap it on top of bureaucracy and say that you are innovating. New technologies and out-dated modes of working are like oil and water. They don’t mix.

“If your systems are analog and your work culture is stale, no technology can make your organisation responsive enough or flexible enough to be sustainable in a global competitive market.”

Mr Bastian said companies where different departments operated in isolation, or silos, and restricted access to information that should be shared were recipes for disaster and business failure.

“Our national borders can no longer hold back global competition; we have to transform the way we run our organisation,” he added. Turning to the importance of allowing creativity to flow within a business, Mr Bastian said: “Working in less bureaucracy, businesses can now allow for front-line workers in making key strategic decision-making, allowing them to respond quicker in the market place.

“Enabling collaboration and eliminating silos, the whole company can now react to threats from competitors, new technologies and customer preferences. One of the things I have done in my organisation is that I have appointed a director of strategic projects (DSP). The DSP helps us to identify necessary skill sets that are needed, co-ordinate communication, problem solve and drive implementation.”

Mr Bastian encouraged entrepreneurs to learn from their mistakes, and emphasised that these were steps to achieving greater success in their own business

“There are many parts to harnessing innovation,” he added. “We have to embrace change and eliminate internal barriers and leaders that make innovation and creativity hostile.”