The importance of synergistic relationships and cultural alignment.

Over the last couple of months I have had the opportunity to engage with many organizations through a number of networking events, conferences and 1-on-1 discussions. One of the things I like to do is take the opportunity to benchmark what my team is doing and whether we can incorporate some good learning or best practices that we missed.

One of the big “challenges” I tend to hear is how business and IT can blend better and, in result, drive value and impact for the organization.

As some (or most) of you know I joined Domino’s close to 10 months ago as Director of Business Intelligence, Global Reporting and recently assumed responsibility for the Data Integration team. I even went back to Pizza school and yes, I did graduate, which was a humbling experience. You read a lot about the company being a “A Tech Company That Happens To Make Pizza...” but pushing the boundaries on cutting-edge technology enabling business impact truly requires the organization to work cross-functionally in every aspect. Whom hasn’t been exposed to Domino’s Tracker or our omni-channel and multi-device ordering and how consumers can engage with the brand?

I am still amazed how Domino’s as an organization is able to move that fast in terms of change and innovation and much of that I attribute to having an amazing leadership team within IS and across all business lines that my team is interacting with whether that is Strategy & Insights, International or Supply Chain. Leading by example and having established very close relationships across functions and driving that behavior down the organization is creating some serious chemistry in terms of output and business impact.

Requiring all team members to understand the business and providing relevant solutions is something that I am very focused on within my team. Ensuring we are as close as possible to our “customers”, listening to them and acting upon their needs in our follow-through is key to creating a level of trust. Working as one blended project team towards goals and having a very honest and transparent relationship has been an important ingredient for success.

Not being complacent and challenging ourselves daily to do things better is part of the game and is something which is promoted by our CIO, Kevin Vasconi and CEO, Patrick Doyle so that this mindset is part of the company’s DNA. Aligning our values (Do the right thing, 1:1 Say-Do Ratio, innovation is everyone’s job are just a few of them) and wrap a culture around that will keep us ahead of the curve and add to sustaining competitive advantage.

By the way, for those amongst you enjoying a fast-paced environment where can-do attitude is very welcome we’re still looking for some great talent :)