Best of DTS Issue 20: Accelerating Innovation

Using innovation on the job takes many forms. You might be a problem solver, a designer, a planner, or use new technology in your work. With so many ways to tap into innovation on-the-job, it’s a topic that deserves its own issue.

In this edition of the Best of DTS, we share how to encourage greater innovation at work in today’s climate, cover the top innovative trends across multiple industries, how to build a culture of innovation, and how cybersecurity compliance works hand-in-hand with innovation.

A recent research report, The State of Data Innovation 2021, reveals how those organizations who lead in data and innovation culture are pulling ahead in business. They launch twice as many new products/services and have doubled employee productivity. Those results might have you planning for innovation investments and growth in the next year. I’d love to hear about it. Let’s continue the conversation with an email or a call.

Edward Tuorinsky
Managing Principal
DTS
Edward.Tuorinsky@consultDTS.com
571.403.1841

Innovation on the job: Every organization CAN do it!

Big, bold new breakthrough innovations are exciting but often seem out of reach for many organizations. Is innovation only for a few? We’ve found a majority of organizations benefit more from small innovations, the little enhancements and upgrades that impact daily work.

When we change our mindset about innovation, and define it as continuous improvement on a small scale, then every organization can foster an environment for innovation. Every organization can make it a rewarding challenge for employees. Every organization can use innovation to maintain their competitive edge and avoid growing complacent. The beauty of this approach is that it doesn’t require a large upfront investment – it’s incremental and small.

To help you get started, here are a few ideas that can encourage more innovative thinking at work:

Share inspiration: Provide a forum where employees can share content that they find inspirational for work-related innovation. For example, an article that explains how another organization solved a problem.

Switch to stand up meetings: Stand up meetings (even for video meetings) are typically shorter, help to focus energy, and end with action items for meeting participants.

Share challenges: Identify organizational or workflow challenges and actively ask for help solving them.

Recognize innovation: Recognize and reward ideas or solutions, especially those that save time or money or improve the customer experience.

Top Technology Trends

We’re in the midst of a technology renaissance with new innovations dramatically transforming industries, organizations, and even our own work day. Disruptive technologies reinvent processes and inspire the kind of massive change we haven’t seen in decades. Topping the list: Zero trust architecture, conversational AI, IoT everywhere, and 5G connectivity. Dig into the detail and consider the impact they’ve made this year in your world.

Building a Culture of Innovation

Companies introducing breakthrough technologies didn’t develop them by accident – they applied focused effort. If you’re looking to support that same spirit in your organization look no further than culture. To make sure your efforts stick, follow three pieces of advice for focused culture building:

Define your innovation challenges
Develop what’s needed for innovative thinking and experimenting
Appreciate different innovation results from different people/groups

Read the full article in Forbes to learn more.

Innovation and Compliance are Friends, Not Foes

Compliance – following both external regulations and internal policies – is a part of modern operations. Too often, organizations fall into the trap of believing that following the rules can make it difficult to think outside the box and be innovative. This article explains how the opposite may be true. Compliance-first policies and processes can make the “rules” invisible to end users and automation can give employees more time to focus on the complex thinking and problem-solving parts of their job. Get the full story from bizagi.

Service Spotlight: Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is more than goals – it’s your guide for decision-making and priorities. DTS can help you create strategy that is both flexible and scalable to drive long-term fiscal health, measurable results, and organizational evolution, like becoming more innovative. Learn more about our strategic planning, encompassing every action, initiative and dollar spent by your organization on consultDTS.com.

Human Interest

Want to hear more about compliance and innovation? Listen to this discussion about The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmonson of the Harvard Business School. Or read the book yourself!

“For knowledge work to flourish, the workplace must be one where people feel able to share their knowledge! This means sharing concerns, questions, mistakes, and half-formed ideas.”

DTS in the News

DTS was proud to be named a finalist for the 2021 Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Service Awards.

On November 13th, DTS will attend the 97th Annual Arlington Business Gala. We are a sponsor of the Gala.

Cybersecurity News

DTS continues to follow all cybersecurity regulations and CMMC updates very closely, and commits to providing this information to our clients in plain language, with actionable take-aways.

Top News

DoD released a statement regarding updates to the CMMC model on November 4, 2021. DoD is calling this CMMC 2.0 and has stated it will not become effective until the rule making process for title 32 CFR and title 48 CFR are complete. Until that time, the Department is suspending all CMMC Piloting efforts and will not approve inclusion of a CMMC requirement in DoD solicitations. The current chatter is this will take anywhere from 9-24 months.

Our recommendations:

While this update is a change, it’s clear CMMC is not going away. On the surface, it appears the DoD is attempting to mitigate the potential loss of SMB DIB contractors by relaxing the initial implementation of CMMC. They may eventually reinstate the CMMC specific practices and maturity processes, as well as the certification requirement later.
Continue moving forward toward compliance with all controls with NIST SP 800-171 controls and all associated documentation including establishing maturity in the procedure-related controls for 800-171.
It’s critical for SSPs and POA&Ms to be accurate and to report cyber incidents in a timely manner if your contract(s) require self-attestation.

Government Contractor News Alert

DOJ to Fine Government Contractors Who Don’t Follow Cybersecurity Standards

On October 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced “it will go after federal contractors that fail to report cybersecurity incidents to the U.S. government” and “use its authorities under the False Claims Act to fine government contractors that fail to follow required cybersecurity standards”.

Contractors can be held accountable if they:

Knowingly providing deficient cybersecurity products or services
Knowingly misrepresenting their cybersecurity practices or protocols
Knowingly violating obligations to monitor and report cybersecurity incidents and breaches

What should you do now? Learn more about this initiative and how our compliance solutions can help you meet all federal compliance requirements with confidence. If you’ve been waiting for a sign, this is it!

Read more cybersecurity updates at News and Recommendations.

About DTS

DTS consultants go far beyond just “getting the job done.” We continually find better, more efficient and more effective ways to satisfy the needs of our public- and private- sector clients. DTS provides full lifecycle Management and IT consulting services, and can support your organization by researching and answering specific questions, solving critical issues or helping you plan for the future. Among a crowded field of contractors, DTS stands out for the quality of our people, the power of our approach, and the impact of our results. www.consultDTS.com

Continue the conversation:
Email sales@consultDTS.com or call 571.403.1841