Celebrating a decade as CEO of Escalate Solutions

POST-MORTEM: DECADE #1

This week marks 10 years since I first founded Escalate Solutions, and it is both a celebratory and reflective time. My journey so far has been one of growth, learning and transformation, and I am excited about what lies ahead.  

I have dedicated the last 3 years to the Microsoft ecosystem, learning from leaders and partners for one of the world’s largest market cap and technology providers. I am excited to share my insights, takeaways and experience with my SMB and SMC client base as CEO of Escalate Solutions.  

Below are a few of my observations.  

WHAT HASN’T CHANGED: ESCALATE’S STRATEGY PILLARS IN DEMAND BY THE MARKET

Value Proposition & Approach 

I started Escalate Solutions to advise clients at the intersection of strategy, operations and technology, and I am proud to say that our value proposition is as advantageous in the era of AI as it was during our earliest days focused on digital transformation.

Strategists and creatives are best positioned to thrive in the era of AI, and I approach every engagement committed to helping leaders ask the right questions, align business and technology priorities, identify novel sources of value, and implement use cases that achieve the most impactful outcomes. Escalate’s framework has been our hallmark since our founding 10 years ago, and continues to be what the market demands.  

Design Thinking Mindset

Related, I continue to embrace the design thinking mindset. I have obtained a number of certifications in design thinking, and my favorite summary comes from Jeanne M. Liedtka, the United Technologies Corporation Professor Emerita of Business Administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. She summarizes the process as asking four key questions: “What is? What if? What wows? What works?”

As an advisor, I approach engagements with the assumption there can always be a better or more effective way to address challenges, a new perspective to be considered, and an undiscovered avenue to be explored. Design thinking underscores the importance of relentlessly asking, “What haven’t we thought of yet?”, and the era of AI makes this question more vital to ask and answer every day.   

Technology & Operational Neutrality

I am a more effective advisor to my clients because I am not attached to a specific technology solution, product, function or role. As a neutral third party consultant, I look holistically across organizations to identify and ideate opportunities that will improve aspects of the business and help navigate the complexities of the modern landscape. I focus on identifying innovative solutions that can achieve desired outcomes – not pushing SKUs. 

Once I have helped leaders align strategy, stakeholders, and desired outcomes, the use cases they want to prioritize dictate the SaaS, PaaS and MaaS solutions they should invest in. And that’s how it should be. I see too many organizations attracted to a “shiny AI product or solution” and working backward to figure out how to use it.

Similarly, investments into AI can be cost intensive, and since I work primarily with SMBs and SMCs, I am always cognizant of cost implications and potential budget limitations. 

 Stakeholder Alignment

The success of any initiative is heavily dependent on the buy-in and cooperation of all key stakeholders. Whether it is securing executive sponsorship, aligning cross-functional teams, or ensuring that end-users are engaged and supportive, my approach has consistently focused on culture acceptance, stakeholder alignment, and common priorities between business, finance and technology leaders.  

WHAT HAS CHANGED: THE RAPID EVOLUTION IN TECH

Technology

While Escalate Solutions core values and pillars remain unchanged, the technology landscape has undergone profound transformations over the past decade, and especially throughout the last 1-2 years. When I started Escalate Solutions, the focus was primarily on prioritizing D&A and optimizing existing technologies to improve efficiency and productivity. Fast forward to today, and AI is changing everything about business strategy, operations and industry. Are you asking (or struggling to answer) these critical questions? Is your strategy still relevant? Is your organization aligned around your North Star? What novel and bespoke initiatives are you considering to differentiate your business? What are your prioritized outcomes? What use cases can help you best achieve them?    

I have embraced these advancements, and even spent the last three years dedicated to and learning from the Microsoft ecosystem (including two years embedded with engineering, AI product owners, foundation model champions and strategy leads). The integration of AI into my own advisory services has opened up new dimensions for innovation and effectiveness, enabling Escalate Solutions to deliver even more precise and actionable insights to those beginning their AI journey. 

Pace & Cadence of Change

Such rapid advancements in technology equate to mandates for agile, flexible transformation within organizations of every size and industry. As just a few examples, D&A advancements have democratized the decision-making process and enabled more informed and strategic decisions, organizations have adapted to a remote workforce (and some now pivoting back to RTW), and omnichannel hyper-personalization that has become the norm for CX.  

The changes we are witnessing are so vast that a comprehensive list couldn’t possibly be developed. The greater takeaway – and where Escalate Solutions can help – is that in the era of AI, the pace of change will continue to accelerate. Organizations must adapt quickly to ensure they remain competitive in the rapidly-evolving landscape.    

LOOKING AHEAD

For more information, contact CEO Kimberly Arnold via [email protected].