VIDEO | National Science Foundation CIO: Proving a Negative Is Also a Success

(US and Canada) Dorothy Aronson, CIO of the National Science Foundation, speaks with Denise Verdicchio, SHI International SVP and President of Public Sector Sales, in a video interview about innovation, identifying and solving problems, and the definition of digital transformation success.

Aronson defines innovation as bringing new ideas forward and making them happen. She stresses the need to identify problems to solve them and then reward the effort. 

Elaborating on the topic, Aronson says that people will come up with a hypothesis about a problem, and one can be successful only by testing it and coming up with a conclusion. She then highlights two critical approaches for driving innovation:

1. Thinking of innovation as a problem to be solved.

2. Breaking large problems up into tiny chunks or micro pilot projects

Aronson highlights that proving a negative is also a success and is about learning how to succeed and fail without feeling like a failure. The larger goal is about getting people engaged in solving a problem they think is important.

Next, she speaks about the digital transformation journey, noting that the world will continue to evolve and change. Aronson, however, hopes human beings never reach a point where they are satisfied and choose to take a step back.

Elaborating on innovation, she opines that there is a bias toward the IT community and change is discussed today as if it is driven by IT only. Aronson believes that it is not the case, that IT is a catalyst for change. 

She says that she uses technology, data, people, and processes to expedite important objectives. Aronson maintains that she sees the distinctions clearly, and thinks all strategies must be aligned.

CDO Magazine appreciates Dorothy Aronson for sharing her insights and data success stories with our global community.

See more from Dorothy Aronson

It's All About Culture, Not Technology

Having Diversity of Thought is Critical