When it comes to IT strategy, most of us were taught to build from the bottom up.
First, you start with infrastructure, then you layer on services and add applications. Then, if you’re lucky, deliver a great user or customer experience at the top.
It’s logical and structured. Essentially, it’s the IT version of Maslow’s hierarchy. Handle the basics first, then aim higher.
But ask yourself this. Is that model still fit for purpose in a world of rapid innovation? What about rising user expectations, or constant change?
Honestly, we don’t think so. That’s why it’s time to rotate the pyramid (literally!) and reframe the way you think about digital transformation.
Introducing the ‘Arrowhead Model’
Take the traditional IT pyramid, and turn it 90 degrees. Now you’re looking at something radically different: an arrowhead.
In this model, experience takes the lead. It’s at the sharp end, where innovation meets impact. Behind it trail the systems, services, and infrastructure needed to support that experience.
This single visual change frees you from a dangerous assumption baked into the pyramid. One that places transformation must always begin at the base, working slowly and sequentially toward a better outcome.
But in fast-moving environments, that doesn’t always work. Legacy systems often stall momentum, with timeframes extending and complexity growing. By the time you ‘reach the top’, the opportunity has moved on.
Leading with the sharp end
What if you started instead with the experience you want to deliver for users, customers, employees, or citizens?
What if you let that experience guide the technical design, not the other way around?
When you decide to lead with experience:
- You stay focused on what actually matters to your stakeholders.
- You reduce waste and unnecessary complexity.
- You make better decisions about partners, platforms, and priorities.
- You allow foundational systems to evolve in service of a purpose, not out of habit.
In the arrowhead model, you and your team sit closer to the tip. You’re nearer to the sharp end, not buried deep in the pyramid’s base.
Resolving the ‘Two Brain Paradox’
In our previous blog, we introduced the Two Brain Paradox. We discussed the challenge of running stable foundational IT, while simultaneously driving innovation.
The arrowhead model offers a path forward. It lets the creative, experience-led thinking of the ‘right brain’ take the lead. Your ‘left brain’, one filled with systems, infrastructure, and governance, supports that direction.
It doesn’t mean ignoring the foundational stuff. All it means is that you’re orienting it around where you want to go, not where you’ve been.
Where do you sit?
Let’s finish up with a short thought experiment. Are you starting with the experience you want to create, or are you still trying to build your way there from the bottom up?
Flip the pyramid. Draw the arrowhead. Start leading from the sharp end.
Remember, the pyramid was built for stability. But transformation demands momentum, and if your strategy still builds from the base, it might be time to rethink the foundation.
Because in today’s world, the sharp end, i.e. experience, is where the real value is delivered.
Need more insights on how to further drive transformation? Read our next blog on SLAs and whether they’re frozen in time.