Are You a Walking Contradiction?
Technology! Everyone has a love-hate relationship, there are days where I feel the same way, but as a small business I could not accomplish as much as I do in a given day without it. The push and pull we feel with technology is the same push and pull we feel as our business grows with other areas like; marketing, staff resources and time.
When you look at your business are you contradicting your growth strategies or the message you send to your staff? Here is an example that happened to me recently. I had a meeting with a long standing client who expressed the concerns they had about being available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This particular client is in an international business. They compete with the big guys by placing service above all else there are no voice mail systems for this client even on the weekends. Impressed by there commitment to service we discussed how technology can play a key role in their success. The partners in the firm take turns being on call over the weekend, always answering their cell phones no matter what time. Again impressive! One of their biggest issues is that many clients are sending more and more emails to report information instead of calling. I recommend they consider getting each partner a blackberry to eliminate the frustration of needing to be near a computer when a major weekend project occurs. One of the partners said to me; "I don't think I want to be that accessible". What message is he sending?
This idea made me think about other situations I have seen working with so many small businesses across the country. How many of us are sending that same message saying here we are ready to serve you no matter what time it is, then when we need them, we get no answer. This is true in large companies as well as small, but since most of my audience is small business I thought I'd ask you all to stop and think about this question. Are you contradicting your own goals?
Here is a common goal: "I want to create a system using my computer that will really allow me to grow and organize my business more effectively." Wonderful, technology can be very helpful in this area. One of the first things we do with our clients is talk about how they approach their business off the computer. Do they have any systems in this area? We discuss their objectives, the software that will fit their needs and time to accomplish these goals. The first 2 are always the easy part of the conversation. Time to learn and commit to using the system is where the contradictions begin for many people. I wish I could make it happen instantly for you and for me, but if you want to grow and get organized using your computer, time is a major investment.
So as we all get out of our summer heads and begin to re-focus for the 4th quarter of 2006 think about what your goals are and where you want to be at the end of this year. Commit to eliminating the contradictions in your business and commit to your successes!
Share your story with us - how has technology helped your business get to a new level? Post a comment here or email me directly to be considered as a guest for an upcoming radio show on technology success stories.
When you look at your business are you contradicting your growth strategies or the message you send to your staff? Here is an example that happened to me recently. I had a meeting with a long standing client who expressed the concerns they had about being available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This particular client is in an international business. They compete with the big guys by placing service above all else there are no voice mail systems for this client even on the weekends. Impressed by there commitment to service we discussed how technology can play a key role in their success. The partners in the firm take turns being on call over the weekend, always answering their cell phones no matter what time. Again impressive! One of their biggest issues is that many clients are sending more and more emails to report information instead of calling. I recommend they consider getting each partner a blackberry to eliminate the frustration of needing to be near a computer when a major weekend project occurs. One of the partners said to me; "I don't think I want to be that accessible". What message is he sending?
This idea made me think about other situations I have seen working with so many small businesses across the country. How many of us are sending that same message saying here we are ready to serve you no matter what time it is, then when we need them, we get no answer. This is true in large companies as well as small, but since most of my audience is small business I thought I'd ask you all to stop and think about this question. Are you contradicting your own goals?
Here is a common goal: "I want to create a system using my computer that will really allow me to grow and organize my business more effectively." Wonderful, technology can be very helpful in this area. One of the first things we do with our clients is talk about how they approach their business off the computer. Do they have any systems in this area? We discuss their objectives, the software that will fit their needs and time to accomplish these goals. The first 2 are always the easy part of the conversation. Time to learn and commit to using the system is where the contradictions begin for many people. I wish I could make it happen instantly for you and for me, but if you want to grow and get organized using your computer, time is a major investment.
So as we all get out of our summer heads and begin to re-focus for the 4th quarter of 2006 think about what your goals are and where you want to be at the end of this year. Commit to eliminating the contradictions in your business and commit to your successes!
Share your story with us - how has technology helped your business get to a new level? Post a comment here or email me directly to be considered as a guest for an upcoming radio show on technology success stories.
1 Comments:
We try to get clients to avoid being a walking contradiction by instituting some process by which they focus on advancing their use of technology. This helps clarify their goals and objectives, and the regular process of meeting or discussing things in essence creates some accountability. Regardless of the pace or the budget, some process that becomes part of their business is the key.
No one wants to be a “walking contradiction” - great term. If you have it, get “cured”!
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