In business, technology is always placed in the “expenses” column of the balance sheet. With that kind of perception, management will always be antagonistic to technology because it costs them money. Instead, put technology systems in the “assets” column where they belong. Doing so will then reinforce the reality that technology is an asset, and investing in that asset produces returns: that is, technology makes you money.
Some basic technology tips for business managers:
1. You don’t understand computers and you likely never will. This is not a flaw in your character or laziness on your part. Technology is hard and complicated and you have a real job to do anyway. Delegate technology to someone who actually understands it (me!) and let that person worry about megabytes and gigahertz.
2. Never ask for a line-item quote. Resist the temptation to understand each “part” of a solution and take your red pen through items that your technology professional can’t convince you that you need. Re-read rule number one. You don’t understand this stuff anyway. Realize that the professional recommending these items isn’t using your money to play with toys. Yes, there are unscrupulous folk out there and you should ask questions to test the character of your technology pro. However, do NOT under any circumstances start pulling hundred-dollar items off the list. You may temporarily enjoy the “shoppers high” of saving a few bucks, but you will unknowingly cause massive problems and headaches. Again, you don’t understand this stuff and if the pro says you need it, you need it.
3. Buy early, buy often. Computers get old after 2-3 years. They’ve done that since 1981 and there’s no sign it’s going to stop. You will not single-handedly change the way technology works by futilely demanding that all computers last 5 years. Also, resist the temptation to wait to upgrade. Everyone knows that whatever you buy today will be insanely cheap in 6 months - you will not be seen as some dope who got screwed. It happens to everyone. What you need to do is make that upgrade (investment) TODAY so you can get ahead of the short-sighted lump who’s putting off that upgrade thinking he’s saving the bottom line.
4. Build a good foundation. You don’t ask the contractor to cut corners on your home’s foundation, so don’t do it with technology. Run a lot of cabling - more than you need NOW - because you’re going to need it later. Buy more servers than you think you need - you’ll use them anyway and you’ll have a spare for when one of them inevitably fails on you. Buy good, hefty mice and keyboards and SAVE THEM during upgrades. You’d be surprised what you spend on replacing those $15 3-month-lifespan mice. Buy good quality, BIG flat screen displays (19″ minimum) and give every employee 2 screens - that *alone* has been proven to increase productivity by 15%-20%. Volume License all of your Microsoft software. Bring your email in-house with Exchange and get a third party to filter your email for spam.
5. Train your people. A well trained user with a 10-year-old system is vastly more productive than an untrained user with the latest technology. Investing in your employees is never a bad thing, anyway. Besides, you’ll see fewer help desk calls (which saves money) and you’ll see people actually doing and producing more (which makes money).
6. Get away from paper. Don’t jump on the “paperless office” hype - that kind of fanaticism is dangerous. Paper will be around for awhile, so don’t shun it all at once as if every sheet were laced with the plague. But don’t replicate paper. Kill the copier and get a scanner. Invest in fax-to-email technology and eliminate the idiotic process of printing an email so you can fax it someone. Don’t create forms - get a company Intranet and use online forms with reporting and search capability to manage all your in-house documentation. And banish those lousy PostIT notes and get a notes management application (or learn to use Outlook) so your note to remind you to do something will actually remind you!
More to come…
