I talk a lot about technology. I think leveraging technology can make many processes and tasks faster and cheaper. Also I have an intense hatred for repetitive tasks. If I have to do something repeatedly I will start thinking of ways to automate it. But I also have to be careful because sometimes the effort to automate a task takes longer than just doing it.
I often wonder are those things that we try to drive with technology really all that necessary? Could we run successful business with out PCs? Like all things, the answer seems to be that it depends.
1) The Tech Situation: Technology is cheap, easy to customize, develop and maintain. Technology changes very quickly and staying on the "cutting-edge" requires a large investment of specialists and money. Technology roll-outs cause serious headaches in-terms of what the industry calls "user-adaption" (simply do people use the new technology or keep to their old habits). Improvements and cost-saving because of technology is often difficult to track as most companies lack a base-line to measure from. Massive technology implementations also involve a lot of training, standardization of processes and involvement of people, so it can be challenging to isolate whether the technology itself caused the improvements or the other processes associated with the technology did it.
2) The Company Situation: Companies today are pretty messy. We have a landscape of mega international MNC (multi-national companies), massive numbers of international holding companies and groups, and endless SME (small, medium-sized enterprises). Every company develops its own systems and process based on the feelings of the founders or a consultant. And the company develops from there. Some companies are highly "technology-centric" using cutting edge equipment and software. While a large majority of companies fall somewhere between manual-process companies and tech-catchupers. This diversity creates an interesting dilemma. Many of these companies were successful using technology that is considered vastly outdated by today's standards. Yet the massive investment in those systems (manual or automated), makes upgrades or modification unappealing.
3) The Solution: Companies that want to modernize, streamline or otherwise improve their companies should start not with technology but with the systems, processes, people and culture at the base of the company. All improvements and changes must make the present systems clearer, simpler, easier and empowering when seen by the people who use them. Technology then comes in at the end. When other avenues have been exhausted, technology solutions can help to improve the clarity, speed, ease and empowerment; they will never create those things.
Can we do business without technology? Yes we can. Should we run our business without technology? Probably not. Technology will be with us whether we like it or not. We shouldn't see technology as the placebo to our worlds problems. Instead technology is a tool that can take us to the next level. The first level is the same as it has always been - people.
*Picture Source: http://www.culturalmultivariate.com
