Doing Nothing Is Very Hard To Do, You Never Know When You're Done. - Leslie Nielsen
Bill Floyd
Technology can be paralyzing. In any situation where the participants
are confused, conflicted or feel inadequate the tendency is to do
nothing which is almost always the wrong move. You might be frozen in
your tracks for a short while if a tank was about to run you over, but
it would either be short-lived or your successor would be reading your
eulogy while trying to not look too elated about the opportunity you
just handed him. Usually offense is the best defense. This was the case
when distribution was first invaded by the big box stores.
Reaction #1: Ignore them. Just hope they were going to go away. Wait them out and hope any business loss would be minimal.
Reaction #2: Acknowledgement. Gather your group of ostriches together and announce that those !!?&$"?? are obviously here to stay. Now, what do we do about it?
Reaction #3: Compete. Put on your big-boy pants and change the way you do business. Learn from them. "My core business is solid but upgrades and improvements are long overdue." That alarm clock has been ringing for a long time. WAKE UP! GET OUT OF BED! That's what competition does to you. It throws cold water in your face and makes you shake the groggies..
Technology has basically the same effect, only in retrospect, the big box scare was a mere tremor, technology is a genuine earthquake. It's hard to be proactive in this ever-changing environment. That's what they said to General Custer while the arrows were zinging over his head. You have no choice. The best strategy is don't be afraid. Easy to say isn't it, but every experience is a learning opportunity. At the same time look for experienced partners (especially from your industry) to help you out and to minimize your risk. There will be no shortage of "experts" standing in line to help you, but not all will have the same résumé or industry experience. Size is not necessarily an advantage. Yes, David can still beat Goliath here. A Ferrari without a road map still loses to a VW that knows where it's going. Technology is great but only when practically applied to solve real problems. The combination of understanding those problems and having the internal technical expertise to fix them is rare. There are companies that know technology but don't understand how your industry works. Don't volunteer to be their experiment.
If you need help we're standing by the SMART PHONE to talk to you. Contact us.
Reaction #1: Ignore them. Just hope they were going to go away. Wait them out and hope any business loss would be minimal.
Reaction #2: Acknowledgement. Gather your group of ostriches together and announce that those !!?&$"?? are obviously here to stay. Now, what do we do about it?
Reaction #3: Compete. Put on your big-boy pants and change the way you do business. Learn from them. "My core business is solid but upgrades and improvements are long overdue." That alarm clock has been ringing for a long time. WAKE UP! GET OUT OF BED! That's what competition does to you. It throws cold water in your face and makes you shake the groggies..
Technology has basically the same effect, only in retrospect, the big box scare was a mere tremor, technology is a genuine earthquake. It's hard to be proactive in this ever-changing environment. That's what they said to General Custer while the arrows were zinging over his head. You have no choice. The best strategy is don't be afraid. Easy to say isn't it, but every experience is a learning opportunity. At the same time look for experienced partners (especially from your industry) to help you out and to minimize your risk. There will be no shortage of "experts" standing in line to help you, but not all will have the same résumé or industry experience. Size is not necessarily an advantage. Yes, David can still beat Goliath here. A Ferrari without a road map still loses to a VW that knows where it's going. Technology is great but only when practically applied to solve real problems. The combination of understanding those problems and having the internal technical expertise to fix them is rare. There are companies that know technology but don't understand how your industry works. Don't volunteer to be their experiment.
If you need help we're standing by the SMART PHONE to talk to you. Contact us.
