What Is It You Do Again?
I always find it interesting when my wife and I get together with other couples, because I'm not the typical male macho type. While the husbands in our friendships are out building decks and fixing their own automobiles, I'm at home figuring out a new programming algorithm or designing a web application. And when the conversation moves to what kinds of hot rods were shown in The Fast and the Furious, I start getting a glazed look in my eyes.
But I'm okay with that. And I think (hope?) my wife is too. She learned a long time ago that if she wants something fixed on our car or around the house, she will likely have to do it herself, if she wants it done right. Otherwise we'll have to hire someone who knows what they’re doing. Let me be clear. It's not that I can't do these things or am unwilling to try. It just usually takes me several hours or days longer than other people with modest physical skills would take, to do the same basic project.
Not Fooling Ourselves
So rather than try to kid myself, or invest huge amounts of time and money trying to be what I'm not, I've learned to respect my own strengths and limitations, and to focus on doing what I do best. Because I know if I spend most of my time doing what I do well, I won't mind paying other people to do what they do best.
So what does all this have to do with Technology Fit? I'm glad you asked! A lot of businesses seem to approach their use of technology from the "I've got to show myself to be a macho man" philosophy. Maybe you've fallen into this trap too. Just like I've sometimes done with home repairs, you think you have to do it yourself with technology, no matter how badly you do it. Otherwise, you think you've somehow fallen short of some kind of macho business ideal.
Why Do We Do It?
What makes us think this way? The main thing that comes to mind is money. We look at what the people who supposedly know what they're doing charge, to do what they do, and we want to avoid that price at all cost. But that is just the point. There is price and there is cost. If we do it ourselves we will avoid paying the price, it's true. But what is it going to cost us to do so?
You may have heard the story of the clothing factory that called in an expert to fix their broken sewing machine. He came in, looked at the machine for about 5 minutes, and then tapped it lightly at a specific spot. The machine began to work again! Then he wrote up his bill for $500. When the factory foreman expressed dismay at the bill and asked him what the service person did that could possibly be worth $500, the service person rewrote his bill with a breakdown of the charge. It read $3.50 for tapping, and $496.50 for knowing where to tap.
What Business Are You In?
What we need to realize is that few people are as good at what we do as we are. That's why we're in business: to do what we do best. And hopefully just like that repair person, people pay us good money to do it. Every time we deflect ourselves from doing what we do best, it costs us in lost revenues and lost time. And every time we deflect ourselves to do things we don't do well, we're wasting time we could spend doing what we do best. That may be alright when it's our spare time around the house. It makes little sense in the context of out day to day business direction. [I changed the “your” to “our” to keep with the “we/our” voice of the rest of the paragraph.]
When it comes to Technology Fit, unless your company is a technology company, you should take a long, hard look at whether you should be in the technology business. It's easy to slip into the “macho” habit. Every business needs technology, and technology often doesn't come cheap. The temptation to try to cut corners to avoid paying the price is great.
Doing What You Do Best
But just like it makes little sense for everybody who needs your product or service to go out and manufacture it or learn to do it themselves, it makes no sense to try to be your own technology company either. You can never save yourself to success, but if you spend your time doing the things that bring success, you'll be more than able to pay for all the services your business requires to succeed That includes meeting its technology needs.
Every now and then it's important to ask yourself, "What is it we do again?" Then you can review your commitments to ensure that your valuable energies are not being deflected from your true business mission. Only then will you have the right Technology Fit for your organization
Kel Good
MCT, MCITP, MCPD, MCSD for Microsoft.NET
Kel Good is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Developer who specializes in consulting with business decision makers and managers regarding the
Technology Fit of their organizations.
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