Business success or failure is all about perspectives. You’ll find many entrepreneurs who can tell you the stories of their shortcomings, because, as it is often the case, success begins in failure. The question that many newcomers to the world of entrepreneurship ask is: How do you know when to carry on and when to give up?
There is no easy answer to it. But everyone agrees that you need to change your approach and reconsider your strategy if you are going to bounce back after a defeat. It’s precisely your ability to approach your processes and tasks with renewed perspectives that can make or break your business. Putting things into perspectives, however, can be a problematic exercise. Indeed, you need to be able to step back to gain an overview of a situation – something that can feel impossible when you are in the middle of a business crisis.
But, the good thing about perspectives is that you don’t need to hit a dry spot to acquire an objective viewpoint; in other words, you don’t need to wait for a crisis to occur to question your understanding of your business processes. This is especially accurate for tech solutions within a company. Indeed, technology is often treated as the almighty answer to most business challenges. If you are worried about your taxes, there’s an accounting tool for that. If you’re unsure about how to assign each task the appropriate amount of time, there’s a time management app to help. As a result, the thoughtless use of technology in the business creates a comatose attitude that slows down creativity and productivity. It’s time to step back and put your digital solutions into perspective, once and for all.
What Do You Call Expensive?
It is the role of a company leader to consider the various expenses, especially in times of difficulties – as some costs need to be reduced or canceled. However, the comparison of costs is not the kind of process that can be performed on a purely numerical basis. Indeed, if you were to compare tech expenses to stationery purchases, you might be tempted to the wrong conclusion that IT cost reduction is necessary to manage your budget. Ultimately, your business is likely to spend more on IT than it does on pens and paper. Does it mean, however, that your team can achieve the same results with fewer IT solutions and more pens? The answer is, of course, not. You need to apply a more complex benchmarking process that lets you compare strategic relations between the workplace environment and the type of IT solutions. In other words, it’s essential to put your IT budget into perspective by taking account of your organization, your specific context and the potential gain/loss from future investments.
Finding The People in the Data
One of the preferred uses of digital technology in the business is its application to marketing activities. Indeed, nowadays, over 90% of online businesses rely on data analytics software tools – Google Analytics is a favorite – which provides insights into their audience behaviors. It makes no doubt to professionals that a company with a digital presence needs digital marketing tracking to monitor customer trends, actions, and online preferences. With a variety of digital marketing tools available – from web traffic tracking to SEO monitoring and on-page eye tracking –, the marketing team has access to a factual breakdown of unique online interactions. However, it can be easy to lose perspective and be blinded by the data. It’s important for teams who work with data accumulating tools to remember that data fail to consider psychological insights. You have to ai for satisfaction, trust, and loyalty as priorities, instead of only reaching a rank position or a specific visitor number.
They Bring People Together by Keeping Them Apart
More and more startups and small businesses have chosen to rely on digital solutions to encourage remote work – which can let them save on office-related costs. However, cloud solutions that provide secure access to business data only address one side of the problem. Indeed, remote teams need more than collaborative tools that enable them to work outside of the office. They need tools that encourage teamwork and the feeling of belonging to a community. While communication tools might not seem like a priority – as calls and emails can tackle most issues – it’s crucial to remember that remote employees are people who want to nurture togetherness without sitting together.
Don’t Confuse Powerful With Productive
There are plenty of imaginative tools available. However, not everything that shines is gold. For office-based professionals, a tool that promises to deliver more powerful is too easily confused with a productivity wizard. In truth, even though a tool can do more, there’s no guarantee that you, as a person, can handle more. Consequently, it’s vital to consider not only how the digital solution affects your day-to-day job, and more importantly, how it adapts to your working routine. When a tool transforms your thinking and productive behavior for the worse, it’s fair to say that its powerful features are wasted on your team.
Does Your Team Achieve More With on the Go Tech?
A typical reaction to our hunger for more tech is to make IT tools more adaptable to everyday situations. As a result, teams that tend to commute as part of their day-to-day activities tend to rely on transportable technology, such as smartphones and laptops. The idea is that you can perform the same tasks on the go. All you need is a Wi-Fi connection, right? Wrong! Portable tech such as smartphones tends to tap into our data bulimia addiction. You don’t just check an email on the go. You lose yourself in a variety of apps, ultimately becoming less effective than if you were working in an office.
Measuring the Effectiveness of a Tech Solution
It’s important to put each tool into the right context; namely, by considering employee feedback. A cheaper solution might tick all the boxes, but it might be wasting employee time – some waste up to 21 days a year on slow tech.
No two IT solution is created the same, and consequently, figuring out what works best for your business is a matter of defining and understanding your specific context? Gaining perspective provides insights on cost, effectiveness, productivity, teamwork, audience mindset, and much more. Don’t take tech for granted!
