As many of you know, I spend the majority of my days chatting with business executives and managers. It is my true passion to help these folks get better results out of the hard work they put in every day.
The funny thing is that most of the time in these meetings, we are not talking about Information Technology or computer stuff.
The truth is, I am most certainly not, and never was, the smartest computer guy around. I started Accent Computer Solutions and was a working owner and technician for several years. I was good at finding answers to technical issues for sure, but I was better at communicating with customers and helping find creative ways to solve business problems.
Over the years, the process has been the same. When I get the opportunity to spend a few minutes chatting with business owners and leaders, we end up diving into the business, and the opportunities and challenges of the individual.
Without fail, the owner or manager begins to explain how they plan to reach the objectives we have spent some time talking about. I’ll ask him/her a bunch of questions that get what I would call a “standard” response. And the next few minutes of the time together are MAGIC to me….we begin to hone in on what it would REALLY take to make an impact on the performance of the business.
The fun part is that the results will come from managing the functional groups of the company and getting the most from each department, including IT.
Most of the time, there seems to be a sort of “fog” around just how to get important software applications chosen and/or implemented. Never mind that the leadership team may not even know what they should expect the IT team to be doing on a daily basis.
I love this part. Every time we get to this point in the conversation, GREAT things happen for the owner/manager of the business. It turns out that a small turn of the dial can deliver big results. So awesome.