5 Warning Signs of a Ponderous Business

They say that the miracle of the dancing bear is not how well it dances, but that it dances at all. That reminds me of some companies I've worked with over the years. They were bloated, ponderous business enterprises that were slow to react to change and burdened down by poor processes. The miracle is not how well they survived, but that they survived at all. In a slow economy, you cannot afford to let your ponderous business slow you further.

Fortunately there are five signs that can warn you if your business is ponderous and slow.

1. Nasty Surprises
Frankly, as a business owner, I hate surprises. Usually because they are rarely good surprises. I can't remember the last time my accountant called me with good news. Do you understand what I mean? Do you get too many nasty surpsies? If you do, there is a serious problem with your information systems.

2. Breakdowns in communication
Do your subordinates know The Big Picture? Are they on board and pulling in the same direction? Are all the teams playing nicely and sharing information with one another? Have meetings ever turned into sessions of "Pass the Blame"? Do people complain about a lack of communication? If you understand what I mean than you have a serious information problem.

3. Constant firefighting
Are you constantly fighting fires? Are you being pulled back and forth by the crisis of the hour? Have you ever had to abandon a crisis to fight a bigger disaster only to be summoned to battle a catastrophe? Is there always something that demands your immediate attention, right now or the world will end? If so, than you have a serious problem.

4. Constant errors
Have you stopped to think what a bad decision can cost your business? Have you ever wondered if the data you use to make decisions is accurate? Do you have evidence of a time when bad data lead to a bad decision? Can bad information cause you to make a career ending error? If so, than you have a serious data problem.

5. Slow response times
Does it take forever to get answers to questions? Do you wait hours/days/weeks for reports? How long does it take a decision to be implemented? How does your company react to adversity? Does your business react smoothly, avoiding obstacles by adapting or does it grind to a halt? If not, than you have a serious problem.

Ponderous Beast
You need to retool your business! You need to trim down and prepare for hard economic times. You need to accomplish more with less and that's just the hard truth of it. If your business is slow to react, does not adapt easily to change, is constantly on the brink of a disaster or has concerns about the quality of information then you need to contact me immediately. I will happily explain how I can solve those problems for you.

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(800) 784-8045 ext. 500

Build Your Skunkworks

In Al Capp's 1934-1977 cartoon series “Li’l Abner” the colorful residents of Dogpatch work diligently to produce illegal moonshine at the Skunk Works. In the 1940's the Lockheed aircraft company’s top secret design, development and production facility was given the same name which they trademarked in 1980. In the 1980's IBM turned to an inhouse skunkworks to figure out the best way to break away from their pure mainframe business model and break into the PC market. And more recently, Motorola's Razr telephone design was completed not at their main R&D facilities but 50 miles away in downtown Chicago.

What makes all these skunkworks similar is that they have all been established outside of typical corporate management constraints. Designers and engineers are given the freedom to innovate and develop ideas that might otherwise not fall within the corporate mold. Usually a skunkworks is a small team with a laissez-faire manager who allows their creativity to reign.


However the original purpose behind the corporate skunkworks was the development of new ideas that would launch radical new technologies like the U2 spy plane. Now a well run skunkworks works closely with marketing, sales and other company departments in order to design new products and services that will help you steal customers from your competition. The old concept of the Young Turks bent on overthrowing all corporate standards fell prey to the cost reduction era of the 1990's. Now, a well run skunkworks will help your business innovate and develop the next generation of products and services.

Ideal Use of Web 2.0 for the Enterprise

Web 2.0 is about the liberation of ideas. It is about establishing a democracy of ideas where the best concepts rise to the top. It is about unleashing the powers of decentralization within highly regimented and centralized organizations. It permits for the free flow of ideas and innovation within an organization without limits imposed by heirarchy and departmental structure.

When properly implemented a Web 2.0 strategy for the enterprise can be an enormous benefit as a means of building entreprise-wide collaboration and information exchange. Therefore, any ideal implementation of Web 2.0 within the enterprise must keep all this in mind.

For enterprise Web 2.0 strategies and development, contact R-Squared Computing.

Bottom Line Green

Everyone is talking about "green" these days. Businesses are being chastised by the media and their customers for failing to adopt green strategies. Con artists have made uncounted millions by selling "carbon offsets" to people who feel guilty for having purchased an SUV. CIO's are being tasked with creating green IT plans because apparently they don't have enough work to do. Even T. Boone Pickens has jumped on the bandwagon to promote a greener America.

Frankly, I am of the opinion that the only "green" that means anything is in my bank account. But apparently after Al Gore invented the Internet, he also invented global warming so we must all be good stewards of our planet. Granted $4 per gallon of gas might have something to do with it too.

Unfortunately, too many of the pundits that are offering their opinions have got it all wrong. They are all promoting (i.e. selling) their own solutions that don't examine your actual business needs. Remember, environmental green is nice, but green money is why you're in business!

Any good "green" plan for business must be Bottom Line Green, meaning it makes sense as a business investment. That means eliminating waste and reducing energy consumption, both of which translate into real profits. This means adopting strategies that cut down on consumption within the business. This is as simple as asking people to stop printing their emails or as direct as installing solar power collectors.

Whatever strategy you choose to implement, be sure you are working with a partner that understands your business and can help you find the best options. Not just whatever he happens to be selling.

Click here to learn more about R-Squared's Green Initiatives.

Hassle-free CRM Software Implementations

Customer relationship management (CRM) software is a centralized system for managing and tracking all your business information relating to your customers. Like all technology, a good CRM system must be well thought out and planned before integration into your infrastructure.

Pre-Implementation
Aside from the hardware and CRM software, a properly planned CRM integration begins in the Pre-Implementation Phase. Most projects fail because of poor pre-planning. You must understand and quantify all the requirements, costs and stakeholder support. Below is a sample checklist of pre-implementation issues to address prior to any CRM integration project:

1. Create a realistic timeline
2. Specify practical hardware requirements the CRM software, factoring in intermediate term growth in storage and processing needs
3. Win key stakeholder buy-in by including them in the design/decision process
4. Examine the relevant processes against industry best practices; determine which processes require changing and make plans to accomodate those changes
5. Calculate a budget with some padding
6. Set your final implementation goals
7. Develop your integration strategy

CRM System Options
Any good in-house CRM system is driven by a mainstream database that’s widely supported. This type of CRM software requires a client/server infrastructure and a good technical support team. Your IT staff may require additional training and support, and you may need to expand your infrastructure. In-house systems are ideal if you are dealing with sensitive client information and you want to manage your own security arrangements

The other option is a hosted CRM software. In this case, the CRM database resides outside your organization in a secure environment eliminating the need for hardware investments. An internet browser and high-speed internet connection are the required elements. With a hosted CRM solution your business will still need to be networked, and a good IT team is crucial for user training, buy-in, and support.

End of IT Projects

The brilliant Paul Coby, CIO of British Airways led a session at Forrester's IT Forum EMEA in Lisbon. This event caters to over 600 CIOs, enterprise architects, application developers, infrastructure and operations professionals to share best practices.

The most notable quote from the session:
"There are no such things as IT projects -- there are only business projects."

If technology is going to make a real impact on business, then we must stop thinking of it solely from the IT perspective. The best CIO's will understand that IT is a function of the entire business and will operate accordingly.

Get your head out of the sand! Understand the real business case for the project and then get to work.

Preparing for $200 Oil

Regardless of when oil hits the $200 per barrel figure, it is time to start preparing for the realities of the energy crunch. As such, information technology departments must start preparing to support remote workers.

The cost of employees goes beyond the normal metrics tracked by the HR department. In addition to salary and benefits, the smart enterprise will also begin to track the energy consumption of their workers. Every time someone enters and leaves your offices, they are impacting energy costs. The figures skyrocket when you also include the electrical impact of computers, desktop calculators, personal digital devices, light fixtures, coffee machines, refrigerators, water heaters, electric staplers, printers and all other electronics.

So, the smart enterprise will encourage their workers to telecommute. Your employees will be happy because they will save money on gasoline, tolls and wear on their automobiles. They will also be spared the stress of the daily commute. With computers, worker productivity is easy to measure so you don't need to worry about employees wasting time.

What all this means is that IT departments need to start preparing for telecommuting now. They need to adapt to the realities of the energy crunch. While many pundits are touting the advantages of "greening" your IT, by implementing a telecommuting strategy you will be reducing your total business impact on the environment and saving money too.