Technology by nature is nebulous and free form. When I owned Integrated Sales Management we sold Customer Relationship Management software into mid size organizations. The number one question without fail that clients asked was "can your software do __________?". And my answer was always yes, because we can make the software do almost anything. But the real answer came only after truly understanding our client's needs and what should and shouldn't be automated.
Most people focus on technology's ability to perform x function or y function and spend very little time defining their own requirements and planning out a strategy for implementing technology. But in reality, if you develop your systems on the fly its like trying to sail a sail boat while make it at the same time.
For instance, most investment firms offer an investor page in their website. At best most will offer some self flattering company information, a couple of old reports as well as a "news" section. But in reality this offers little or no value to the investor and you end up with a useless part of your website that cost you extra.
Here's where a plan would have come into play. First, ask the question of "what do my investors need and is providing it to them online valuable?". Each answer is unique, but in general, you'll probably find that most investors value visibility into their investments almost as much as their distribution checks. That's right. Most of the complaints I hear from investors is that they don't get consistent reporting in a timely manner. At to boot, it makes them feel very uncomfortable and dissatisfied for them to call you up and request updates on how their money is doing.
Therefore, there are three considerations before you implement any new technology such as Online Reporting - of which I'll use as an example.
1. What kind of reports and information do I need to provide for my investors, and how often? Consider if you want to provide just property level detail or portfolio level detail. Many of my investors are in multiple deals and therefore, they want to know property level detail as well as how all of their investments with me are doing. Therefore, I have to consider the software requirements for each need and especially since both requirements typically come from two different software packages.
2. Articulate Your Critical Processes and Stay Focused: Remember when I wrote that my answer to a software capability was yes? It's true because most software packages are very flexible and able to scale. While this is inherently a good thing it can also lead to your doom and destruction. What is best is to first identify your mission critical requirements and stick to those. It's tempting to add functionality to a new technology when you're half way into your implementation but I beseech you - don't! Stay focused and keep things simple. Only develop and implement technology for what you need today yet keep your eye and vision on the future. Yes, make sure your solutions scale but don't try to accomplish everything at once. Roll things out in phases and with test groups. It's better to move a little slower and get things right than it is to move quick and end up with a half completed mess that cost a lot of money.
3. Are You, YOURSELF, Committed to the Project? I've seen way too many owners and executives preach to me that they are committed to implementing a new technology solution only to hand it off to someone who has no decision making authority and even less vision and know how. This does not mean you have to implement everything yourself. But you do have to lead and constantly reinforce to your people that you're serious about implementing a new solution and how it will benefit them too.
These are the three basic rules you need to know and follow in order to get the most out of technology. I can't overstate the importance of having a clearly defined plan and commitment to any new technology your are considering implementing. So it's worth your time and money to devote a lot of planning and white boarding time. And you'll actually be surprised at how much you learn about your own business during this planning time. So, have fund and be well.
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