100 Years From Now, They'll Laugh At Our Information Technology

100 years ago, in 1921, this Ford Model T was the best-selling automobile in the United States. To own one of these Ford Model T’s, you had to be reasonably skilled as a mechanic. Breakdowns were common and cross-country trips were out of the question for the average driver. I know this; I owned a 1929 Model A for a while. Even though my Dad, my brother-in-law, and I rebuilt that car from the ground up, it still required frequent maintenance and repair, often on the road. Today, we don’t think much at all about a road trip to almost anywhere. The biggest concerns are fuel, food, and rest. 

Think about that in the context of our computers. 100 years from now, people are not going to be able to comprehend what we think of as normal. Just like a driver in 1921, we must have some knowledge of how these things work and guard against failure. But, too often, we don’t think about “what if”, even though failure is quite common. I also know this; I’m the IT guy when the IT guys aren’t around. I’ve heard the horror stories.

IT systems, no matter how reliable we try to make them, remain imperfect and subject to all kinds of failures. Power outages, internet interruptions, fiber optic cuts, dead batteries, malware, emergency software updates – the list is endless – all have the ability to impact our work in very negative ways. 

Every last one of us has this experience. Yet, it is very common to hear that someone only had one plan for making a presentation in court, to a client, or an internal meeting. It’s a bit like taking off in a Model T from New York to Chicago without any equipment to make a repair along the way. If you make it, you are very lucky.

Here are some things to think about:

1.     Don’t rely on a network connection. Download everything you might need for your presentation to a laptop or other “local” device. 

2.     Don’t rely on power. Make sure you use a battery powered device and make sure it is charged.

3.     Don’t rely on your hard drive. Flash drives are cheap and have tremendous capacity. Put an extra copy on USB flash drive so you can run it from any device that might be available to you.

4.     Assume that wherever you are, nothing will be available to you except what you brought with you. What do you need to make an effective presentation? A screen? A projector? A hotspot? Don’t assume the place you are going can accommodate you. Bring your stuff. Leave it piled up in a corner if you don’t use it (don’t leave tech in a car – it’ll be gone in 60 seconds), but have it just in case.

5.     Will you need to communicate by email? What if the email server isn’t working? Do your contacts know your personal email? How about text?

There are probably dozens of ways things can go wrong. Think your way through it and make a plan for every contingency you can come up with. Not only will this improve the odds that you will be able to do your job flawlessly, it will significantly improve your confidence and lower your anxiety. 

And I think we all know what kind of impression a confident, prepared presenter can make on an audience.