3 Fundamentals of Building a Great Business
Most companies still see technology as a necessary evil.
As someone who spends thousands of hours each year developing technology solutions for business leaders, I get it.
For them, technology problems can often feel like the proverbial monkey on their back that they're never able to shake off.
If you feel that way, I hope you can find some relief in knowing you're not alone.
Today, I'm going to share a personal experience that will show you exactly how you can change the relationship you have with technology.
For the past 20 years, it's been my job to help companies see that embracing and leveraging the power of technology, is actually the key to unlocking their company's full potential- and I've decided to share some of my secret sauce with you here.
Below I share a story that uncovers the top three fundamentals that separate industry-leading companies from the rest, and here's a hint: they all have to do with the company's technology. Before I give these to you, know that these fundamentals have nothing to do with the size of your company or your budget. They have nothing to do with your current IT setup or the size of your IT team. They don't even require a background in IT to implement.
That's the beauty of technology today, and it's why after reading this, your company may be on the brink of it's biggest quarter yet.
FUNDAMENTAL ONE: Recognize The Importance Of Technology In Your Workplace
It doesn't matter what niche your company specializes in; technology is already at the center of everything you do.
The question is, what are you doing about it?
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with a UTCA (Utility & Transportation Contractors Association) member who realized this the hard way.
They were running on an outdated network and infrastructure, which meant everything they had tirelessly worked to build was sitting exposed to outside security threats. Their computers were sluggish and constantly slowing them down. Their phone service was spotty at best, and to top things off, their IT Director had given notice that he was going to leave the company.
Remember that proverbial monkey on the back? Well, this was a 500-pound gorilla.
I sat across the table from their leadership team and listened as they walked me through their situation. We spoke about the issues that kept them awake at night. We also talked about their vision for the company and the goals they hoped to accomplish in the coming years. Right away, my team and I got to work. We put together a comprehensive IT assessment for them in a matter of days.
This assessment didn't cost them a dime, and it gave them everything they needed to solve their company's biggest challenges. More than just solving problems, this assessment served as a roadmap that could help them get back on track and ultimately help them reach every one of their goals.
The truth is, no company reaches its potential while on autopilot. It takes intention, and for a lot of companies, that starts by recognizing the critical role that technology is already playing in their workplace- for better or for worse.
FUNDAMENTAL TWO: Don't Be Afraid To Ask The Tough Questions
When this company's IT director put in their notice, it immediately generated uncertainty and a lot of questions.
Their natural inclination was to start swiftly interviewing replacements as an attempt to minimize risk and avoid impact on the company's operations. To them, that seemed like the only rational response.
But was it?
It today's fast-paced work environment, having an in-house IT director always seems like the right decision. But, if you were to ask most business leaders why they thought that, they don't usually have an answer.
To understand if an in-house IT director was the right decision for them, we took an even deeper dive into their company and conducted an in-depth analysis of their entire IT department.
We then organized all of our findings into a pros and cons list that we reviewed with them in-person.
It turned out that they weren't benefitting nearly as much as they thought they were by having a full-time IT director on-site.
In fact, it led to headaches every time their director went on vacation or called in sick. At the end of the day, it cost them way more than they had initially thought.
It turns out, having an IT director on-site wasn't the best choice after all. But, they still needed someone to help them navigate all of their IT issues.
That's when we introduced outsourcing. For less money, they were able to bring on our entire team of IT specialists at Mindcore. This gave them had access to real-time support and on-demand coaching 24/7, 365 days a year.
The best part is that they didn't have to deal with the hassle of hiring and onboarding new staff, offering benefits, or worrying about staff retention. Outsourcing also allowed them to streamline their entire company, which immediately made them more efficient and responsive.
Thanks to our monthly IT strategy meetings, they received way more strategic planning and risk management than they were getting with their past IT director. If they had rushed into hiring the next IT director, they would have missed out on the opportunity to enhance the way they did business. They also would have paid a lot more money in the process.
It all started from being willing to ask the tough questions.
FUNDAMENTAL THREE: Leverage Technology To Scale Your Business
I'm a tech-consultant, but at the end of the day, I'm still a CEO, which means that I know technology is only as good as where it takes you.
I can talk to you for hours about how our cloud services are the most secure on the marketplace, but what's the point if those same cloud services don't help you protect and scale your business?
That's why we never present a single IT solution without first understanding the direction your company is going in.
For example, do you want to become the best in your field? We have technology solutions that can help you do that. Do you want to expand and grow your capacity so that you can take on more projects simultaneously? There's technology for that.
Are you tired of the revolving door of IT consultants who don't take the time to understand your business needs?
Yes, we can put an end to that too.
After we finished our free assessment and in-depth analysis, we started to help the leadership team implement the right technology that would help them reach every one of their business goals.
Within the first two months, nearly every IT problem they suffered from went away– and this time for good. Within three months, they called me up to say, "Wow! This was a great decision. This is transforming how we do business!".
This is why we do what we do. It's why I always say we're not in the technology business- we're in the transformative solutions business.
A belief in the value of technology was never the problem for this firm. The problem was a cloudy set of lenses. The lenses through which business needs and technology solutions were viewed, needed to be focused. Once we came in to help, we focused on solving the problems that would transform the operations, and set the firm up to scale and expand with ease.
To learn more about Mindcore, you can check out our website. Mind-core.com
To read more technology related articles, you can check out our blog page here: Mind-core.com/blogs