"Mr. Watson come here; I want you"
It isn't the longest of sentences, but believe it or not this sentence, was a pivotal moment in shaping all our lives.
It was on this day in 1876, that Alexander Graham Bell first uttered these words. Which is considered the first recognisable sentence transmitted by phone.
What is harder to believe, is that the telephone wasn't an instant success. So much so, that Western Union (the communications company) rejected the offer to buy the rights for $100,000 ($2.4M in today's money). Believing that it was inferior and not much of a rival to the telegram.
A decision they later regretted. But by contrast a few months later, a UK company by the name of The Telephone Company (better known today as BT) took on the rights to market it. And well the rest as they say, is history.
There are lessons to be taken from this, even for those of us that work in the Construction Sector. Although admittedly they may not be obvious at first glance.
Number 1 is never be too fixated on one thing and so not being able to see the bigger picture. Technology changes, things advance and the way we do things is ALWAYS evolving. So we have to look at developing technologies and practices and be mindful about the potential, rather than the instant pay off.
Number 2 if you believe in what you're doing, never be deterred. Imagine if after the Western Union rejection, Bell got a crisis of confidence and decided not to pursue with it. Imagine how different everything would be, I mean there is a good chance you are reading this on a smart phone. That wouldn't even be possible if Bell hadn't pushed on after the initial rejection. The Construction sector in the past has been quick to discard things which fall outside "the way it has always been done" and this discourages progress. Just because people don't see the value an idea at the beginning, doesn't always mean it isn't useful.
Lessons like these are an important reminder to us here at SKYE Scaffolding. As our company continues to expand, we have to ensure we at times take a step back and view the bigger picture. When you gain success in anything it is easy to be becoming emotionally attached to a certain way of doing things. So, we constantly review everything we do, regularly stepping back and taking a bird's eye view.
Plus, we encourage a challenge culture within the business, so when an idea or new practice is proposed. We pull and discuss that idea in as many different directions as possible. This way we discuss and extract all the advantages and disadvantages that the practice might represent. To ensure we aren't missing a potential home run.
So, when you place your phone on charge later today, stop for just one second and think about that one sentence uttered by Bell that got you here. Then while you're at it, head over to skyescaffolding.com and see why we are the fastest growing scaffolding company in the country.
Daniel Card
Operations Manager
SKYE Scaffolding