The Story of the Clever Business

Based on two interesting, yet true stories. The names of the characters have been changed to protect the......well they've just been changed.

Once upon a time, there was a business. It was a #clever #business that did clever things just like #customers wanted. It was like a shining star with extra sparkles. And because it did clever things just like customers wanted, it found lots of customers and made lots of money!

One day, some clever people inside the clever business had a clever idea. "We've got so many customers, but we think we need some help making sure that we can keep making them happy. We think we might like some clever software to help run our clever business".

The people in the clever business all cheered - another clever idea!

The next day the clever business talked to the first #software company called Mynamics. The Mynamics person was big and tall, with pointy shoes and hair like a cockatoo! He told the clever business that they didn't know what they were doing, even though the clever business had lots of customers who loved them dearly!

The man from Mynamics sneered at the people from the clever business. "You shouldn't do things that way! Our software will teach you how to do things properly! If you're really clever, you'll do things our way!"

That made the people from the clever business mad. They knew that the way they did things was a bit different, but that's why they had lots of very happy customers. That's why they shined like a star with extra sparkles. They said to the Mynamics man, "It's our business, and we want our rules. No Thank You!"

And they sent the Mynamics man away.

The next day they talked to a second software company called SweetNet. The SweetNet lady was very sweet and smiled a lot! She told the clever business that they could have whatever they wanted - all they had to do was sign the magic contract.

The people at the clever business scratched their heads. "SweetNet haven't even come and visited us, how could they possibly know how clever we are and how much our customers love us? How will they know why we shine like a star with extra sparkles?"

And then the people from the clever business looked at the price on the magic contract from SweetNet.

"Holy smoking hard drives! You want how much? And how much would it be to change something? You haven't even visited us, had tea or biscuits or asked to meet any of the clever people that work in our clever business! No Thank You!"

And they finished the online meeting with the SweetNet lady.

By this time the people at the clever business were feeling sad. They didn't know where to find another clever business like them that made clever software for clever businesses. But just like magic, they found a third software company.

A few days later, they talked to a third software company called NEXUSsoft. The lady from NEXUSsoft came and visited the clever business and they all drank tea and ate biscuits! The people from the clever business got to tell stories about all the clever things they did and the lady from NEXUSsoft asked lots of interesting questions. She could see why the clever business shined like a star with extra sparkles, and why they had lots and lots of customers who dearly loved them.

But then the NEXUSsoft lady asked the most important question of all. "You're a clever business, doing clever things for customers that clearly love you. How would you like your new software to do things?

And the people at the clever business cheered.

"Finally, a clever business like us that can do clever software things just like we want!"?

And they all lived happily after.

There are three morals to this story:

1. If your business does things a bit differently and it's working, be suspicious of anyone telling you to do things another way. Citing "Industry Best Practice" is also another way of saying "The way you do things is too hard for our software"
2. The cost to implement, use and change business software can be significant both in terms of money and time. Every business will need to change the way their software does things at some time or another. Find out how much some changes might cost before you go signing any contracts.
3. It's nice to do business with people that actually will have tea and biscuits with you and take some time in person to get to know your business.