Founder's Thoughts: The pros and cons of technology

Today has just about finished me off internet and technology wise, as from my own experience in the last couple of months alone what was once wonderful and helpful for all is now becoming almost too problematic to even consider bothering with. Why is that though. Surely all problems have a logical and ethical solution... don't they? Well yes they do but with something as powerful and as influential as the internet that would take some doing.

Think about it... to fix ever single glitch takes not just one highly intelligent team of professional boffins but thousands of them at least. And in the meantime what are all it's customers supposed to do while that is happening? Stop functioning altogether? Nope... we do the sensible thing and stop hounding, moaning and complaining and revert to old tried and tested methods of communication prior to the advent of the internet is what we do. We calm down because let's face it... aren't we ALL rather overloaded by the pace of life and progress anyway? Couldn't we all do with slowing up.

To take one example from today... Twitter is busy trying to improve it's facilities to cope with ever increasing demand and, no doubt in response to what we ourselves are screaming out for. Unlike other services, Twitter can not just close up shop for a week while it does that as it would cause chaos, so it does it's best to fix things 'live'. Being an American company, of course we in Britain get the worst of it because during our working day, most of American (a larger business and social population) sleeps.

In addition to close down for repairs facilities such as social media have to agree globally on a shut-down time schedule which automatically turns it into a global political nightmare if you think about it. Is that really likely to happen in the next 50 years given mankind's history on this planet... I mean... really. We all know it ought to be possible but... realistically, is it in our lifetime.

So my advice on all this is very simple. Take the opportunity to relax, meet people in the flesh and to review your own contingency plans should the internet ever fail completely. Could you cope? I have a hunch you could even if telecommunications failed too. The reason I think that is logical too... it's better than the alternative and we already have functioned wonderfully well prior to the advent of the internet and technological revolution/explosion. They are tools only. Use them if they help. Don't use them if they don't. Simple as that.

Sorry to all those expecting Part 2 of my Jobsite list (for the most disadvantaged), but actually I'd rather get more links in properly listed anyway, so I am grateful for the chance to rest up myself so that I will be in better shape to do just that.

If you can get onto to Twitter though and are in anyway disadvantaged... just see the many organisations, companies and initiatives that I currently follow to help you get started. That's after all the bit I haven't got round to listing anyway, and frankly I could spend all day everyday collecting more, but I know you can do these things (with or without a bit of help) all by yourselves anyway. Eventually I will publish what I've got... maybe even tomorrow just as it is. Be patient (because no one wants to be ill with stress), and take your time to get what you both need and want. Needs always outrank wants.

I think I spend the rest of the day doing more arty things now, or at least until I am ready to try again.

Hope that helps avert a panic!

Founders Thoughts: Where are we heading and why?

The primary reason I am passionate about the arts is that they are the safest of all havens for all our thoughts, feelings and opinions. It is there and nowhere else that we have an absolute freedom to express ourselves regardless of the judgement, prejudice and criticism of others. Whether we share such personal expressions is entirely in our own hands, but I would argue in many ways we are foolish not to because it is the safe outlet for our fears, doubts, outrages, anger and deep concerns. It is also though, the home of our laughter, our joys and most of all our dreams of a Utopian world.

If we take a look at how science fiction has become science fact at an alarming rate this becomes more obvious, yet it is just one example of how the arts can help us. (Stick with me and I'll explain how and why I believe it can help even in business terms). From science facts come new initiatives to help with solving health care, new inventions for manufacturing and every kind of product which in turn inspire the arts to generate a whole new batch of dreams.

Any word in the English language ending in 'ology' is a science (a study of), so the relatively new kids on the block of sociology and psychology also are beginning to play a huge part in influencing where we are heading and why but, their influence is not powerful enough yet to help us to avoid the pitfalls that we as a species keep repeating because we are fallible. All of us are fallible, without any exception.

Sadly the truth is, we will never become less prone to cock-ups unless and until we learn to be honest about our own faults, face the hard lessons that they teach head on to overcome them before we can ever hope to avoid the repeated mistakes of mankind since we learnt to think. 

That in essence is the nub of all our problems in my opinion. No, I am not the Messiah or Einstein but frankly for the mess we've collectively made of things, if I were God I would be throwing rocks at the planet by now too simply out of frustration for not learning from our mistakes.

What I feel needs to happen is for us all to stop, pause and reflect and use our capacity to be logical and ethical to collectively work things out through negotiation and yes, through tough decisions and measures to stand a chance of cracking this eternal knot of boom and bust, rich and poor, famine and feast etc etc. On our side we have information, but what use is it if we are only going to waste it by continually deploying it as a weapon instead of using it as an asset that can help.

Information is power

Scary to think how much information every government has on it's people. In safe hands it should never be a problem, but sadly we can not ever guarantee we have safe hands as power has this nasty habit of corrupting and confusing even the best of us. Perhaps though if the world leaders were to agree to use personal information to help identify people at risk or those likely to commit crimes we might start to get somewhere rather nice. Interesting fact: 75% of criminals are illiterate! Er... hel-lo! So what does that tell us then? It tells us that to reduce crime all we have to do is find other ways to teach people to read, write and count. Viola! One problem could be solved as easily as that.

A question of money

Here we go... This is the most problematic issue of all to agree to get right to be fair to all. As I've stated many times before I have no problem with people earning huge salaries so long as they pay their taxes and sadly some of the worst offenders of all are big businesses including many multi-nationals. This I hope explains why I am so passionate about social enterprises as that model, in it's myriad of forms, I believe is the way forward because... at it's core it means that we can only ALL benefit, simply by giving back to the communities which precisely are what the foundation stones that supports everything we do and supply everything we need to be able to function. It really is (or could be) that simple.

Finally, and this is something I have learnt from psychology, we all have the capacity to imagine ourselves to be as wise as Solomon or as villainous as Hitler. Which do you and your loved ones wish to be? It comes down to a matter of choice and in that choice we can all do a bit to help each other just from our own doorstep, be it at work, in the community or at home with our personal relationships. There really never need be a situation whereby a few are responsible for so much if we all help. It is perhaps the most sad indictment of all that we have awards for what we consider to be remarkable people for their dedication to caring for others. Surely we all should share in such accolades for do we not all have that capacity?

"Never in the field of human conflict does so
much depend upon so few to rectify so much." 

Mel Dixon 2013

Are we a team or not? Do we want to be? More pointedly, do we need to be?

Operations: Marketing for all - databases

I am tempted to start regular monthly posts on the theme of Marketing for All, but I am no expert in the field and there are plenty of organisations out there who are. Social media professionals are just one side to that. However, what I do intend to do is share the basic ground rules over the coming months just as I did with my Connecting You article. As and when I do, they will appear with the heading Marketing for All.

All these things are covered by a whole raft of business adviser services far more comprehensively than I could achieve as I haven't full knowledge. As business people we need to choose from the vast array of options out there on the basis of which suit us best. They need to suit our ethics and policies, our style and nature of work and perhaps most importantly our way of communicating. We simple can not learn or gain from people who we struggle to understand. Much depends on the vocabulary used in each case. As people, we are drawn to others who communicate as we do, on the same level - more so if they share the same sense of humour and way of thinking. It's a fact - why lie about it? It doesn't preclude trading with others too, does it?

So, to business...

The value of marketing
The reason marketing has turned into such a vast industry in it's own right is simple... we can not hope to sell our products and services if we don't tell people about them. From there it starts to become obvious that to cut back on networking, advertising and promotional activities is extremely unwise in times of economic crisis and yet it often becomes one of the first things to suffer. That's illogical and a false economy in my opinion.

Crucial to effective marketing are our databases not just of pre-existing clients and customers but of  all our suppliers and contacts as they may have contacts that could easily turn into new customers of ours. Remember my tweets, "Money only works when it is moving" and "One never knows who a person knows or may come to know". ...?
Databases are in effect our foundation stones from which we can build. If we don't look after them then the whole structure starts to be at risk of collapse. What happens in a recession though?

Recession dangers
When job losses occur the database foundation stones are at high risk of getting seriously damaged, so the knock on effect is that the whole structure of the organisation is also at high risk. When was the last time you checked out if every single contact on your database is still in the same position they were in a year or two years ago?

Administrative departments as well as marketing departments are generally the ones to look after the database of all contacts, but not exclusively. It follows then that when they are affected by job losses/redundancies then the pressure on those who are left to manage the database increases - more so when the drive is to increase and build upon that database of contacts (potential clients).

There are two essential ways to avert all this though.

1. Keep your database up to date as much as possible at all times by ensuring everyone lends a hand to ensure accurate records are kept.
2. Regular reviews of the database and, if applicable, overhauls.

What happens if you haven't done this though and then there are job losses. Sadly the database, (that foundation stone to your business) is all too often one of the last things to be considered when in the midst of major restructures due to a downsizing of staff. That leads to whoever is left with a major job on their hands to sort it out. Administrative structures should be, in my view one of the first things to consider when restructures of any kind are on the cards, be it for economising on staff or indeed for gearing up for new projects and thereby increasing staff including using contractor services.

Yep, that's one of the services I offer to help fix that on a short-term contract basis far more than data entry but I do that too on occasion for clients I have a particular passion for. Just as with anyone in business, my communication style and way of working might not be yours. That's fine, because I keep stating, I believe there is room for all and I feel, it would be dull indeed if we were all the same and worked in the same way anyway. We are human beings first and last, and as such we base our policies, structures and style of working according to our collected experiences in the work environment. It's how we arrive at them isn't it?

Logical decisions work best
There is no such thing as one style of logic being superior to another, there is just logic. Decisions on structure and methods of working are based on historical facts (one hopes) and not on random ideas from all and sundry. I, at my level do not expect to ever be privy to those facts unless they are things that those who contract me deem it is necessary for me to know to do my work more efficiently. I can ask for more information to help in that, but I think I would be unwise to demand it!

Facts are crucial. When we have facts (however limited they may be even for business leaders), the best we can do is not to then make assumptions from them, but to work with them at all times and go in search of more facts to help us develop further and indeed inform our decisions. Learning is a never ending activity, or should be in my opinion. Those at the top of an organisation should have the most facts about the sector they are trading in and are constantly adapting and honing initiatives as things change in the wider world. That is why they are leading! Assuming that no one has moved on from their positions over the last two years I feel is dangerous. Check - get the facts straight.

Assumptions are not good to make but sometimes we have to. I am by no means immune to making them myself, but it is prudent to to note them as being assumptions pending further facts as and when they become available. More facts might not ever materialise so the best we can do is follow our best instincts and be prepared with contingency plans to do a u-turn if need be. Hopefully u-turns will be exceptions and more commonly business professionals adapt and adjust.

I am aware that many have all this firmly under their belt, but some don't (particularly start-ups) and even highly experienced business professionals sometimes need a prompt to review things... I know I do!

But I digress... back to databases...

Five essentials to include on your database
What should be on the database? In a word - everything. However, that's impossible as there isn't the time or the manpower unless you happen to be a particularly large organisation with all the staffing and resources and gizmos etc there are going. The essentials then...

1. Full contact details
2. Trading history (if any)
3. All expressions of interest in products and services offered
4. Communication records (in case of any complaints/disputes or new ideas). Commonly this is done through cross referencing with separate archives via short notes of dates/times
5. Interests of all contacts (sadly often missed by start-ups but vital to record as they are leads to how you can develop not only new contacts but your own products and services)

So there you have it, my basic beginners guide to databases which I hope will help readers develop   and grow their enterprises from all the lovely new contacts they are gathering from making the most of their social networking activities. At some point I hope to do a follow-up on the social networking... the next stage. When I simply don't know at this point. However, if you need that now... why not contact the professionals in that field? There are plenty to choose from, find the one you feel most comfortable with, that suits your style and company ethos.

I am currently looking for more contacts for that social networking article so if that is your profession, I will be happy to mention the first ten organisations that get in touch, almost regardless of ethical differences. I am and wish to remain as impartial as possible but I own I am human and those who talk the same language as me will naturally end up being referred to slightly more often. That's the way of business isn't it? It doesn't mean that others are not better than those I mention or prefer, does it?

Final cautionary word
Never wise to assume a thing about others really... it nearly always leads to wasted time and energy better spent dealing with facts and in positive, proactive activities.

Happy hunting for what YOU need.