Technology

Computers, amiright?
Thank you, I'm here all week, try the fish.

Why are things that are designed as labour-saving, doing the exact opposite? Does that make sense to you? It doesn't to me. Tools are there to help you achieve a task that can't be done by manual means, or to speed a manual one up.

I would argue that Money is also a tool. It will make life easier, but mistreat it and it'll cut your leg off. I might go into a Finance discussion on my blogs but that remains to be seen.

"Business process re-engineering", looks at businesses the wrong way around, as far as Ian is concerned. It examines tools and processes used by a business, to find better, similar, cheaper tools that could be brought in to replace the existing ones.

Training follows, and even though a new piece of software may have had more powerful enhancements, overall (anywhere Ian saw or worked at), productivity did not really seem to improve because people didn't get a good grasp on where their job slotted into the scheme of things, and why their day-to-day software had to be changed. Was it done out of spite? To make them want to up and leave? Show up deficiencies and incompetencies? Other than the bottom line, there was never good communication as to why any of this was being done.

So - what needs to be done?
What do you need technology to do for you?

Here's a suggestion : start at the Top, and work down.

When Captain James Cook wanted his sailors to avoid scurvy, he found that force-feeding them foods high in Vitamin C didn't work. So he served sauerkraut exclusively to the officers for a time, until the sailors practically begged for it. He led by example.

For starters : What does your business DO?
What regulatory pieces of paper do you need to produce?

How do your customers wish to do business with you? (Note : this is a very different question to : how do you wish to do business with your customers?

Do your competitors already operate in this way? If they can, what's stopping you?

Those are the simplest questions, and don't involve technology at all in the first instance. If you want Ian to work with you to increase productivity by lessening complexity, feel free to contact him.

Computers should make things simpler!
Here a solution Ian created using built-in functions within a twenty-five-year old version of Excel...
A Sudoku solver

Additionally, Ian has a small clientele of scientists who rely on him to give their technical reports a polish. Ian has a unique combination of Chemistry and Information Technology background, with an interest in Mathematics. Combine that with thirty years' industry experience as a go-between for technical and front-line staff and, of course, his award-winning writing skills and you can be sure Ian speaks YOUR language.

You want people calling you to thank you for their product, not for it making their lives more difficult. Get in touch to give your English some Zing!

Remember, Ian speaks English as well as Technical Language. If you want a translator to give you a hand to get (back) into the field, Ian help with your job-hunting.

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