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If you’ve been led to believe practice makes perfect, you have been told a lie and are living in denial of the real world.
Only perfect practice makes perfect. Otherwise, the bad habits and imperfections you practice are what you get in your finished product.
Why is this important? As an IT professional, I constantly encounter business networks that were put together in an ad-hoc fashion, without any plan for growth, efficiency or security. When there is no long-term plan, it is painfully evident in the inefficiencies and employee dissatisfaction.
Unfortunately for the business owner, this short-term focus ends up costing more in terms of employee productivity and overall efficiency than it would have to implement a proper solution in the first place. Whose fault is that? Is it the business owner or is it the technician who installed the network?
Every company has its own unique dynamics, but most smaller businesses are run by delegators or micromanagers.
In terms of the delegators, these business owners take the advice of their staff and outsourced professionals.
Because delegators rely upon the professional advice of advisers, the root cause for a poorly developed network generally is the fault of the IT professional.
In terms of the micromanagers, the decision for any IT work rests squarely on the shoulders of the owner. In these cases, the professional guidance from the IT consultant may be dismissed for a less capable plan based on the owner’s perceived idea of which IT solution best fits the company’s business needs.
Unless the solution follows industry-recognized best practices, the solution will be anything but perfect. This is where it is important to hire properly certified and experienced IT professionals who take the time to listen to your business needs and develop scalable, secure solutions. With even small IT projects, you cannot afford to not properly plan and equip your network.
If I told you that by spending $1 a day you could save $4.50 in other costs – a net savings of $3.50 – would that sound like a good financial decision? Of course it would!
Would you believe me if I told you that the $1 a day is the cost of buying, maintaining and replacing a computer every four years? What if I told you that the $4.50 in costs is the lost-opportunity expense you face from wasted employee productivity and the downtime associated from maintaining outdated computers?
Through buying the appropriate computers for the job and replacing them when they are due, you virtually can eliminate the lost employee productivity associated with inefficient wait time, as well as downtime from age-related computer problems.
Implementing a secure and scalable network, having information-security policies, following a replacement plan and adopting industry-recognized best practices are examples of perfect practice makes perfect.
After all, this is your business. If you want to ensure steady growth, you need to have your operations run as efficiently as possible. Doing what is right is proven to save you money in the long run, but it takes discipline and a plan.
Wetsch is sales manager at TeamLogic IT
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