My clients often ask me about the convenience of incorporating new tools for managing their business. I fully understand that such tools offer very tempting features, and it stands to reason that it’s a good idea to start using them. However, it is not best to make such decisions lightly, rather it is always necessary to balance the pros and cons that this action entails.
The new tools, a path to continuous improvement?
There is something that, I think, is common to most of us: no matter how well we are doing in a certain aspect, We always think that we can do better. And there is nothing wrong with that, on the contrary: it is the force that moves us to continue progressing and perfecting our way of doing things. In the field of business, This translates into making our clients feel more and more satisfied with what we offer them. And in that –in turn– they can grow, thanks to our contribution, in their own undertakings.
The problem lies in believing that this objective is related to the need to incorporate each application or technological tool that comes onto the market. and that, of course, is presented as surpassing its competition. Every change we want to implement in our business has a cost. Not necessarily financial, but energy and, above all, time, which is ultimately the most valuable resource we have, because it is the one we cannot recover.
Therefore, every time a client asks me if it would not be convenient to replace a tool that they use with a newer one, or add it to the set of those that they already use, my answer is that it is necessary to analyze whether the benefits will outweigh the costs. If, for example, we decide to make a replacement, however intuitive the handling of the new tool may be, that will confront us with new learnings and, eventually, new technical obstacles. That is to say, it will take time in any way, even in the best of scenarios.
Why is new not always best?
To answer this, I return to my initial question. There is a tendency to believe that everything new is better than what preceded it. I do not deny that, in some respects, it may be so. Nor am I against taking advantage of all the advances that technology offers us. I just want to make it clear that we must not allow ourselves to be dazzled by our human inclination towards novelty. Sometimes, in the balance of the facts, continuing to use the same resources and, in any case, focusing on optimizing their use, offers better results than rushing headlong towards the latest novelty that promises (more words, less words) to be the best. thing that happened to our business.
There is a phrase that expresses that, as in photography, in life it is important to focus; and I think that idea is very applicable to the sphere of business. Sometimes we divert the focus from what is truly important to create a solid business and make it grow, slowly but surely. Many times, what a business really needs is make better use of the resources you already haveand not disperse them by incorporating novelties that will consume more than they will give us.
Therefore, if you are thinking of incorporating some new resource that seems attractive to your company or venture, I invite you to think about whether you could achieve the same thing that you seek to achieve through those tools that you already have. Perhaps, by making some adjustments, you will discover that what you are looking for is already within your reach. It is only necessary to stop for a while to reflect and analyze the situation, and –if applicable– have the will to make the necessary changes.
