innovation is great when it’s for the right reasons.
by jody grunden
building the virtual cfo firm in the cloud
depending on your age, you may or may not remember lotus 1-2-3. it was a hugely popular spreadsheet program back in the ’80s and early ’90s that was eventually taken over by excel. if we had been “married” to lotus 1-2-3 at that time, we may have gone out of business because we wouldn’t have been able to react fast enough.
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this is the world of technology today. we have to operate under the mindset that what we’re currently using may or may not be around in five years.
we never want to be “married” to any of the tools we’re using. if we get too comfortable with what we’re using today and don’t even look at what’s new out there, with how quickly technology evolves, we’ll get behind the times pretty quickly.
we always need to be on the lookout for the new programs that are going to make us better. as we discover new programs, we need to compare and contrast them with our current tools. the team then needs to decide which tool is more cost-effective, user-friendly, better accomplishes what we need, etc. being willing to do this enables us to constantly raise the bar when it comes to the services we provide.
this becomes an interesting balancing act. if we want to be innovative for the sake of productivity and growth, we have to find the right balance between getting stuck in whatever we’re using now versus constantly chasing shiny new objects. if we jump ship every time something new comes out, we’re going to be wasting time constantly learning new programs and frustrating our staff. it’s important to establish a culture of adaptability, but again, we don’t want to simply be chasing shiny new objects all the time.
whenever we become aware of a new tool that’s out there, we have to consider the level of investment and progress we’ve already made with our existing tool. if the new tool is drastically different, and it would be a positive, game-changing transformation for us, it is worth considering. we always have to be mindful of the investment we’ve already made on our existing tools yet open to considering what else is out there.
in the end, it comes down to roi. when analyzing the roi of a new software offering, it is imperative that we weigh the time investment we have made in a product. many times, people simply look at the cost comparison of similar tools without considering the other investments that have gone into it. ultimately, we want to be sure we’re making the best decisions for the long-term health of the company.