Are You At The Mercy Of Computer Geeks?

Many business owners are sabotaging their business without even realizing it. They are completely out of the loop when it comes to all technology aspects of their operation such as websites, computers and software. They become completely dependent on their technical people and naively believe that things are "being taken care of".

This "head in the sand" approach is very dangerous. Here are just a few scenarios of what can happen:

• Your webmaster is the only person who knows the username, password and other improtant settings for your website. If the webmaster suddenly stops responding to your phone calls or e-mails (which I've seen happen many times), you would have no idea how to hand off the website updates to another person.

• Your programmer no longer wishes to work with you. When you hire a replacement, it turns out that there is no documentation for the program, the code is unreadable, and it will be cheaper for you to buy a new program than salvage this "sinking ship".

• The software that was developed for your business theoretically does all that was required, but there is one big problem: it is sitting idle because it is so confusing that nobody wants to use it.

• The web server crashes and your website files get erased. Then it turns out that nobody has a backup copy

• Your technical person realized how dependent you've become, and starts acting like a "primadonna", and even blackmails you into shelling out more cash, "or else"!

So how do you protect yourself?

If you are now thinking that you need to become a computer geek yourself so you don't have to depend on anyone else - that could not be further from the truth. If you spend all your time digging through computer books, writing code and working on the technical details, there will be no time for you to run your business.

Doing it all yourself is not the answer. Everyone should concentrate on doing what they do best. What you need to do is just take some measures to protect yourself. Just knowing and applying these few basic things that I'm about to describe will put you a giant leap ahead of most other business owners.

Here are the things you should do:

• Require documentation on all technical projects. Every technology aspect of your business should be documented in such a way that you can hand off this document to a new technical person and they'll understand exactly how the system works and what to do with it.

  Let me warn you: you will encounter a lot of resistance from the technical people when you make them document things. However, you need to be firm and require documentation as part of the project before you release the final payment.

• When asking someone to develop a website or software, communicate exactly what you want and how you want it to work. Don't assume that people can read your mind.

  Communicate all your requirements upfront. If you don't tell programmers or designers exactly what you want, they'll put together a project according to their own vision, which often does not correspond to yours.

  Most problems with technical projects occur because of miscommunication.

• Make sure you have copies of all files and do regular backups. Don't put it off until tomorrow, because tomorrow might be too late. Losing data can be absolutely devastating.

  The easiest thing to do to protect your data is to write those files to a CD on a regular basis. Also, don't forget to store those CDs in a secure location.

• Keep track of all technical projects and know what's going on. Being "clueless" should not be acceptable.

  Many business owners have such fear of technology that they just don't want to understand the projects and hope that others will simply take care of everything. While you don't need to get involved in all the little technical details, you still need to understand the process and "the big picture".

Practice these simple strategies, and you'll find yourself having more control, more piece of mind and more money in your bank account.

Melanie Mendelson (c)2004

About The Author

Melanie Mendelson is the author of "Profitable Outsourcing": the insider's guide on how to get the highest quality technical work done for your business at dirt-cheap prices. Visit her site now at http://www.ProfitableOutsourcing.com

Creativity and Innovation Management: The Creative State

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Six Sigma Training 101 ? Better Management Basics

What is Six Sigma?Six Sigma is a quality management program... Read More

Motivating For Higher Performance

Employee motivation is probably the most important single manageable factor... Read More

Can Your Corporate Policy Pass the Monkeys, Bananas, and Water-spray Experiment?

Five monkeys were placed in a cage. A banana was... Read More

6 Steps To Effective Management During Change

Take the pain out of gain and decrease the upheaval... Read More

Are You in Control of Your Practice or Does it Control You?

One of the most common complaints that business owners have... Read More

7 Strategies for Sustained Innovation

The need for constant reinvention is a given in today's... Read More

How to Make a Difference Every Day

Every day, everyone can make the world a better place.... Read More

The New Five Truths of Employee Motivation

Motivation is a term that is so widely used, yet... Read More

Jewelry Use by Employees

Many companies have dress codes, which include jewelry. Some companies... Read More

The How-Tos of Firing Incompetent Employees

CATEGORIES OF OFFENSES: Most organizations have two categories of offenses... Read More

How to Delegate Effectively

ACCOUNTABILITY: Delegation is not complete unless subordinates are held accountable... Read More

Offshore This! (Outsourcing Tech Support Overseas)

So I call my telephone company and someone picks up... Read More

Outsourcing Quiz: Cheap Vs. Good

Someone can say, 'Why do you oppose this?' So I'd... Read More

ISO 9001 the Process Approach to Quality Assurance

What is the Process Approach to Quality?The ISO 9001 2000... Read More

Its All About The Customers, Baby

If you want to ensure a steady stream of customers... Read More

Managing Workplace Conflicts

Kinds of Workplace ConflictsLet's start by identifying where conflicts happen.... Read More

Why Businesses Need to Start Nurturing Collective Wisdom

COLLECTIVE WISDOM CAN BE AN effective tool for solving the... Read More

I Said Pareto Chart? Not Potato Chart!

Does this sound familiar? You were hired for the new... Read More

Innovation Management ? The Need For Knowledge Managers

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Focus Leads To Nonprofit Success: Is Your Organization Rowing or Drifting

Picture yourself standing on the bank of a river watching... Read More

Problem-Solving Success Tip: Use Your Project Management Skills

Solving a big problem is a project: you're far more... Read More

Uncommon Common Sense ? Know What is the Most Important Thing in Your Business

Over 3 of my meetings with 3 business owners last... Read More

Invite Self-Managed Staff

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to... Read More

Entitlement Programs Kill Productivity

In articles I've written over the years, I have used... Read More