Yes, this is tongue and cheek, but there is meaning behind it. Successful business people leverage technology. I once interviewed a candidate and I asked him if he knew how to concatenate. It is an Excel function that I rarely use (it sometimes comes in handy) and I was only joking. The candidate said, “Of course I can concatenate.” And so, I smiled, pushed my laptop over to him, and said, “Okay, do it.” He couldn’t.
Business today moves at the speed of light. And much of that has to do with the rapid development of technology over the last few decades. When I entered the business world back in 1984, pay phones were the primary mode of communicating with the home office when making sales calls; and we actually mailed our daily reports at the end of each day. For bar charts I used graph paper and coloring pencils. For presentations – markers and an IBM “Selectric” typewriter. And for long calculations and data – a calculator and lots of patience. Needless to say, developing a forecast or historical trend report were grueling and painstakingly long. Then technology took over. And I jumped on board the technology train right away.
Technology Continues to Evolve
In the early days , technology was the IBM XT and Lotus 123. But those two tools alone, dramatically reduced the time I spent forecasting and planning. And when something called Harvard Graphics came along, my presentations became legendary. The fact that I could save hours of work and be more productive by leveraging personal computers, amazed me. I was hooked. And have been ever since.
Technology has gotten so much better than in those early days. Today the tools, apps, and devices keep coming at a dizzying pace. In fact, the iPhone that I use today, is more powerful than the most powerful computer that existed on the earth when I graduated high school. Yes, we come a long way. While our businesses have been the beneficiary of this goodness, so have our children. And if you want to be successful in your career – and it doesn’t matter what area you go into – you must embrace technology as well. Here’s a few things that can help you get going in the right direction.
Learn an Office Suite
Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are standards in businesses. I’ve found though, that most Office Suites offer similar applications – Pages, Keynote and Numbers on the Mac, and even Google offers an office suite. It doesn’t matter which one you use, just learn one. There is no escaping the fact that you will have to use one of these office suites everyday – especially if you go into sales. And if you really want to geek it out, learn Access and Project.
Keep up-to-Date on Technological Advances
When you are taking in your daily news dose, make sure to visit the technology section, as well. Keep up-to-date on what the major software and hardware companies are doing and how it will affect your business. As new devices are introduced, be sure to understand how you can leverage those devices to improve yourself and your results. The more you learn, the more you’ll earn.
Sync Your Stuff
I basically use Apple products for my personal stuff and my blogs. In the business world, I use Microsoft apps and PC based products. But they are in sync with each other. My Apple products hand off to one another, so something I start on the iPhone I can continue on the iPad or the Macbook. And through the miracles of OneNote and Evernote, I am able to sync my stories, spreadsheets and presentations across both the Mac and PC platforms. And for more seamless integration, on my MacBook I’m running a fully functional Windows 10 session in VMware. The point is, leverage the wonderful syncing capabilities available in today’s environment to improve your speed to market and your business results.
Social Media
With social media, things can catch like a wildfire. There are so many options available out there. In business, you should always leverage LinkedIn. There, you don’t have to worry about personal posts. It continues to maintain its professionalism, and quite frankly, the users enforce that. LinkedIn is awesome for contacts, jobs, and keeping up with colleagues. When leveraged properly, it can be one of those most useful social media platforms that you can leverage in your career or business.
But be careful on social media. Use it responsibly. It doesn’t matter which product you are using – Facebook, Google +, Twitter, Linkedin, etc.- just be sure to refrain from stupidity. Daily, we read of someone who lost their job with an organization because of something idiotic they posted on one of the social media sites. Don’t be that person.
In closing, embracing technology is important and will make a lasting difference in your life. It is important for your career, your personal growth, and your organization, business or company. Oh, and the candidate who couldn’t concatenate; I hired him because he showed a willingness to learn. And so, I ask you again, can you concatenate?
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