“Business success” really means “profitable endeavors.”

Even a non/not-for-profit organization has to deliver products and services that generate value and revenue.  So, anything you do – your business – requires efficient work and deliveries.

Business goals have to meet marketplace demands.  You have to develop something that people want:  Otherwise it doesn’t matter how effectively you try to deliver.  Absent delivery of something meaningful to market, it won’t matter now efficiently you produce it; it doesn’t matter how carefully you try to pump ROI by shortening TtV and by driving down TCO.

These days there is very rapid technological change.  Customer expectations are very high – new, innovative, products are hitting the market all the time.  Further, existing products are improved quickly, and “last year’s model” becomes antiquated and unattractive rather fast.

Phones, computers, cars, the speed at which we self-check out of a grocery store – ever more comprehensive services, ever-quicker deliveries and payouts; moving on to the next area of life and business.

The same holds true for your place of employ. 

Vendors are shortening product lifecycles by, partly, simultaneously delivering new products to market.  Don’t be fooled into buying too far ahead, or into something you don’t particularly need.  Faster printers on the market?  Great.  But – are your present printers fast enough?  Has anyone complained?  Better to assess their remaining, anticipated, useful life.  Also, perhaps some areas can retain slower printers… some printing is rather leisurely – someone gets around to picking up the output eventually…

Make sure you’re procuring, and investing in, the right business assets – at the right time.  Make the basis for upgrades or new purchases in accordance with a holistic view of budgets and business objectives.  Something interesting I observed at a company recently:  When they upgrade their workstation and laptop populations, they do it as a complete, 100%, replacement of the old computers. 

However, I did things a bit differently:  I rolled existing computers down into positions that didn’t need the fastest, latest, greatest…  you can establish a heirarchy. 

I guess that goes against the grain of treating everyone “the same” – but, some people have offices, some have cubicles, and… in my world, some have faster computers than others.

You can project up to the maximum challenge of huge enterprise endeavors.   Manage projects according to this principle:  Look for the right timings, the right products, the right scale of rollout vs. limits, and above all – be certain the solution serves.  In other words, be certain you’re investing in the right stuff, and make better decisions on where to apply limited financial resources and that allied potential.

Serve business – serve successful business.

NP:  The Cannonball Adderly Quintet in San Francisco – original 1959 Riverside LP.