Keeping up with technology to remain competitive

BY MATTHEW D. MOHR

In today’s commercial environment, if you are significantly behind in technology, you are likely to be in trouble. Businesses that have not used new methods or added computer compatibilities are often so far behind, a major leap is needed to stay viable. Unfortunately, many of these same laggards pick the wrong product when trying to get back on track.

Technological advancements involve a learning curve for an organization. Even taking a step at a time approach can be costly if you are too far behind. Some organizations embrace change and some fight against anything different. New technological advances can be welcomed or may cause undue disruptions to an organization.

As an example, a long-standing, profitable business found itself far behind its competitors, so the owners decided to embrace a technology initiative to regain their market position. A simple customer management program was purchased for everyone involved with sales. Even this relatively simple technology was so foreign to the employees it went unused and became a costly failure.

Upon realizing the technology was not producing results as expected, the software and equipment cost had to be written off, costing the company a full year’s worth of profit. This single disastrous year put financial strain on the company, even though it had a long history of success. Eventually the company was sold to a competitor for pennies on the dollar.

A smart approach to technological advances is to do your best to stay current one step at a time. One doesn’t start an exercise program by running the Boston Marathon. PB

Matthew D. Mohr CEO, Dacotah Paper Co. mmohr@dacotahpaper.com