When It Costs Too Much
Yesterday the president of my company rushed into my boss' office. I overheard a conversation that has led me to reach out to the president about a possible interview for my blog and research.
He said, "Thank you for coming in there and doing that for me, I really need people who use this system to talk about what has value--real value to our business." They are discussing a platform we used called Quickbase Pipeline. We use it as a collaborative space to track upcoming bids, awarded projects and scheduling. There is so much information within this program about the materials and projections and future goals, etc. but none of us really understand how to use that aspect.
My boss narrowed down his thoughts about why this program is so difficult. He said, "It doesn't think like we do, it's an "if, then, and" program that you have to think backward about the information you want. You have to input what you don't need to get some of what you do. Most people cannot think that way. It makes it difficult and time-consuming to use."
The president responded, "yes, often we mistake busyness with productivity. More often that not, we aren't being asked what holds value to our business before corporate rolls out another "upgrade" and it ends up making us work harder, not smarter."
So, I want to weigh-in on these statements. First, Pipeline is extremely confusing because it does ask things illogically to the normal person. I would be curious to figure out why it is set-up the way it is. But, we do have people in the company who think the same way the program does and they are utilizing it and utilizing it well. So there is hidden value if we can change the way people think. Seems like it could cost too much?
Secondly, communication from corporate BEFORE they implement something is non-existent. Whoever they are consulting is not out here with the "workers" asking questions. I think the thing that is often lost in translation is the background of our business. The executives are career businessmen and women. They probably landed a corporate office job right out of college and have worked their way through the ranks. So numbers, strategy, forecasting and technology are all allies they have had a lot of experience with for a long time.
But not us. Not here in the bottom of the boat, shoveling coal into those engines to make this ship move forward. These men and women started in THE FIELD. I am not talking some college area of expertise here, I am talking behind a hot paver on a 90-degree day, shoveling asphalt onto the road. And they are experts at their craft. And they have good ideas and leadership skills. Some went on to complete some schooling, to work their way into the office here. They come to the 9-5 desk job with Carhartt jeans and work boots on every day. They spend as much time here in the building as they do on the job sites.
We need to cater to them. These guys use smart phones, lap tops, and basic computer programs, so they aren't illiterate to technology, but the value for them stands in something other than where it stands for corporate. For instance, I asked one of the project managers the other day about our trucking process with tracking time/quantity and quality testing out of every truck. We do it on paper. It is sent in to the office here, entered into a computer programs, applied to applicable jobs, tracked and filed. Papers get lost. Errors are entered. Filing is incorrect.
He said, "I hope within the next few years we are automated. I would love to see us barcode our trucks so the plants scan them as they leave, the foreman on the job scans them with his phone as they arrive to the site, and electronically the information is brought into the office, real time."
Now there is a valuable idea.
I hope that my interview with the president brings some light to the things I have observed since starting with this company last year. We can't forget the "little guys" because frankly, they see the big picture much more clearly than the "big boys" sometimes.
He said, "Thank you for coming in there and doing that for me, I really need people who use this system to talk about what has value--real value to our business." They are discussing a platform we used called Quickbase Pipeline. We use it as a collaborative space to track upcoming bids, awarded projects and scheduling. There is so much information within this program about the materials and projections and future goals, etc. but none of us really understand how to use that aspect.
My boss narrowed down his thoughts about why this program is so difficult. He said, "It doesn't think like we do, it's an "if, then, and" program that you have to think backward about the information you want. You have to input what you don't need to get some of what you do. Most people cannot think that way. It makes it difficult and time-consuming to use."
The president responded, "yes, often we mistake busyness with productivity. More often that not, we aren't being asked what holds value to our business before corporate rolls out another "upgrade" and it ends up making us work harder, not smarter."
So, I want to weigh-in on these statements. First, Pipeline is extremely confusing because it does ask things illogically to the normal person. I would be curious to figure out why it is set-up the way it is. But, we do have people in the company who think the same way the program does and they are utilizing it and utilizing it well. So there is hidden value if we can change the way people think. Seems like it could cost too much?
Secondly, communication from corporate BEFORE they implement something is non-existent. Whoever they are consulting is not out here with the "workers" asking questions. I think the thing that is often lost in translation is the background of our business. The executives are career businessmen and women. They probably landed a corporate office job right out of college and have worked their way through the ranks. So numbers, strategy, forecasting and technology are all allies they have had a lot of experience with for a long time.
But not us. Not here in the bottom of the boat, shoveling coal into those engines to make this ship move forward. These men and women started in THE FIELD. I am not talking some college area of expertise here, I am talking behind a hot paver on a 90-degree day, shoveling asphalt onto the road. And they are experts at their craft. And they have good ideas and leadership skills. Some went on to complete some schooling, to work their way into the office here. They come to the 9-5 desk job with Carhartt jeans and work boots on every day. They spend as much time here in the building as they do on the job sites.
We need to cater to them. These guys use smart phones, lap tops, and basic computer programs, so they aren't illiterate to technology, but the value for them stands in something other than where it stands for corporate. For instance, I asked one of the project managers the other day about our trucking process with tracking time/quantity and quality testing out of every truck. We do it on paper. It is sent in to the office here, entered into a computer programs, applied to applicable jobs, tracked and filed. Papers get lost. Errors are entered. Filing is incorrect.
He said, "I hope within the next few years we are automated. I would love to see us barcode our trucks so the plants scan them as they leave, the foreman on the job scans them with his phone as they arrive to the site, and electronically the information is brought into the office, real time."
Now there is a valuable idea.
I hope that my interview with the president brings some light to the things I have observed since starting with this company last year. We can't forget the "little guys" because frankly, they see the big picture much more clearly than the "big boys" sometimes.
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