The Importance of the Test-Drive

I little while back I posted about a the importance of remaining dedicated to the title "technologically advanced" (see "Staying Ontop of the Wave"). It is pretty universally accepted that those who work with this type of firm are always competing to discover and adopt the latest in technological advances that have the potential to make their work even easier and more efficient.

However, for many firms, saying you are dedicated to high-tech is much easier than remaining that way. Once you launch your Basecamp project management account, or purchase those new dictation devices, and than go through the hassle of training your staff in the use of all those things, it becomes extremely easy to stamp it as "high-tech" and leave it all alone.

Don’t let yourself get caught in that trap. Stay abreast of the latest in breakthroughs, and when something comes up, don’t be afraid to test-drive the technology. Test-driving is the most important thing that your firm can do to remain technologically advanced. Try different things out, even if you think your system is everything you need. Engineers across the globe are making breakthroughs upon breakthroughs, combining devices, making them faster, or creating something totally new in itself; and what you have today could very well be old news tomorrow. So, if something new and flashy comes around – give it a shot (perhaps in a small capacity) and see if it just might be of use to your office.

And don’t feel like this is something that you need to be doing yourself. For a majority of new technologies, the time it would take for anyone to sift through the different options and commands is time you could better spend generating revenue. So if you hear about something, don’t hesitate to ask a staff member to check it out themselves.