Most of the new clients who come to us have one of two IT strategies in place: missing or incomplete.
There are actually good reasons for this. It isn’t that entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives are lazy. In fact, it’s quite the contrary. What often keeps them from making the right plans and accurate budgets is the need to balance long-term thinking with more immediate concerns. In other words, they can’t predict the future, but neither can they ignore the fires that need to be put out right in front of them.
With that in mind, we want to introduce you to a different way of thinking that you might already be applying to other parts of your organization. We are going to focus on the IT aspects, however, because they can be significant.
The Advantages of a Quarterly IT Plan
There has been a trend lately toward thinking in terms of 12- or 15-week blocks with regard to personal planning and organizational development. Such an approach can help you keep your sales team focused, for example, or improve an area of your business (such as customer retention) by prioritizing it for a relatively short amount of time.
When it comes to managing technology, however, it turns out that these kinds of time frames aren’t ideal for many businesses. Why? Because it’s tough to accurately forecast what you are going to need from your technology, or for your team, once you look past a couple of months in the future.
If you doubt this, just ask yourself how many business owners were preparing themselves for a pandemic a couple of years ago. That’s an obvious example, but one that shows just how quickly change can come, and how significant it can be.
The needs you have for your business can change in the blink of an eye. When that happens, your approach to technology has to follow. You can suddenly find yourself needing to meet virtually more often, accept mobile payments, or handle more transactions through the web. You might need to suddenly plan a big live event, or to move employees and contractors from one location to another.
It’s also worth pointing out that new opportunities come up all the time. It’s possible that by the time the new year comes around you will have seen something that can give you an advantage over the other competitors in your space. If you were to set your 2022 budget and strategy now, you might have to wait on an opportunity, or even fall behind other business owners who can move more quickly.
We aren’t giving many specifics, but that’s exactly the point. What matters isn’t the specific change on the horizon, it’s the fact that IT plans work best when they combine urgency and strategic thinking. Working with shorter blocks of time allows you to do exactly that.
Looking for More Practical Business Technology Advice?
Dealing with software, mobile apps, and other tech-related business tools doesn’t have to feel like an unsolvable puzzle. Contact the specialists at Fantastic IT today to see how we can help carry your business forward in 2022 and beyond!