The workplace has been evolving since the beginning of time. We've moved from farms to churches to castles, to high-rise office buildings and mega-cities. As communication shifted from handwritten documents to print to electronic, so too, did the office and the way we conduct day-to-day business.
Some consider the process started sometime in the 90s - while others imagine true digitization kicked off with the advent of the IPad.
My observations and research reveal the shift has been occurring since the late 1600s starting with a device invented and built by an 18-year-old, French kid. The mechanism performed addition, subtraction, and multiplication through the manipulation of gears and dials. The teen was helping his father calculate bigger numbers when performing French tax accounting.
I love the phrase, "It ain't bragging if its true..." - my high school football coach used it often.
I've noticed a trend over the past few months in our little niche: Robo-Boasting.
Self-promotion is great. I get that and if you're proud of your MpS, I say get that story out there. But don't do it through a robotic channel.
Bragging -
So many software, OEMs, dealers, toner pirates, distributors, consultants and analysts either claim to be or report to know the best Managed Print Services something-or-other. The twitter-feed is chock-full of MPS robo-brags and self-promotion, it is blinding. Observed from the outside it looks like one huge Love-fest. (I was going to use 'circle-jerk' but that might seem offensive)
"One of the iPad's biggest competitors has been paper," said Nick Bilton, a tech columnist at The New York Times, "and now this is better than paper."
So many books and so little printing-
I was somewhat dismayed to learn Britannica is no longer going to print its encyclopedia.
I was a bit vexed when I read that printed, pulp-erotica isn't as hot as it once was.
My confusion cleared upon discovering the hottest thing on E*Readers is ladies' romance/erotica - women and their dirty little Nook's. This makes perfect sense; nobody can tell what you're reading while sucking a caramel macchiato, head down on a Kindle. Poor Fabio.
Getting up early to fight the traffic. Fast food lunches, office politics, 'walk around management', empty Monday morning meetings, and equally nauseating, re-cap meetings Friday at 4:00 PM.
Ah, the modern, cube-rat life. Sick of it? You're not the only one.
There is good news - studies suggest by 2020, 50% of us will be freelancers. All of us, not just writers and out-of-work salespeople will either be or know somebody who is an independent, hired gun, freelancer. Everyone from CEO to Controller will have the opportunity to work 24/7, from anywhere in the solar system.
Before you say, "I couldn't concentrate at home..." I'm not just talking physically at home. Besides, you can concentrate anywhere. Consider the monthly costs your employer carries to put a roof over your head, phone in your hand, and connect you to the interweb.
It was about the A8. It was about calls shifting from wireless to cell, seamlessly.
It was a bigger phone with more Sensors, new gyroscope better camera.
NFC - Pay without Cash
Pay at McDonalds, Disney, Apple, etc.
Apple Pay
"Will forever change the way we pay for things. Online Transactions - Pay with a Finger"
Target, Uber, Open Table and more. Pay online with your fingerprint and keep all your credit card information in the palm of your hand or on your wrist.
I know this is going to ruffle some feathers, but my latest foray into the world that is the interweb has lead me to the above conclusion. Let me be even more precise: There is no such thing as an SEO expert in our industry. That’s going to hurt the few who claim to be guru’s and pundits - sorry.
It has been, and still is my belief that pure content is the best way to attract an audience. Google agrees. Their search algorithm seeks out fresh, organic content.
Traveling the world of content marketing and marketing content, I see parallels between this realm and the early days of managed print services.(MpS)
In the beginning, nobody really knew what MpS was or how to sell and support a profitable program - some still don't. Back then, there was a great deal of mystery in MpS so anyone who had the slightest insight vaulted to the rank of 'expert' - take it from me. Back then, one needed to have a few weeks more experience than everyone else.
From Workintelligent.ly, Aug 27, 2014. Aswe know, the cloud is a platform that allows you to store and process data away from your personal device. The resulting information can then be presented to that or other devices.
This is not a new concept. It’s the way computing originated. Programs originally ran on mainframes, mirroring sessions to terminals throughout an organization. But these were expensive options. In the very early days of personal computing, businesses could only afford to provide CFO’s and controllers with spreadsheet applications and $10,000 PCs.
For decades, MPS assessments have been a cornerstone to almost every engagement. Even when a 30-Second assessment is popped off, as light as it its, its still an assessment.
Indeed, every sales rep assesses the situation upon entering into a conversation - its only natural. You're measuring the opportunity to be embarrassed or rejected in the first seven seconds. Think back to 7th grade and asking 'whats-her-name' to dance. Or is it just me?
Passing notes in class used to result in a disciplinary action. Back then, the most efficient method of conveying information or querying a prospect was to scratch a simple question on a scrap of paper and ask your neighbor pass it along. “Do you like me? Do you want to be my friend? Check yes or no." In the early days of business, like those notes in third grade, sales orders were hand written on paper with a pen.
As time went by, more advanced order-entry processes developed around carbon and carbonless paper and forms. One instance of data entry, writing information down on the order, would create three or four copies, which you’d just peel apart and forward a copy to the appropriate department — original into daily sales, yellow to the warehouse, goldenrod over to accounting as an open order, and the pink gets thrown away. (As an aside, do you remember how challenging it was for some copiers to make a copy of a yellow background, carbonless form? That’s right, we were making copies of copies.)
We've gone from Gorilla Marketing to Goofy Marketing.
In the old days, we would send one baby shoe with a note, "Are companies make a great pair." Get it?
Later, we would send a radio-controlled car with an offer to deliver the remote control, when given an appointment.
I've seen it all, crumbled letters, newspaper articles writing about how your prospect did something famous(or infamous), singing telegrams, lunch in a box, and yes even fresh apple pie in exchange for a signature.
I can't believe I still hear about these techniques.
_________
This account is based on a True Story. The names and locations are changed to protect the ignorant.
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The sharp-dressed, well-seasoned sales manager sauntered in five minutes late. He's read somewhere, that a strong entry is important when motivating the troops and this month's sales figures are in need of some heavy stimulation.
"All right ladies, " he starts, ignoring the fact that only two of the 18 salespeople in the room are female, "as you know, this is the last week of the month. You've all committed to numbers that none of you have delivered. Not one."
"...IBM and Apple sittin in a tree...K-I-S-S-I-N-G...first comes love, then comes marriage, then little Siri-Watson in a baby carriage..."
The last #APPLE announcement was revealing in terms of technology because of the A7 chipset and the deal with Beats. The upcoming #APPL announcement this September , has much in store, here are just a few:
New iPHONE 6
The A8
New wearable(s)
Yosemite
IBM
iPhone 6
By now, we know the new iphone is always awesome. This time, the new phone will set extend Apple's lead in the market, all others will begin to look old-fashioned. The timing is right for upgrades but some who bought the 5 last year will be slamming phones on Ebay looking to replace with a 6.
Why? The new processor.
Y O S E M I T E
The buzz and anticipation around the op-sys roll out would be enough of an accomplishment for any major, technology company. Imagine how happy #MSFT and all those Windows users would be if their OS were 50% of what Apple brings. Yosemite is going to set the bar so high, others will get nosebleeds contemplating the dire situation.
Why?
Yosemite will blow the doors off of every other operating system - EVER.
I've seen things - the square mouse that was DOS 4.0, the smooth, out of this world, not ready for prime-time, pre-emptive multitasking OS/2 from IBM and the shear marketing and social goliath called Windows 3.0(1).
When I look at all the Mac OS/X, the actual operational tasks melt into the background - which is exactly what you and I want. Thoughtless operation. Support me, no matter how many applications I open. Don't make me learn about .TMP files and wait 20 minutes for my machine to start up.
Why in the world do any of us know what the phrase, "blue screen of death" pertains too? Why should I know this?
I want to be able to share my current app on my MacBookPro, iPad and iPhone automatically -handing off to each device as needed. Impossible? No. El Capitan? Yes.
I want to answer my phone on my MBPro - madness? Half Dome? Yes.
You know what else, I'd like the same op-sys on all my devices...jus saying. Craziness? Well, yes and coming.
The transparency between apps and platforms, dare I say the "non-fragmented", congruent approach of Yosemite is one of the biggest shifts in technology, ever. As with most Apple products, the device or operating system does not try to dictate our personal workflow - it pairs up and works with me.
Why do I need to tell Windows I don't want to upgrade in the middle of every Powerpoint presentation?
WeAReAbLeS
Healthkit, iWatch, whatever...love them or hate them, #Apple is about to crack the seal on the atrocious healthcare system.
How about I get to keep all my health records, secured in my iPhone? And how about instead of going in for tests, or scans, my watch is monitoring all that 7x24, data ready to be shared when I want with whomever I want?
Yeah, that's coming.
GUESS Who's Coming to Dinner? IBM.
The very first rivalry in the personal technology realm was between IBM and Apple - it was more of a feud, really. If you wanted to add up numbers and create DBII applications(what?!!), you owned a PC. A 'clone' if you couldn't afford an IBM Model 70. On the other hand, if you considered yourself 'artsy' or academic, a MAC was your status symbol.
The last two powerhouses standing are getting together; soon the accounting firms, engineering companies and manufactures will all be sporting "iSomethings". CRM's, materials planners and project managers will be flicking charts all over the place, from iPAD to AppleTV, to the iMACs in accounting.
This is transactional communications transforming into BI - is a another vista, waiting out there for everyone. But that is for another set of blogs.
