Loading ...“There is nothing to fear…..”
How come every conversation about CRM starts with a software name or brand? An answer to this question probably explain why so many CRM conversations end with failure stories. Even though every student of Enterprise Software implementation will tell you that key to success is in formalization and optimization of business processes, the very next topic will likely involve a technology to model and document these processes. Kind of reminiscent of Tim “The Tool Man” from "Home Improvement” TV show - who surrounds himself with the most powerful and expensive tools, but doesn’t really have a clue how to operate them to produce anything meaningful. What is it with us and technology? Here is an observation from Seth Grodin:
We tend to use new tools to do less. We try to save time and money at the same time, and end up depersonalizing and commodifying what we do.
. but the real reason is fear. We use technology to insulate us from our customers instead of bringing us closer.
I wrote about “successful” use of CRM software to save time and money (efficiencies), and failing to use it for development of valuable relationship with customers at the same time (effectiveness) in this blog before, but I never considered fear as a factor.
So what is it we are afraid off?
There are many excellent blogs and other resources on the Internet which explore methodologies and Best Practices for business process re-engineering, project management, systems implementation, software engineering, and change management. However I could not find much help with unlocking value of integrated utilization of these disciplines to facilitate Organizational Transformation. In this blog I would like to focus on this subject. I would like to stress that this is not an academic inquiry, but a practitioner's desire to discuss and share practical business knowledge and Best Practices. Let's see how it evolves - "Every brilliant idea quickly degenerates into a lot of hard work" - Peter Drucker.