Jeff Gorman – [President]
Years ago, a commercial aired with two mechanics pounding on an obviously incorrectly sized car part saying, “It will fit, we’ll make it fit.” The advertisement worked because the concept of forcing the wrong solution onto a problem was relatable. Common sense tells us square pegs do not belong in round holes. If the problem you are trying to solve is filling in a round hole, and someone offers to assist by giving you a square peg, you will likely suggest they help someone else instead.
As simple as that concept is for people to understand, somehow it frequently gets lost in the world of technology. People become infatuated with the newest “square peg” technology and become fixated on pounding it into a “round hole” issue just to have the privilege of using the latest and greatest. As a technology company in the performance improvement business, Keller Schroeder firmly believes the role of Information Technology is to make businesses perform better. Information Technology companies and departments should serve the business functions, not vice versa. IT professionals should have a box full of different shaped pegs, and when they collaborate with business units, should be able to identify solutions that specifically address business needs and improve overall performance.
Business units should not play the role of being a showcase for technology; technology should be used to better showcase and empower business units. Your company and companies you partner with for technology must understand and perform in a manner which makes it clear everyone agrees with that intent. If not, you may end up with some really cool “square pegs,” having made no progress in filling your company’s “round hole” issues.
Look for our newsletters this year to follow this theme. We will talk more about the issues affecting different industries and how to apply technology to solve specific problems. For more than forty years, we have grown relationships by first seeking to understand the business of our partners and then leveraging technology to improve their business’ performance. If you want to talk more with us about how technology might be able to solve a business problem you are experiencing, we would love the opportunity to meet with you.
