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The difficulty comes from our deep immersion in the software. We tend to adopt the language of the software and as a result we stop seeing the forest for the trees. And the implementation consultant is just as guilty as the client of this, though they often portray themselves as innocent since they represent the new software. Lack of clear understanding is however the fault of all in the conversation, so implementers need to get off of their high horse and make just as much effort to bridge the gap as the client.
But the need for a common vocabulary, while real, also points to a larger problem. You might be skimming the surface. At the outset of the project this is understandable since we must necessarily start at the top and work our way into the business model step by step. As our discussion goes deeper we should be discussing the business model at a more fundamental level. There should be less need for a common vocabulary if we are hitting the key processes/tasks of the business properly. In fact, it is sometimes the lack of a common vocabulary that leads the discussion further until both sides, client and implementer, have a clear idea of how the organization operates today and how it might operate in the future.
Eventually, the discussion must settle on a common vocabulary. It’s important that the implementation consultant take the time to explain their terminology, and thereby start the client toward a full understanding of the system. But getting to this point takes some patience and the understanding that while the client may not know the new terminology, that does not mean they do not understand their business. After you sort out the incongruities in the discussion you see very soon that the client easily adapts to the new vocabulary and you move forward together.
The main point is that when you run into the proverbial ‘blank stare’ take a moment to explain the terms of the discussion to each other. You can save a lot of time and energy by simply knowing and expecting up front that there is not a single business language that everyone understands.
Talking about baseball, my recent travels took me to St. Louis where my gracious hosts were so kind as to take me to the area know as The Hill, a predominantly Italian area of the city. We had a great meal at one of the many local eateries, but the highlight for me was the passing of a ball yard where former major leaguers Joe Garagiola and Yogi Berra once played. That was kind of cool. The whole neighborhood was very nice, even on a snowy winter night.
Good-bye to Curtis Granderson. The Tigers traded the best Tiger to the Yankees, which I am sure makes my friend and baseball nemisis Paul Greenberg happy. Best to Curtis, I for one always loved his defense. New York Yankess, ugh. Don’t get me started. I always like the way that they pronounced ‘Yahnkeeees’ in “Last of the Mohicans.”
I also actually saw it rain in California. I have probably spent a whole year of my life, a week or weeks at a time, in CA, and cannot remember it raining. This trip in rained everyday and hard. Fremont was flooded, and the storms only added to the overall picture of a California under deep stress. The cab drivers, the waiters, the client and the folks at the hotel all talked about the local and national economy. For once I did not hear any snarky remarks when I mentioned that I was from Michigan. That was in itself a revelation.
But don’t get me wrong, I am not celebrating the hurt the West Coast is currently undergoing, or anyone else’s for that matter, including our own here in the Upper Hand. To the contrary, I am a little nervous because so goes California so goes the country. It is such a big part of our economic engine that when I hear about the commercial real estate vacancy rate I have to wonder how long before we’ll see a real and regular pick-up in activity. In my darker moments I wonder if we are not heading into the 2nd dip of this recession. We will eventually pull out of this, but will we be any smarter? Does the political class, all of them, realize that we have now run out of other people’s money? I’m not sure.
At any rate, we have been fortunate to continue our NetSuite consultancy into the New Year with several new clients. Helping these companies start to use NetSuite made me wonder how companies operate across wide geographies without a tool like NetSuite. How do you keep far flung sales people, warehouses, support staff on message, working with purpose, productive, connected? We have so many different modes of communication now that we often take for granted how difficult it is to create an effective team and get everyone moving in the same direction. It takes more than IM or cell phones, or smart phones. If you are operating virtually, meaning that you have employees that do not come into a central office everyday, then you really should think about an online place where the company can meet, where everyone can add their efforts to the team and understand their contribution. You need to connect everyone to headquarters. How?
Well, I hear the IRS calling my name, telling me that I need to get everything over to the accountant. Best to all of you in this New Year, and I hope we all pull out of this in one piece.
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