First Pants then Shoes

We all know the firing squad drill from the movies: “Ready, Aim, Fire!”

But have you ever heard anyone say “Fire! Ready, Aim”? Of course not, because it sounds absurd – so why do we do it over and over with computers?
By David Markus

We select the computer, buy some software and get started using it. This is Fire (buy the hardware), Aim (buy the software), Ready (figure out what we will use the software for).

Surely a more sensible approach to spending vast amounts of money on IT would be to stop and collect ideas on what operations the software needs to perform in the business – then you are Ready.

Start by designing some business processes that need to be performed by the software. Now you can select the right versions of software and determine the fit for your business before you commit to the expense. You may spend a few days in design and testing to determine the best solution, but you won’t be stuck with the wrong solution for years. Now you have taken Aim.

Once you have selected the best solution, you are ready to design the infrastructure required and put it all together – now you can “fire” off the order with confidence. It sounds simple, but it is very rarely done well in small businesses, and I would like to share my view on why.

If you have a business leader who is driven by results, they may not be brilliant at stopping to express their design requirements to the team. They see the need for a solution and dictate the “Fire! Aim, Ready” methodology by saying something like “get me a computer with a finance package on it so we can do our accounts”.

This leader may have kept accounts at some point in a glorious career, but probably still thinks it can all be done on a spreadsheet or simple application. They will not stop to contemplate the complex components of the business such as multiple currencies or trust accounting, tracking inventory or supply chain management.

So unrealistic time scales are created and a solution is put on the desk over the next day or two. For the next few years the business will struggle on with this application, customising it and finding workarounds and add-ons.

As the business grows to the limits of the software, the “Ready Aim Fire!” method becomes the company’s only hope of salvation in moving to a better solution that frees the company up from hideous, time consuming processes.

Don’t let your growth be held back by poorly planned solutions. Be brave, steady yourself, get Ready, take Aim and Fire off the best solutions for your business!

David Markus is the founder of Melbourne’s IT services company Combo. His focus is on big picture thinking to create value in IT Services for the SME sector.