Is Your IT Fear Holding You Back?

Do you have a fear of technology?

I can’t say that I blame you.   Over the past 20 years or so of assimilating IT into our lives we’ve been pushed and pulled and often dragged kicking and screaming through one superpower or another’s schizophrenic approach to product changes.  Just when you get used to your word processor, they upgrade it and change all the menu’s, you touch a key on your keyboard and you get a blue screen, and although it has taken you 3 years to really get to like your laptop, it dies.. and no, you can’t repair it – they don’t make the parts anymore.  Maybe you’ve tried to address your fears by engaging IT support, only to find that your IT support brought new set of problems and a hefty price tag reducing your desire to invest further in technology.

So is this fear holding you and your business back?

The reality is IT is moving at such an exponential rate that those who embrace technology, those who push through fear and take advantage of this revolution are likely to succeed, leaving behind their competition.

When I was a kid, I used to get home from school a little earlier before my parents got home from work.  I had a fascination with our home computer but was under strict instructions not to muck around with the family machine (which in relative terms probably cost as much as the family car).  Of course, I couldn’t help myself.  I wanted to know how it worked inside and out so I would start by trying to install bits of software I picked up from friends (this was before the Internet of course) and then making sure the software either worked or if it caused a problem I would have to wipe the computer and bring it back to its original state before my folks got home.  As I gained more confidence I started pulling the machine apart, taking the back off carefully (and fearfully), removing the drives, removing the components, removing the motherboard and then trying to assemble it all back together in working condition before Dad walked in.   It’s not that I was expecting capital punishment or anything like that, but my fear of having to explain why the computer was in a million pieces all over the floor drove a positive outcome – not only did I successfully get the computer back up and running before I heard the front door, but I also learned some advanced skills which probably led ultimately to my career in IT.  Imagine if I didn’t push through my fear I might still be living with you Mum!

So how can you address your fear of technology and use it to drive performance in your own business and career?

One Product at a Time In order to solve a problem it is often sensible to break it down into smaller pieces.  A good example of this is perhaps you or your team learning a particular application thoroughly such as Microsoft Outlook of which many books have been written.  There is a lot of crossover of features from one program to another, once you gain expertise in a particular application a lot of the tricks and skills can translate into other programs and give you some specific IT expertise.  This helps combat fear when taking on new challenges.  

Imagination Most fear is unfounded and based on imagination.  As a an IT support therapist I often sit with people who have such a crippling fear that they don’t want to touch even some of the basic features on their computer in case it breaks something.  In the boardroom of clients I hear fears based around horror stories from IT issues they’ve had many years ago because they didn’t have the right advice or support or it was a freak incident.   This type of fear is often perpetuated by IT companies selling “disaster recovery”. Our imaginations can run wild but in reality the things we’re most afraid of are unlikely to happen.  In the great words of Yoda “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose”. 

Set a Goal Like my goal to get the computer put back together before my folks got home that drove my knowledge in IT, set similar goals for yourself and the rest of the business and involve the team.  One example might be to upgrade all of your computers to Microsoft Office 2010 which is the latest productivity suite from Microsoft.  The next might be to purchase some training materials or hire a trainer to learn the advanced features of Office 2010.  I keep mentioning products like Office because we’re lucky to use 10% of the features yet the companies that use the advanced features clearly have a productivity lead over their competitors and clearly, don’t let fear of technology hold them back from winning.

Leading Edge not Bleeding Edge It is important to recognise the difference between leading edge and bleeding edge.  Sometimes I see people and organisations go from a fear of technology to attempting to adopt the absolutely latest bleeding edge technology and more often than not they fail.  If you have a fear of flying you don’t usually solve it by jumping out of a plane, but rather, you may wish to start by taking a short domestic flight.  The same goes for technology, if you’re determined to upgrade your systems and make a shift into the new decade, start by picking tried and trusted technologies and ones that are well documented and supported.   I’m not saying buy old technology, but rather to look at those that have been thoroughly reviewed by other adopters. Your IT support provider should also have solid and demonstratable experience with those technologies.

Don’t Go IT Alone Being confident with technology doesn’t necessarily mean you give up your day job, lock yourself in a basement and surround yourself with circuitry.  That takes a special kind of person (I happen to know a few of them).  With a solid IT partner who understands your industry you can know what will and won’t work and how to compete on new technology.  Hire well, and make IT decisions with confidence.

No matter what your goals are in business or career, there is no doubt that technology will play an increasingly important role.  Reject fear and embrace technlogy and you’ll have a clear and competitive advantage.