You Don't "Need" A New Bike!

By Bill Berger

My wife, Melissa, is an athlete. She discovered her talents after she decided to challenge herself to ride an MS 150 ride between Houston and Austin. When she announced she was going to participate in this bike ride, she immediately asked for a road bike to do it.

My reaction was "No", that she already had a bike - a $99 mountain bike from Wal-Mart, AND it was in good shape (since it had not been ridden all that much). I was not going to buy another bike, not until her performance demonstrated the value of a road bike to her competitiveness.

Isn't this the same kind of capital investment discussion we have in IT management? I think many times we buy into hype and believe that with sufficient investment in technology, we can be significantly more competitive. And further, if we don't keep up our investments with those our competitors are making, we have already lost the race before it began. Is that really true? If we don't have an ERP solution like our closest competitor, are we really losing the battle? How can we know? Shouldn't we have to prove the worth before we make significant investment? And if it's really that important, shouldn't we be *willing* to test out our theory(s) and prove the advantage(s)? And is investment in technology the only way to compete?

Well, Melissa is a determined woman. And as they say, once she sets her mind to something... It wasn't long before Melissa found a way to prove her point. She borrowed a road bike from a friend and began training for the MS 150. Ultimately, she *did* ride and finish her first MS 150, and with impressive time. She convinced me and I bought her a new road bike.

Since her first MS 150 ride, I have been steadily investing in training and sports paraphernalia for Melissa. There's no doubt that she needs proper equipment to compete. And as she advances in the competition, the quality of the equipment should also advance. But... Now Melissa has set her sights higher and is determined to compete in triathlons with her ultimate goal of competing in an IronMan triathlon. And, she tells me she needs another new bike - that the road bike isn't a tri-bike, and won't be adequate to compete with. "What?!?!" Here we go again...

Sound familiar?

Make no mistake about my point, I fully believe that good IT investments can provide significant competitive advantage, and I'm not making the case for holding off your IT expenditures. No, I'm highlighting the fact that the competitive advantage should be demonstrable and it does not simply mean technology.

There's no question that another new bike (a tri-bike) will help her performance in triathlons. But, the cycling portion of a triathlon is a road race, so before considering investing in another bike (and more expensive - I'm clearly focused on the expense), we need to consider the other factors in her ability to compete, particularly the human side. Instead, her energies should be directed at more personal strength and endurance training (no honey, I'm not saying you're weak... you are strong... and yes, I know you work out 6 days per week, 2-3 hours each day). Personal performance training is hard work, and takes longer than driving down to the cycle shop and buying a shiny new bike. But, it's equally important because great technology without the human performance to take advantage of the technology is incrementally better at best and wasted money at worst.

It's the same with IT organizations. Don't forget the human side of the competitive advantage equation. I believe we must keep that firmly in mind and give the human aspect closer consideration as we struggle to manage our ever-shrinking IT investment dollars. Maybe we need to provide new training or re-evaluate how we use our human resources with respect to our business. The human aspect of your business is actually quite large and powerful. Effective and/or creative use of it can generate huge advantage - it has for hundreds (if not thousands) of years, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

I don't believe Melissa needs to work any harder than she is working right now. I also don't believe it's time to make a large financial investment in a new bike. I believe that her hard work (and her future hard work) needs to be allowed to well... work for her. It takes time to get better and compete stronger - it's a human condition. The quick fix of adding a shiny new bike will certainly help, but it is short-lived. Will she need a new bike next year and the year after that and so on? I believe she needs to let herself grow into her level of competition. Develop her physical capacity, perfect her technique(s), and then add on the advantage of technology. I see that as a winning combination.

What about you? How do you approach managing the competitive advantage equation?

Bill Berger, is the BPM Lead for Xpediant Solutions located in Houston, TX. He can be reached at bberger@xpediantsolutions.com