When that "oh sh*t moment" turns into the highlight of your week
“Hi Brad,
This is Andrew from the Workato Customer Success Team. We wanted to inform you that your currently active automations may be hugely impacted due to an update on the Google Sheets API which will occur in January. To avoid huge disruptions, you will need to implement workarounds in your automations. Can we schedule a call to discuss?”
This was how my morning started last Thursday. The email was in reference to 300+ automation workflows that I’ve built and maintained for one of my longest clients on a low-code automation and integration platform called Workato. The automations touch nearly every corner of their business and have drastically streamlined processes related to scheduling, sales, accounting, and HR. When the Workato rep said we’d be hugely impacted, it was an understatement.
Just imagine if any of these disruptions happened to your business…
The tool you use to generate new client proposals and track electronic signatures stops working
The tool that generates invoices and tracks collections from your clients stops working
The tool that informs and reminds your staff of their scheduled shifts stops working
…all at the same time.
And that’s just a fraction of what would stop working if we didn’t take action.
A few years ago, if I had received an email like this, I would have gone into panic mode. My client would have too. Instead, just 3 days later, I had done an impact assessment to understand the situation, come up with a game plan to avoid disruption, run my plan by the Workato engineers, and explained everything to my client.
The feedback I got was, “Brad, after all the difficulties we’ve faced this year, we’re still around and a fully functioning digital business thanks to you. I actually feel like we’re ahead of the curve, and I have no doubt you’ll get us through this too.”
Sigh of relief.
What I feared might be a tense and difficult conversation turned out to be the highlight of my week.
I wanted to highlight this story not just as an example of an unexpected technology problem that almost every tech-enabled business fears might come one day. I wanted to highlight it because it demonstrates the importance and value of technology and innovation despite the problems that inevitably arise along the way.
Earlier this year during one of our weekly meetings, I asked my client how their business was being affected by the pandemic. Unsurprisingly, their sales were already down from where they’d typically be at that time of year. But surprisingly, I sensed confidence and optimism from their CEO. It came from his understanding that the technology we already had in place would allow their company to be resilient.
They felt prepared.
The ecosystem of integrated tools and applications that now runs their company of over 1,000 employees across 25 cities had always been for the pursuit of efficiency - I once thought. As a growth-oriented company, they have always looked for opportunities to streamline their operations as they grow. But this year in particular, I’ve seen how it’s done so much more for their business.
It’s provided them a competitive advantage over more traditional competitors in their industry.
It’s improved customer satisfaction by reducing instances of scheduling conflicts and no-shows.
It’s eliminated costly errors that had once been common due to manual data entry.
It’s sped up cash cycles by reducing the time it takes to get accurate invoices to customers.
And it’s allowed them to free up resources from administrative tasks so they can perform more value-creating activities like client relations and sales.
With revenues down and many businesses struggling, the margin for error has never been smaller. Businesses simply can’t afford to be sloppy any more. But more than that, this year has taught us that the world is changing at an ever accelerating pace. “Business as usual” simply isn’t an option any more.
Fortunately, we’ve never had as many tools and resources as we do right now that allow us to be efficient, nimble, adaptable, and yes - virtual.
So if you’ve been putting off that technology project because you haven’t had the time, or you’re overwhelmed by all of the options and considerations, or simply because you’re worried about those unanticipated problems that might pop up along the way, I want you to stop and take a breath. Then think about the confidence and optimism you’ll feel once that project is finished despite the challenges that might come up along the way. Think about feeling prepared.
And if you’re unsure how to go it alone, there are plenty of people like me out there that can help :)