IT consultation

by | Nov 7, 2018 | Business

A 30 minute discussion about an important part of your business (or life) can be surprisingly valuable. When was the last time you had that with your Accountant? Lawyer? IT person? A facilitated review of these critical functions in a business can uncover huge risks or opportunities.

I know this first hand because I have had the privilege to facilitate several hundred conversations with local business leaders about their IT. We offer this complimentary “service” as a way of growing our business, but my intent is always to be helpful first. Some people don’t open up in this situation (fear of being sold?) which limits my ability to help, but with many, I have very meaningful conversations. Most end the meeting offering the feedback that I have really helped them see things differently and they have some meaningful areas to explore further. Sometimes we have a subsequent meeting so I can share more about Smart Dolphins, but usually it is just the one powerful 30 minute chat that changes the course of their IT and their business.

Business moves too quickly, we all have too much to do and important, deep thinking discussions don’t happen nearly enough. 

So I’ll be honest. I’m not some business or IT guru (I’m not very technical at all). I simply have some structure and “go to” questions and an intent to help. It is mostly Socratic coaching – asking lots of questions that probably haven’t been asked in a while (if ever). I also like to try to find a couple places where I can correct fundamental misunderstandings about how IT functions in a business (in an operational way, not technical) or how to look at a specific IT decision in a better or more simple way.

I share this for two reasons. One, I’d like to promote this mutual-win opportunity and hope a reader or two will reach out and ask to meet to have this kind of discussion. Second, and more importantly, I’d like to promote conversation more generally.

IT Consulting

I encourage you to talk to your trusted business “partners” more regularly. Whether it is a quarterly meeting with your accountant or lawyer or more regular meetings with your staff or even more structured discussions with your family and friends. A lot of value can come from a focused 30 minutes chat.