No Punch List!

I recently overheard a staff meeting with one of my customers.  They were talking about an exemplary employee who has a motto "No Punch List!".  Basically in their business they install furniture.  Very often, on a job, there is a missing piece, something needs to be modified, or a change otherwise made.  So, the installers create a "Punch List" of follow up action items.

During this meeting, the supervisor was talking about the one employee who lives by the credo "No Punch List".  This employee purchased their own tools and put together a well stocked repair kit.  This employee runs installations, and when things go awry, he was prepared to deal with the situation and fix problems right there, on the spot to get the job DONE.  Not just "mostly done", but "done done".

I thought this was a pretty neat story on a few levels.  

1) It has some elements of leadership.  This employee took it upon himself to outfit himself with a toolbelt.  This toolbelt allowed him to deal with situations much more capably and mitigate issues.  I sent the message "The buck stops here.  We're here to do a job, not shoulder work off to someone else or our future selves".

2) It's a great customer success story.  This employee had higher satisfaction ratings because his team got things done faster with less return trips and less errors.  Instead of installing something wrong, they would use their tools and fix it so it would be installed correctly.

3) From a PM perspective, it screams "Getting Things Done" and the Two Minute Rule.  If it can be fixed or done in two minutes or less, don't bother writing it down, just DO IT.

So how does this seguey to Cloud Computing?  Well, I think the three points are easily transferable.

1) With cloud computing, the "toolbelt" that you need is much, much smaller than traditional software.  The technology stack is abstracted and we only need to master a few elements to be able to deal with a large number of issues.  When we founded Red Argyle, we subscribed to a few cloud services and bought a few MacBooks.  That was the extent of the company infrastructure.  Our "toolbelt" was quick and easy to put together and we were ready to rock.

2) The cloud creates customer success.  Customers are not forced to dedicate resources to building infrastructure.  They can take an idea, and run with it.  The cloud brings ideas to life dramatically faster than traditional software.

3) Getting things done is the nature of cloud computing.  Many, Many more tasks can be done in two minutes or less.  This means more productivity and faster project turnaround.  Idea to Application happens in days not months or years.

With cloud computing, the punch list of mundane fixes is history.  With cloud computing, we don't need to put things off to the future to make it happen.  With a few minutes, and a web browser, problems can be solved.  It's a liberating feeling, and it's great to know that it's possible to do away with the Punch List with the cloud.

Do you have any thoughts on this?  What does your toolbelt consist of?

Rocking the Mobile BusinessStyle

As many of you know, Tom and I jump started Red Argyle over a month ago.  It was almost one of those Frankenstein moments - "IT'S ALIIIIVVVVVEEEEEEE".  I don't want to discount the level of difficulty involved in starting a company, but we have noticed a few things that seemed easy that would have been impossible a few years ago.

I started writing this blog at Tom's home office, did some more copy writing at a coffee shop in Buffalo using a cellular MiFi card, and am finishing writing it back at Tom's house.  Many have been saying that mobile is the future, and it's quite exciting to see this happening in my own life, to basically be living the mobile lifestyle.

Tom and I are spending the week traveling around Western, NY, meeting with clients and during downtime setting up shop in different coffee shops.  What is surprising is that with a little bit of discipline, we find ourselves just as productive no matter where we are.

With location being taken out of the equation, we are now able to provide service wherever we are.  Business travel no longer takes us effectively "Offline", but instead we can stay connected and on top of our business wherever we are.

I suppose one question is enablement - what allows us to do this?  A few thoughts on how we're pulling this off:

• A Mindset - We no longer have the link between getting work done and being in the office.  We're always ready, willing, and able to be productive, to shut out distractions and dive into some work.
• Technology enablers - We love Apple products, particularly our MacBooks and iPhones.  Fanboydom aside, The MacBook pro is a tiny, lightweight powerhouse that can go 4-6 hours on a battery charge.  They also play nice with wireless networks and give us less headaches.
• MiFi - It's necessary to bring your own internet.  While we like to use free access when we can, it's not always there.  With a MiFi in our pocket, the whole internet is literally at our fingertips no matter where we are.
• Organizational Infrastructure - Every one of our tools is cloud based.  Salesforce.com, Dropbox, Harvest, Basecamp, Skype.  Can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection, and from our phones as well.  Any paper files have been scanned and posted to the cloud.
• Telephony - Between Skype, Google Voice, GotoMeeting and our Cellular Phones, we are never out of reach.  We can conference, video chat, and make phone calls with ease.

All of these tools gives us the ability to be flexible.  It helps us maintain a better lifestyle for ourselves (being more efficient means less nights and weekends).  It is perceived as a huge benefit for our staff, who love being set free to work wherever they choose.  And, it helps us be faster, and do better work for our customers, and maintain better communication.

What do you think?  Is your organization setup to allow living mobile for yourself and your staff?  Any tips and tricks to share that you like to employ to get the most out of mobile computing?

Thanks!  -Garry