10/24/2001 If We Prepare for Change, Where Will We Be Going? If We Don’t Prepare, Does This Mean We’ll Be Going Nowhere? By Pat Garner, InterData Access Corporation Is there a way into the mystery of where this is all going? “This” meaning business, technology, the ‘new economy’ and a dozen other descriptive ‘buzz’ phrases that all amount to much the same thing – where we’re all headed financially. Business is interdependent, as we’re seeing quite dramatically in the wake of the sudden disaster of September 11th. If we’d sat down and tried to make a list of all the industries that would be impacted directly by a lack of so-called “consumer confidence” we would have come up way short of what we’re seeing being impacted from all over the spectrum. So how do we make a plan, much less anticipate our next best move? Where do we put our money? What should be our primary focus? As we’ve been told on numerous occasions, our industry has evolved from a merger of two approaches, that of “sharing” the cost of office space and using centralized core services, to that of advancing from a “secretarial/answering service” to include office space with services. In both models, technology played a major role in the center’s profitability or “cost-effectiveness.” Now that we are experiencing the reverse trend, with clients acquiring most of the technology and services we have provided as an industry, we are asking, where is our next great revenue stream? As Bill Gates puts it so very succinctly in his Introduction to his must read book, Business At the Speed of Thought, Using a Digital Nervous System, If the 1980s were about quality and the 1990s were about reengineering, then the 2000s will be about velocity. About how quickly the nature of business will change. About how quickly business itself will be transacted. About how information access will alter the lifestyle of consumers and their expectations of business. Quality improvements and business process improvements will occur far faster. When the increase in velocity of business is great enough, the very nature of business changes. A manufacturer or retailer that responds to changes in sales in hours instead of weeks is no longer at heart a product company, but a service company that has a product offering. These changes will occur because of a disarmingly simple idea: the flow of digital information. What we need to recognize in our industry is that we are about “serving business” and as business changes, so must we, to remain a viable industry. Following the thinking of technology pioneers is a very important way to begin. Microsoft realizes their support role to business and takes it very seriously. They explore and expand in their approach to business and in the products and services they offer. We must do the same. Fortunately, many of you have just completed your “tour” of the annual convention which is dedicated to helping us stay abreast of many of the changes and learning about the additional opportunities for our industry. And, if for any reason, you were unable to attend, I urge and encourage you to order everything from the convention, all the tapes, and "listen". These sessions are worth their weight in gold. Especially now!!! But there is no substitute for research, individual research. Bill Gates’ book provides more than enough inspiration for anyone interested in understanding where business is going in the next decade and beyond and the web site they have provided at www.speed-of-thought.com provides examples, and techniques and methodologies. Understanding where business is going is the first step to positioning ourselves in a profitable and effective support role. Michael Hammer, a business revolutionary, talks about “….. the next big idea” in September’s issue of “Fast Company” where he is helping to promote his coming book “The Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade.” In it he talks about, “Customers want more for less – and they want it now. Satisfying these new-economy power brokers depends on (you got it!) reengineering. Companies that reengineer to face the customer, to serve the customer and to make life easier for the customer will flourish. Those that don’t will perish”. Now, we knew that. But it’s very reaffirming to hear it from a business industry guru (albeit somewhat controversial – by that we mean, that it’s expensive to listen to him, because he challenges for change.) But he goes on to say, “Financial measures – profitability, return on investment, discounted cash flow, or any of the technically complex measures used by financial engineers – tell you little, if anything, of what you need to know about your business. . . . . It’s just an autopsy. The fundamental language of business is about things like customer satisfaction, speed, and error rates.” So where does this leave us, or actually where will this take us? Hopefully into exploring more in depth the challenges that companies are facing and some of the approaches they are going to be using for their solutions. We need to be proactive in our approach to providing technology and services. We need to understand what is happening outside of our own sphere, because sooner or later we are going to be very definitely impacted by it. Sharing in the vision of the future enables us to plan our investment in training, helps us identify and better analyze our own business strengths and weaknesses and to plan for change. If we want to become a part of the new economy that is relying more and more on the Internet and intranets for business, then we need to understand the products and services that we can offer and what we will need to provide to compete effectively. Pat Garner, former suite owner and OBCAI member for 10 years, is President of InterData Access Corporation, a resource technology company providing products and services, such as 3D Floor Plans, Virtual Tours, and web development services, that enhance and promote the profitability of the Office Business Center Industry. InterData's signature site is www.Esuite.com, the web's oldest and largest site for marketing centers on the Internet; and is introducing this year a sister site www.aboutofficespace.org. These sites along with E-street.ws, help promote and extend the industry's reach into the marketplace. If you want to contact Pat, you may do so by email at pgarner@esuite.com, visit the InterData web site at www.indac.com, or call (800) 889-3692.

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