A few months ago I bought a new desktop computer (I still like the big screen with a second monitor so I can have four to six programs visible all the time). My old computer was a workhorse but was really slowing down, which always seems to happen as all software and websites get more and more complicated (for example, I don’t know why Office 365 needs to upgrade every week or two with hundreds of megabits).
But the point of this memo is how easy it now is to upgrade and get the new computer fully loaded. I made a backup copy of the hard drive to Time Machine, plugged the external hard drive into the new computer, and restored it. A few hours later everything was there and working. As far as I could tell, the only thing that didn’t transfer was my rules in Mail (and it was probably human error). It was very customer friendly.
On the other end of the ease-of-use spectrum is getting my office phone line to forward to my mobile phone via the website or the app on my phone. The app constantly doesn’t load this feature and the website takes what seems like forever to find the right page (then it’s easy).
I think about this as I ponder my business and the businesses of my clients. How easy is it for others to work with you? I probably put off getting the new computer for at least a few months fearing the disruption. Are people putting off working with you because they fear the process? Let’s hope not.
“To make anything interesting you simply have to look at it long enough.” Gustave Flaubert