Incorporating Technology

Utilizing the latest technology is of course another weapon for staying sharp in any industry. Better information about the technology is the key, I believe. In the last year we hired our first full time Information Technology specialist. It is really amazing how much information he can extract that is useful in measuring our results. The key is to figure out what the real critical numbers are in your business, and they need to be understood by everyone in the business.

Essentially, the bottom line is that we use technology to extract customer information, profitability information, sales information and so on. We then look at it and determine what is actionable . Remember, if you dont measure something, you cant manage it. Once we have information that is in fact actionable, we communicate the information to the relevant employees who impact the numbers. We make sure they really understand the information, and then we set smart goals to improve the numbers. Then we build an incentive program around it to help change behavior and thus, improve the numbers.