I’m A Sith Lord!! | Randy Robertson | CC-BY-2.0
I, like many of you, was sad to see The Office end a hilarious run of cubicle-facilitated laughter. Luckily, thanks to Netflix, I can revisit the ramblings of Dwight and Michael whenever I choose (which is usually for about two hours before bed). After watching the show religiously, I’ve gleaned some tips from the show that can be easily applied to enterprise mobility.
1) Don’t Miss Snagging Your Spot In Line On Pretzel Day
At Dunder Mifflin, the last thing you want to do is be late for pretzel day, and the same can be said for mobilization. The time is now. If you’re not already onboard and translating what enterprise mobility means for your organization, not only are you losing precious time that should be spent evaluating how to execute a transformation mobile strategy, but you’re also losing your competitive edge. Your competitors, who stand at the front of the mobilization “line”, won’t be saving any pretzels for you.
2) Avoid the Sugar Rush Crash
You now have an enterprise mobility strategy laid out and you are working frantically to mobilize components of your mission critical technology. With your new strategy, the opportunities seem endless and the world is your Oreo. Then, your momentum slows and you crash. Remind yourself, that although innovative and effective, enterprise mobility is still young. You need to be agile in your approach, constantly applying what you’ve learned along the way and not letting the old way of doing things dull the effectiveness of what you’re working to accomplish.
3) Don’t Be Afraid of a Makeover
One of my favorite scenes is when Phyllis and Karen get over-the-top makeovers before meeting with a long-term client. They arrive to the meeting to discover that their makeovers have transformed them into look-a-likes of their client’s wife. Their tactic backfired, but a makeover is rarely a bad idea. Your enterprise mobile app can be your new hair and makeup. Use it to pull together up-to-date information, personalize your sales pitch or presentation, and give yourself the flexibility to mold your content to fit the ever-changing needs of your client. Contextual content and connecting with your audience are the keys to a meeting makeover.
4) Jim & Pam = Sales & Marketing
Was there anything more frustrating than waiting to see if Jim and Pam would finally find a way to get together? Maybe more so in the case of Sam and Diane, but that’s a different show. Your enterprise mobile application can act as the ultimate matchmaker. You can give your marketing team the ability to easily disseminate data and information on the fly, and sales an easy way to instantly access what they need. Everyone’s happy and you get one step closer to unifying sales and marketing.
5) “I’m ready to face any challenges that might be foolish enough to face me”
Dwight Schrute’s confidence, however crazy and misplaced, is commendable. And you should try and mirror it (Gasp!). Looking at the “enterprise mobility” world as a whole is daunting and overwhelming. Look at it in a new light because it’s not an all or nothing equation. Figure out how to mobilize the elements of your broader processes and work to understand what parts of your technology need to be leveraged or accessed on mobile devices. Keep the rest of your behemoth back-end on a server or desktop where it belongs. Figuring out what your company needs will make the process manageable, and ultimately successful.
This may seem like a silly way to relay business lessons, but they ring true. What are some lessons you have learned that you would like to share with companies that are beginning to tackle enterprise mobility? Leave a comment. We would love to hear from you!
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